Tribune-Herald
A season filled with painful memories could just finish on a high note for the University of Hawaii.
Marc Flores hit a two-run single as the Rainbow Warriors got a spark from the top of its lineup Thursday and Connor Little won his last college baseball start in a 5-4 victory against Cal Riverside in Riverside, Calif.
Kaeo Aliviado, Piikea Kitamura and Flores, the Nos. 1-3 batters in the order, almost single-handedly carried the offense. Each had two hits as UH (16-33, 11-14 Big West) won its season-high fourth straight game.
Little (3-6) worked into the seventh inning and Lawrence Chen came on to earn a three-inning save, his fourth of the season.
Aliviado led off the game with a double, moved to third on Kitamura’s single, and the Rainbow Warriors took a 2-0 lead on Flores’ single to left center.
The score remained the same until the fifth, when UH took advantage of two errors to put across three runs. Jerry Kleman doubled with two outs and came around to score when Stephen Ventimilia’s grounder was misplayed, and Ventimilia crossed the plate on an error after Aliviado reached on a single. Kitamura added a two-out single to left.
Dylan Stuart pitched well in a complete game loss for the Highlanders (12-32, 8-17). Stuart, who had retired 13 straight before Kleman’s double, allowed two earned runs, eight hits with no walks and six strikeouts.
Little cruised until the sixth. With two outs, David Andriese put Riverside on the board with a run-scoring single.
Francisco Tellez led off the seventh with a home run, and Little’s day was done when Kyle Boudreau followed with a double.
In six innings, Little yielded seven hits and three runs with three walks and two strikeouts.
Chen allowed two singles to start the ninth, but after Tellez scored on a Cody Hough’s sacrifice fly, Chen stranded the tying run at second by inducing a comebacker.
He allowed a run and two hits.
Tellez and Andriese each had two hits.
The team continue the three-game season-ending series at 3 p.m. HST today.
