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In an all-in effort, the University of Hawaii baseball team pulled out a 9-7 victory over USC at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles.
The Rainbow Warriors completed a four-games-in-four-days trip by scoring runs in the sixth and eighth innings to break a 7-all tie, then turning to a starting pitcher to make the lead stick.
Andy Archer, who started Saturday’s game against UC Santa Barbara, was summoned with no outs and a runner on first in the eighth. Relying on a low-90s fastball and fast-diving splitter, Archer induced D’Andre Smith to fly out to center and Tyresse Turner to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Archer retired the Trojans in order in the ninth to complete the six-out save.
“He came to me before the game,” UH coach Rich Hill said of his encounter with Archer. “He said, ‘Hey, Coach, I’m ready to go. I’ve got two (innings) in me. I want to close this thing out. I said, ‘C’mon, Andy, I know you’re pumped up.’ He said, ‘I’m serious. Give me the ball.’ I said, ‘OK.’”
After four consecutive left-handed pitchers — from starter Cory Ronan to set-up hurler Tai Atkins — Hill beckoned the right-handed Archer.
“I’ve been begging Coach Hill to let me come back and pitch out of the pen on short rest,” said Archer, who joined UH as a graduate transfer from Georgia Tech in August. “To be honest, it’s been like this all season. For me, part of it is I really want to win. And, two, this is probably my last ride. Dude, I just want to play baseball as much as I can. I don’t know how Coach Hill tolerates me being in his ear all the time. ‘Coach, get me in the game. I’m good to go.’ I’m thankful for that, for sure.”
By winning in Los Angeles for the first time since 1992, the ’Bows improved to 10-16. USC, whose three-game winning streak was halted, fell to 17-9.
Jacob Igawa’s fourth homer of the season, a three-run blast in the third, staked the ’Bows to a 5-3 lead.
In the bottom of the third, the Trojans closed to 5-4 on Adrian Colon-Rosado’s first homer of the season.
The Trojans scored three runs in the fourth to go ahead 7-5.
But Stone Miyao and Matt Wong had run-scoring singles in the fifth inning to help the ’Bows tie it at 7.
“That’s what we call it: ‘punch back,’” Hill said. “They score, we’ve got to punch back. The ‘compete’ in this team always shows up. We might not win every game, but that component is level-10 with this group.”
It was 7-all until UH shortstop Kyson Donahue doubled home Matt Aribal in the sixth inning. Hawaii added an insurance run on DallasJ Duarte’s RBI single in the eighth.
The ’Bows amassed 14 hits — 12 of them singles — and employed bunts and aggressive base-running.
“We don’t hit a lot of home runs,” Hill said. “We have to be very opportunistic, which means putting pressure on the defense and score any way we can.”
Scotty Scott, whose swing is hindered because of a shoulder ailment, was able to contribute as a pinch runner and defensive replacement in left field.
“It’s part of the philosophy of going to that small roster this year,” Hill said. “Guys are going to lock arms. It’s going to be good chemistry. The players all get a ton of reps in practice. We use a lot of players every game.”
The ’Bows return home today in advance of Friday’s opener to a three-game series against UC Riverside at Les Murakami Stadium.
Source: Star
