TEMPE, Ariz. – The University of Hawai'i Rainbow baseball team (35-27) stayed alive, beating the No. 19 San Diego Toreros (37-22) 12-9 in the NCAA Tempe Regional elimination game at Packard Stadium on the campus of Arizona State Sunday. Blair Walters (2-1) got the win for UH while Matt Hauser (4-3) took the loss for USD.

 

David Freitas went 3-for-4 with four RBI, two runs, a home run and a double while Greg Garcia doubled twice, going 3-for-5 with four RBI. Kolten Wong was 3-for-6 with two runs while Piikea Kitamura going 2-for-3 with a double and three runs. Matt Roquemore also had a three-hit day with two runs while Chase Koissian went 2-for-5 with one RBI. Kevin Macdonald homered with Jeffrey Van Doornum scoring twice.

 

Sam Spangler was written in the starting lineup as the Rainbow pitcher, but felt some tenderness just prior to gametime, forcing Mike Trapasso to start Zach Gallagher. Gallagher pitched 5.1 innings, allowing just one earned run in the no-decision.

 

Gallagher fell into some tough luck in the top of the first as USD scored on a two-out double that the Rainbows lost in the sun. But Garcia got it back for UH in the bottom of the inning, hitting a two-run double to deep center, putting them ahead 2-1.

 

Garcia then drove in another run in the bottom of the third, but UH left the bases loaded in the inning, keeping the Rainbow edge at 3-1. Koissian added the Hawai'i lead in the bottom of the fifth with a RBI-single up the middle, making it 4-1.

 

The Toreros then took advantage of a couple of Rainbow miscues in the top of the sixth, scoring five unearned runs on just two base hits, putting USD ahead 6-4. But Hawai'i responded in the bottom of the inning. Roquemore scored the first run of the inning on a wild pitch before Freitas and Garcia added RBI-singles. Van Doornum later scored, capping the four-run inning, to get it to 8-6.

 

UH then got the long ball going in the bottom of the seventh as Macdonald hit a solo home run before Freitas dropped a three-run homer, pushing the Rainbow lead to 12-6. Macdonald's homer was the 24th of his career, putting the senior in a tie for second on the all-time UH home run list.

 

San Diego was able to put up three runs in the top of the ninth, making the final score 12-9.

 

Hawai'i will now face No. 1 Arizona State tonight at 6:00 p.m. (3 p.m. HST) in the regional championship. If UH wins that game, they will then have to face the Sun Devils again Monday at 6:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. HST) for the chance to advance to a Super Regional.

 

-UH-