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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Collin Bennett belted a pair of homeruns but the University of Hawai'i baseball team dropped its series opener to Sacramento State 7-6 in 12 innings on Friday at John Smith Field.
Bennett hit his first homerun of the season in the fourth inning, a three-run shot to give the Rainbows (28-19, 8-5 WAC) a one-run lead then, in the ninth inning, belted a two-run homer to put Hawai'i ahead 6-4.
Sacramento State (27-23, 9-7 WAC) tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, then won in the 12th inning on a walk off base hit by Derrick Chung off UH reliever Jesse Moore.
Bennett batted 3-5 with two runs and five RBI for the 'Bows, who still remain atop the Western Athletic Conference standings. Pi'ikea Kitamura had two hits and one run and Zack Swasey added a pair of hits.
Chung recorded a game-high four hits (4-6) for the Hornets while also posting one run and one RBI. Justin Higley and Rhys Hoskins both had two hits, one run, and one RBI. Ty Nichols (2-3) was the pitcher of record for Sacramento State.
The Hornets opened the scoring with two runs in the third inning. Clay Cederquist (2-3, 1 R) led off with a single and two batters later Higley smacked an RBI-triple to left field.
Sacramento State pushed the lead to 3-0 after four innings before Bennett's blast capped a four-run sixth inning to put Hawai'i ahead. The Hornets quickly responded one-half inning later when Hunter Adrian (1 H, 1 R) doubled and was then driven home on a base hit by Hoskins to tie the game.
Neither starter figured in the decision. Sisto pitched six complete innings and allowed four runs on six hits. Chadwick, who had been cruising before UH finally got to him in the sixth inning, worked seven innings and allowed four unearned runs with 10 strikeouts. Lawrence Chew (2-2) was tagged with the loss in 1.2 innings of work.
Bennett's second homer appeared to be enough to give UH the win, but Sacramento State tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning on a two-RBI hit by David del Grande. Brent Harrison spelled reliever David Longville looking for his ninth save, but the Hornets capitalized on a trio of Rainbow errors to even the score at 6-6 and send the game into extra innings.
The series continues Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
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