Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
The University of Hawaii fought back only to fall in its Big West baseball opener.
Tyler Kuresa’s two-run double broke a seventh-inning tie Thursday night as Cal Santa Barbara edged Hawaii 7-6 in Honolulu.
The Warriors (5-17, 0-1) tried to stage one more rally in the their last at-bat. Marc Flores’s RBI single put runners on first and second with nobody out, but Conner George popped out and Kalei Hanawahine grounded into a game-ending double play.
Pitching in relief for the first time this season, Scott Squier (0-4) took the loss.
Trevor Podratz was 2 for 4 with four RBIs and was at the center of two Hawaii comebacks. Trailing 3-2 in the fourth, Kaeo Aliviado (3 for 4) and George reached on singles and scored on Podratz’s single to left. In the sixth, Aliviado and George walked and Podratz’s hit to left cut the deficit to 5-4.
Pi’ikea Kitamura singled and scored on Flores’ groundout to tie score at 5-5 in the seventh. Flores was 2 for 5 with a double and two RBIs.
Greg Mahle (4-3) pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief for the Gauchos (13-10 1-0), and Dylan Hecht survived the ninth for his second save.
Kuresa also had an RBI single in the fifth and finished 3 for 5 with three RBIs and Dalton Kelly was 2 for 3 with a two-run triple in the fourth inning. Luke Swenson singled in a run in the sixth of Hawaii reliever Lawrence Chew.
Hawaii starter Connor Little was hit in the knee by a line drive off the bat of Brandon Trinkwon in the fifth. Little finished the inning but did not return, allowing six hits, four runs and three walks with three strikeouts. Chew pitched two innings, as did Squier, who yielded two runs, two hits, two walks and struck out two.
The teams meet again today at 6:35 p.m.
Water polo
Hawaii 10, Cal Santa Barbara 7: Monika Eggens scored five of her six goals in the first half at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex in Honolulu as the Rainbow Wahine remained undefeated in league play.
Amarens Genee scored twice and Paula Chillida Esforzado and Danielle Lewis added goals for Hawaii (12-7, 3-0), which scored seven straight goals spanning the second and third quarters to take a 10-3 lead in the fourth.
The Gauchos (16-9, 1-2) got goals from seven different players.