Mesa, Ariz. — The University of Hawai‘i baseball team lost Saturday to Fresno State in the championship game of the 2011 WAC Tournament. The Rainbows fell 15-4 to the Bulldogs (40-14) and drop to 34-25 on the season. Fresno State
Mesa, Ariz. — The University of Hawai‘i baseball team lost Saturday to Fresno State in the championship game of the 2011 WAC Tournament. The Rainbows fell 15-4 to the Bulldogs (40-14) and drop to 34-25 on the season.
Fresno State struck first with two runs in the first inning. A double by Brennan Gowans (2 for 6, one run, two RBIs) and an RBI triple by Dusty Robinson (2 for 5, one run, one RBI) helped the Bulldogs to the early lead.
FSU tacked on another run, but Hawai‘i answered with a pair in the bottom of the second inning. Pi‘ikea Kitamura (3 for 4, two RBIs) singled through the left side of the infield to drive home two runs. Zack Swasey (one hit, one run) then scored all the way from second on an errant pick-off attempt by Bulldog pitcher Tyler Linehan.
From that point on the game belonged to the Bulldogs. They responded one inning later to regain a three-run advantage as Gowans delivered a two-RBI single to center field. The Bulldogs put the game away with a six-run fifth inning, highlighted by a Jordan Ribera (3 for 6, four RBIs) bases-clearing double. Fresno State led 12-3 at that point.
Linehan (5-2) earned the win for FSU, pitching 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits. Jesse Moore (0-3) was tagged with the loss for the ‘Bows in 3.2 innings of work. He allowed six runs on eight hits with two strikeouts.
After the game Kolten Wong, Pi‘ikea Kitamura and Matt Sisto were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The loss eliminates Hawai‘i from the WAC Tournament as Fresno State claims the tournament title. The ‘Bows hold an outside chance of receiving an at-large bid to the West Regional. The NCAA Tournament selection show will be televised Monday at 12:30 p.m. ET (6:30 a.m. HT) on ESPN.
The day started on a more positive note, as UH was an 18-10 winner over Louisiana Tech.
Zach Swasey batted 4 for 6 with one run and three RBIs to lead UH. Jeffrey Van Doornum batted 3 for 4 with two runs and Sean Montplaisir added two hits, three runs and four RBIs.
The Rainbows threw five pitchers on the mound with Randy Yard (3-0) earning the win in two scoreless innings of work. Kyle Roliard (1-3) was tagged with the loss for La. Tech, pitching 3.2 innings allowing eight runs on seven hits.
