After consecutive sub-par starts, Hawai'i junior left-hander Ian Harrington fired a statement-making complete game in a 5-2 win against Sacramento State yesterday to give the Rainbows a series sweep.

"Coming into this weekend I didn't even know I was going to start," Harrington said. "I really took it to heart that I really needed to come out and help the team. I just wanted to help the team get the sweep and get momentum going on to the road."

Senior first baseman Luis Avila bid farewell to the 2,234 at Les Murakami Stadium on Senior Day with a resounding three-run home run to center in the third inning that snapped a 1-all game. The victory gave the Rainbows (32-12 overall, 10-6 WAC) sole possession of first place in the tightly contested Western Athletic Conference.

"Last game at home, to end it like that is a pretty good feeling," said Avila, one of seven seniors, who will finish out the season on the Mainland.

With last-place New Mexico State's stunning sweep of Louisiana Tech with an 8-7 win yesterday, the Rainbows moved a half-game in front of idle Fresno State (9-6), which is tied for second with San Jose State (9-6). The Spartans swept Nevada with yesterday's 6-1 win. LaTech (9-7), which started the weekend in first, dropped to fourth, one game behind. Only 4 1/2 games separate first from seventh place.

"It feels good to see all our supporters out here," senior right fielder Matt Inouye said. "Hopefully, we can go out on the road and make some noise."

Harrington (5-3) used an economical 96 pitches for his first complete game of the season. He allowed two runs (one earned), six hits with no walks and three strikeouts. It was a far cry from his previous two starts in which he combined for 6 2/3 innings and 10 earned runs in losses at Fresno State and at home against New Mexico State.

"I'm happy for him and for our club because we've struggled with those Sunday starts," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "He picked us up in a big way."

A second-inning RBI double by Jorge Franco gave UH a short-lived 1-0 lead. The fifth-place Hornets (20-27, 8-10) tied it in the third when Harrington balked with runners at second and third.

"I was looking for a sign, thought I had it and I didn't and came set when I shouldn't have," Harrington said. "It was just a brain lapse."

But Avila came up with his team-leading sixth homer of the season, drilling a "slurve" pitch by Hornets' starter John Schlager (1-1), who was charged with four runs, six hits and a walk with one strikeout in 4 2/3 innings.

"It was big," Trapasso said. "Again, we came up with enough hits and enough runs to make it work for our pitching and defense."

A sixth-inning RBI single by Jon Hee provided insurance to make it 5-1. A dropped pop up by third baseman Justin Frash led to Patrick Cummins' sacrifice fly to right in the eighth that pulled Sacramento State to 5-2.

There was a scary moment in the third, when UH left fielder Franco and shortstop Eli Christensen collided as they converged on a bloop double by Gary Johnson. Franco left the game with a cut on his knee and cut in his mouth from his braces, Trapasso said. Franco is not expected to miss any games.

The Rainbows continued to play good defense. Avila scooped a throw from Frash in the first inning. Also, Frash made a nice back-handed stop of a grounder and Avila made a nice stretch in taking the throw to get the next batter.

The sweep gives the Rainbows momentum for their road trip to Louisiana. The Bulldogs, who took two from UH here last month, are only a game back. Thursday's series opener is the makeup of the rainout here. The Rainbows will be the "home" team in that game, Trapasso said.

Friday's game and Saturday's doubleheader will revert back to the Bulldogs as the home team.

The Bulldogs, once the hottest team in the WAC at 9-3, have dropped five in a row.

"Even though we've played well on the road (8-2), it's still very hard to play on the road," Trapasso said.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.