March 13, 2009

Box Score

HONOLULU, Hawai'i - LMU (8-8) dropped its second consecutive 10-inning contest on Thursday, this time falling to Hawai'i (7-6) by a count of 6-5 in game one of a four-game series being played at Les Murakami Stadium in Honolulu, Hawai'i.

Hawai'i "walked-off" with the victory when Kevin Macdonald connected on a bases-loaded single down the left field line to bring home Greg Garcia from second base in the 10th inning.

Junior Ryan Wheeler paced the Lion offense, finishing 3-for-5 with three doubles and two RBI. Shon Roe batted 2-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI. Junior Angelo Songco doubled to extend his hitting streak to four games, while Trevor Gee and Brad Bauer extended their streaks to five and four games, respectively, with a hit apiece.

Senior Lee Roberts got the start, but did not factor in the decision, tossing five and a third innings and allowing five runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out five batters. Sophomore Chris Eusebio dealt two-thirds of an inning before lefty John Lally contributed two and a third scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Junior Xavier Esquivel was tagged with his second loss in as many games after pitching an inning and a third and allowing one run on one hit and two walks while punching-out three batters.

Vinnie Catricala led all players at the plate, finishing a perfect 4-for-4 with a double, a triple and two RBI. Garcia and Matt Roquemore each collected two hits and two runs scored in the victory. Right-hander Jayson Kramer dealt seven and two-thirds innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and striking out six batters before giving way to Sam Spangler. Spangler lasted an inning and two-thirds and allowed an unearned run before Josh Slaats pitched the final two-thirds on the hill, earning his second victory of the season.

Hawai'i got on the board first in the game, scoring two times in the bottom of the third. After a hit-by-pitch and a single put two runners on, the Rainbow Warriors used a sacrifice bunt to push both runners into scoring position. Catricala wasted no time collecting his first hit and his only two RBI on the night, tripling into the right centerfield gap.

The Rainbow Warriors would extend the lead to 5-0 with three more runs in the sixth. Shane Hoey contributed a RBI-double before Roquemore traded places with Hoey on the ensuing play, notching a double of his own. A Garcia single put runners at the corners before a wild pitch on ball four to Catricala allowed Roquemore to come home, capping the scoring run two batters later.

The Lions scored once in the seventh as Gee singled home Songco. Songco had reached with a double with one out. LMU put up three more runs in the top of the eighth, highlighted by a RBI-single by Bauer and a Wheeler two-RBI double to left centerfield.

LMU made things interesting and pushed the game into extra innings with one run in the top of the ninth. A two-out error by Catricala set the table for Roe's single to drive in the game-tying run. Hawai'i plated the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th as Garcia walked and moved to second on a stolen base. After an intentional walk, Macdonald plated the game-winner.

The Lions and Rainbows will return to action tomorrow at 9:35 p.m. RHP Ernie Cho is slated to take on RHP Nate Klein.