Baseball Battles Back From Five Runs Down To Top Hawai'i, 8-6

Friday, May 23

Honolulu. HI

9:35 pm

UC Riverside

26-27, 12-11

Hawai'i

21-31, 5-18

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
UC Riverside	0	1	0	0	5	1	0	1	0	8	12	2
Hawai'i	2	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	9	3

Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta

Baseball Battles Back From Five Runs Down To Top Hawai'i, 8-6

5/24/2014 6:49:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Honololu, HI—Trailing 6-1 through four innings Saturday evening, the UC Riverside Baseball Team's offense caught fire with a five-run fifth and single runs in the sixth and eighth, while Dylan Stuart pitched 5.2 innings of hitless relief, propelling the Highlanders to an 8-6 victory over the Rainbow Warriors.

Hawai'i (21-31, 5-18) jumped on UCR starter Zach Varela, banging out nine hits and scoring six runs through the first three-and-a-third innings of play. The Highlanders, meanwhile, put runners in scoring position in three of the first four frames, but were only able to scratch across a single run.

Stuart (3-0) came out of the pen in the bottom of the fourth with runners on second and third and just one out, working out of the jam giving up just one unearned run. He allowed one base runner the rest of the way, facing the minimum 15 batters in the fifth through ninth innings, and extending his string of consecutive innings without allowing an earned run to 32.2. The senior also has yet to allow an earned run in 34 innings of Big West competition. The last time Stuart gave up an earned run was on April 12 at Oregon.

With Stuart keeping the Rainbow Warriors off the board, the Highlanders (26-27, 12-11) turned the tables on Hawai'i in the top of the fifth sending 10 men to the plate and tying the score at six.

Cody Hough led off the inning with a single to left center off of Rainbow Warriors starter Scott Kuzminsky. Alex Rubanowitz drew a walk, and Joe Chavez doubled down the left field line scoring Hough and advancing Rubanowitz to third. Devyn Bolasky's sacrifice fly to center made it a 6-3 ballgame, and Thomas Walker's single up the middle sliced the Hawai'i advantage to two.

That ended Kuzminsky's night as Quintin Torres-Costa was summoned from the bullpen, but he struggled to find the plate. A wild pitch moved Walker to second before David Andriese drew a walk. A balk moved both runners up 90 feet, and Francisco Tellez's single to right scored Walker. Andriese came around to tie the score on the play as well, as right fielder Kalei Hanawahine had difficulty securing the ball.

Relief pitcher Juliene Jones (0-2) eventually came in to record the final out of the inning, but the Highlanders were back in the game.

It only took one more inning for UCR to take the lead, and they did so with the help of another Hawai'i defensive miscue. Bolasky was hit by a pitch with two outs and nobody on, and Mark Contreras came on to pinch run. A Walker double to left moved Contreras to third, but left fielder Adam Hurley misplayed the ball allowing Contreras to score the go-ahead run.

UC Riverside tacked on an insurance run in the top of the eighth with another two-out rally. Chavez laid down a bunt single, and moved to second on a passed ball. Contreras singled to center scoring Chavez with the Highlanders' eighth run of the game.

UCR and Hawai'i finish their three-game Big West Conference series, and their respective regular seasons, on Saturday beginning at 8:35 pm PT.