The University of Hawaii baseball team dodged adverse weather but not UC Irvine’s effective pitching in Sunday afternoon’s 5-1 loss at Les Murakami Stadium.
After winning the first two games, the Rainbow Warriors were held to four hits in the series finale in relatively calm conditions. The predicted heavy rain did not materialize during the 3-hour game played before 1,938 fans.
In dropping to 18-14 and 8-10 in the Big West, the ’Bows missed a chance to move into a fifth-place tie. The top five teams qualify for the Big West Tournament.
For the fifth consecutive game, the ’Bows were without shortstop Elijah Ickes, who is dealing with a fracture in his left (non-throwing) hand. UH coach Rich Hill said Ickes will undergo medical tests this morning, but is not expected to be on the travel roster as the ’Bows embark on a 12-day, six-game road trip.
UCI starting pitchers Trevor Hansen and Finnegan Wall did not get through the fourth inning on Friday and Saturday, respectively. On Sunday, Jack Ross was pulled after allowing one hit and a run in two innings. But that opened the way for the Anteaters’ rejuvenated bullpen. Left-handed Ricky Ojeda pitched four hitless innings. Right-handed Danny Suarez allowed three hits to earn the nine-out save, his second of the season.
“We knew we were in for a challenge today, especially with Ojeda and Suarez sitting there ready to go,” Hill said. “Didn’t really know about the weather, if it was going to be a five-inning game, a seven-inning game, or whatever. We felt the sense of urgency to score before those guys got into the game. … We just didn’t have an answer for those three pitchers they used.”
Last year, Ojeda was 13-1 and became the first reliever to be named the Big West’s Pitcher of the Year. This season, he was moved into the second slot in the starting rotation. Ojeda had starts that impressed (six shutout innings against Sacramento State) and depressed (five runs in an inning against Cal State Fullerton). A week ago, he was moved to the bullpen, where he held UC Davis to one run in four innings.
On Sunday, Ojeda was at his best. Relying on a 93-mph fastball, Ojeda struck out five and walked three of the 15 batters he faced.
“I feel good coming out of the bullpen again,” Ojeda said. “It’s easier to get that fire I didn’t have the first couple weeks of starting. Just going back to where I shined last year. I felt good on the mound. My arm felt good. … It was mainly just fastballs. I was throwing the fastball, and they weren’t hitting it, so I figured I might as well keep going to it.”
Suarez returned to the site of a nightmarish appearance. In a 2022 game against UH, he suffered a torn UCL in his left elbow.
“It wasn’t too fun,” recalled Suarez, who underwent Tommy John surgery for the season-ending injury. “It’s good to be out here.”
Suarez was used sparingly the next two seasons. He made 16 appearance last season. But this year, he has developed into a dominant late-inning pitcher. He entered with a 0.53 ERA, and 0.35 WHIP in the previous eight games. In Sunday’s intermittent rain, Suarez had difficulty firmly controlling his curveball. But he found success with a slider and fastball, allowing three hits and no walks. He has issued one walk in 21 innings this season.
“It’s more energy, more high energy,” Suarez said of relieving. “You get to come into games that are close. It’s more fun to play. I filled every role throughout my long, long, five-year career in college baseball. It’s fun doing different things. I enjoy closing.”
The ’Bows scored the game’s first run on Noah Rodriguez’s run-scoring single in the second inning.
But the Anteaters scored three in the third inning to seize control. Liam O’Brien, who did not allow a hit in the first two innings, walked the first two Anteaters in the third.
“We’ve seen him go seven (innings), we’ve seen him go deep into games,” Hill said of O’Brien. “Sometimes when it’s all clicking, he can really hold his velocity. Really wanted to make that move right there after two walks.”
Left-handed Grant Garman was brought in to face UCI’s six-lefty lineup.
But Garman was called for a balk placing two runners in scoring position. Daniel Polasek’s double brought home Noah Alvarez with the tying run. Frankie Carney’s sacrifice fly plated Efren Ortega to give UCI a 2-1 lead. Later in the inning, reliever Saul Soto hit Landon Gaz with a pitch to force home the Anteaters’ third run.
“I don’t think it was the weather,” UCI coach Ben Orloff said. “I just don’t think we played too good the first two nights. This is like when we’re good. We pitch. We play good defense. We manage the strike zone. We do enough situationally. When we do that, that was a good version of us today.”
