Box Score |
Box Score (html)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The University of Hawai'i baseball team fell victim to a hot-hitting Sacramento State team, losing to the Hornets 10-3 on Saturday at John Smith Field. The Rainbows dropped to 28-20 overall and out of the top spot in the Western Athletic Conference at 8-6. Sacramento State improved to 28-23 and 10-7 in conference. The series finale will be Sunday at 1:00 p.m. PT (10:00 a.m. HT).
Despite the loss, several Rainbows had solid performances at the plate.
Max Duval batted 2-3 with one run and a two-RBI base hit in the fourth inning. Pi'ikea Kitamura and
Breland Almadova each recorded a pair of hits, and
Collin Bennett added one hit and one run on the day after belting two homeruns in the series opener.
Andrew Ayers hit 4-5 with one run and three-RBI for the Hornets, who had 18 hits as a team. Rhys Hoskins batted 3-5 with three runs scored and two RBI including a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Jarrett Arakawa (6-5) was tagged with the loss for Hawai'i. He allowed six runs on 10 hits before being lifted for
Jon Flinn in the fifth inning.
Patrick O'Rourke and
Riley Welch each pitched an inning to finish the game.
Tanner Mendonca (6-7) worked six complete innings for the win, allowing three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts.
The Rainbows struck first in the series opener, but it was Sacramento State who plated the early runs today. In the second inning, after Del Grande drove home Clay Cederquist for the game's opening run, Ayers delivered a two-RBI triple to give the Hornets a 3-0 lead.
Sac State tacked on another run one inning later, but the 'Bows responded to slice the lead in half. In the fourth inning with the bases loaded, Duval singled through the middle of the infield to drive home Bennett and
Zack Swasey (0-4, 1 R) to cut the Hornet lead to 4-2.
The game belonged to Sac State from that point on. The Hornets added a pair of runs in the fifth inning, then Hoskins' two-run shot pushed the lead to 9-3.
-UH-
