Baseball Rainbows rally past USC, 8-2
Advertiser Staff
The University of Hawaiçi baseball team took advantage of three errors and two bases-loaded walks to manufacture a four-run seventh inning and rally past Southern California, 8-2, tonight.
A gathering of 2,815 at Les Murakami Stadium saw the Rainbows raise their record to 7-7 in the opener of a four-game series.
It was accomplished on a night that began ominously for the ’Bows with starting pitcher Nate Klein leaving the game in the second inning with apparent soreness in his right (pitching) shoulder.
Josh Slaats, who had been the ’Bows’ most effective pitcher and was to have started last night, had the start scratched Thursday after feeling soreness in his right (throwing) elbow.
Klein left with two outs in the second inning, Matt Hart on second and a 1-and-2 count on Kevin Roundtree.
After Klein grimaced, UH coach Mike Trapasso hurried to the mound along with the trainer and removed his starter.
Then Roundtree greeted Klein’s replacement, Alex Capaul, with a single up the middle to score Hart, who had lined a one-out single down the leftfield line and stolen second base.
The Trojans added a run in the fifth inning when Roundtree flared a leadoff single to left center, stole second, took third on a throwing error by catcher David Freitas and scored on Taylor Wrenn's single up the middle.
But in the bottom of the seventh inning, trailing 2-0, the ’Bows finally got on the scoreboard and the lead, 4-2.
UH added four runs in the eighth inning.