Jacob Igawa got the green light and drove one out.
Igawa hit a three-home run Sunday, and Dallas Duarte produced a season-high three hits as the University of Hawaii baseball team avoided getting swept in its first Big West series, winning 6-3 at Long Beach State.
Batting cleanup and playing first base, Igawa, a Waiakea alum, hammered his third home run of the season, on a 3-0 pitch, to give the Rainbows (7-12, 1-2 Big West) a six-run lead in the fifth after Matt Wong hit a solo shot on the third inning.
Duarte, a former Kamehameha standout, had his fourth multihit game of the season, scoring on Igawa’s blast.
Right-hander Buddie Pindel (2-1) delivered five shutout innings, allowing only three hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Kamehameha alum Tai Atkins started the sixth but went through a wild streak, hitting two batters and walking another. Atkins was pulled after one-third of an inning and was charged with two runs. He leads the team with 11 appearances.
Cameron Hagan worked through the eighth and Cory Ronan pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save, no doubt leaving a better taste in UH coach Rich Hill’s mouth than the day before.
The Dirtbags rallied for two runs in the ninth – wasting Cade Halemanu’s solid six-inning stint – and won in walk-off fashion Saturday on Chris Jimenez’s homer in the 10th.
Asked about the game-winning homer, Rich Hill told Tribune News Service, “I’ve been better.”
Long Beach won the series opener 4-0 on Friday, when the ‘Bows mustered just two hits, one by Igawa.
Hill was the center of controversy Friday when Duarte was penalized a third strike in the seventh when home-plate umpire Ramon Armendariz ruled the 20-second clock had expired. Hill, who was coaching third, argued Duarte had both feet in the batter’s box with a second remaining on the 20-second pitch clock.
On social media, Duarte tweeted that the call was “soft.”
His coach agreed.
“They didn’t give him a warning, they just (penalized ) him, called him out on strikes,” said Hill, who was ejected. “I’m in the third-base box. They have a 20-second clock right in line with the hitter. At one second, it was close, obviously, but (Duarte ) had both feet in and was ready to go.”
UH was certainly ready to go Sunday.
Aaron Ujimori coaxed a walk to leadoff the first, moved to second on Duarte’s hit, took third on Wong’s single and scored when Cole Cabrera walked.
In the second, Waiakea alum Stone Miyao manufactured a run, bunting his way on and taking second on error. He scored two groundouts later. In the sixth, Miyao walked and stole a base before getting caught trying to steal third. He’s 3 for 5 on steal attempts this season.
