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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 5:55 p.m., Saturday, May 24, 2008

UH BASEBALL
Baseball 'Bows fall to Fresno State, play Nevada in elimination game

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
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RUSTON, La. — Hawai'i will need to win three in a row to win the Western Athletic Conference baseball tournament after an 11-4 loss to Fresno State today at JC Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.

The Rainbows (29-30) will return to play at 2 p.m., HST, today in an elimination game against Nevada.

The Wolf Pack eliminated Sacramento State, 15-5, earlier in a game called after the top of the seventh inning because of the 10-run rule.

The two-time defending tournament champion Bulldogs (36-27) advance to tomorrow's championship. The winner of the 2 p.m. game today must beat FSU twice tomorrow to dethrone the Bulldogs.

Fresno State sent 10 batters to the plate in a seven-run sixth after UH took a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth.

Alan Ahmady hit a pair of two-run home runs to lead the Bulldogs' assault.

Matt Daly (5-5) was tagged for six runs, seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts in five-plus innings for the Rainbows.

Jason Breckley (2-2) pitched four scoreless inning of relief for starter Justin Miller, who went five-plus innings, allowing three runs, four hits and three walks with two strikeouts for the Bulldogs. Breckely allowed a run, three hits and a walk with two strikeouts.

Erik Wetzel, robbed of a hit on a diving catch-turned-double play by center fielder Brandon Haislet, got the Bulldogs on the board first with a one out, solo home run to left-center in the fourth inning to put Fresno State ahead, 1-0.

The Rainbows finally got on the board in the fifth when Landon Hernandez led off the inning with a home run to left-center to tie the game at 1. The left-handed hitting Matt Roquemore then followed with an opposite field homer to right to put UH ahead, 2-1. It was the junior's first career home run. After giving up the back-to-back homers, Miller walked Greg Garcia and Jon Hee then ran a 2-1 count on Haislet, when he was pulled for Jason Breckley. The runners advanced on Haislet's sacrifice. Jeff Van Doornum then followed with a ground single to right to score Garcia, as Hee stopped at third, making it 3-1. Kevin Macdonald flied out to right and right fielder Steve

Detwiler threw Hee out at home for an inning-ending double play.

But the lead was short-lived, as the Bulldogs sent 10 batters to the plate in a seven-run sixth.. Daly walked Danny Muno and Gavin Hedstrom to start the inning and both scored on Wetzel's double to left-center to tie the game at 3. Wetzel took third on the throw home, but scored on Steve Susdorf's single to right to make it 4-3; Susdorf took second

on right fielder Van Doornum's fielding error and scored on Alan Ahmady's two-run home run to center to make it 6-3. Daly was pulled for Jayson Kramer. Tommy Mendonca grounded out to second, but Ryan Overland reached on a single off second baseman Garcia's glove, but Detwiler hit a two-run homer to left to make it 8-3.

The Bulldogs added three in the seventh against Alex Myers, who started the seventh. Hedstrom led off with a single to center and took second on Haislet's fielding error. After taking third on Wetzel's sacrifice, Hedstrom scored on Susdorf's single. Ahmady hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to right-center to make it 11-3.

The Rainbows got another run in the ninth from their reserves. Pinch hitter Ryan Asato's sacrifice fly to center scored Evan Zimny, who earlier reached on a pinch-hit single.

The winner of the UH-Nevada game will play Fresno State at 7 a.m., HST, tomorrow for the tournament championship.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.