Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
Leave it to Corey MacDonald to get the University of Hawaii baseball team over the hump again.
MacDonald pitched a four-hitter Friday night and Connor George was 3 for 3 and ignited the go-ahead rally in the seventh inning as the Warriors beat Cal Santa Barbara 6-2 in Honolulu for their first Big West victory.
MacDonald (3-2) struck out six in his second complete game of the season — his first back on March 2 helped the Warriors (6-17, 1-1) stop a 10-game slide to start the season.
George led off the seventh inning with a double and scored on Jerry Kleman’s single to give Hawaii a 3-2 lead. The Warriors added an insurance run on Stephen Ventimilia’s RBI single and a two-run double by Pi’ikea Kitamura capped the four-run rally.
George has hit safely in seven games, raising his average to .340.
Justin Jacome (2-2) had a 2-0 lead and was cruising for the Gauchos (13-11, 1-1) through the five innings. But Austin Wobrock singled with a one out, Stephen Ventimilia walked, and after both moved up a base on a sacrifice, Kaeo Aliviado’s hard single to right brought in two runs to tie the score in the sixth.
Wobrock was 2 for 3 with two runs scored,
The only batter to reach against MacDonald in the last three innings came on throwing error. The 6-foot-6 senior right-hander walked two, throwing 74 of his 108 pitches for strikes.
Dalton Kelly was 2 for 3 for Santa Barbara, including an RBI single in the second inning.
In 6 1/3 innings, Jacome allowed four hits, three runs and two walks with six strikeouts.
The teams meet again today at 6:35 p.m.