HONOLULU – Rutgers baseball (10-2) erased a 7-1 deficit with eight unanswered runs, but Hawaii (5-8) rallied for four in the eighth to pull out an 11-10 win in the series opener Friday at Les Murakami Stadium. The Scarlet Knights' seven-game winning streak came to an end.
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"It was the first time this year that we had a lead late and did not win," head coach
Steve Owens said. "It's going to happen. We had a two-run lead, one out, with an 0-2 count on the nine hitter, and they score four runs in that inning. They got a couple hits and then scored two on a debacle. The message is we have to handle their style better. We have to cut down on our strikeouts offensively, but overall played hard. It would have been easy for an average team to get blown out after falling behind 7-1, but we didn't. The team stayed the course, came back, took the lead and fully expected to win. It just didn't happen tonight."
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The offense continued its productivity with 10 runs to reach double figures for the seventh time.
Danny DiGeorgio matched his career high with four hits, while
Mike Nyisztor reached his last four plate appearances on three singles and a walk. That included a go-ahead, two-run single in the seventh inning.
Jordan Sweeney scored three runs after boarding via double, walk and single. In addition,
Nick Cimillo posted two singles with a walk to put his on-base percentage at .623 for the season.
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On the mound,
Sam Bello dealt three scoreless innings of relief to leave with the lead. The right-hander escaped runners on second and third with no outs in the fifth yielding no runs after retiring three-straight.
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Hawaii posted two in the third, five in the fourth and four in the eighth. The go-ahead runs scored via a passed ball and error. It was the first meeting on the diamond between the Scarlet Knights and Rainbow Warriors.
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- B3 | The Rainbow Warriors scored first on a two-out RBI single by Dallas Duarte.
- T4 | Rutgers got one back when Ryan Lasko reached on a two-base error and scored on an RBI double by Chris Brito to make it 2-1.
- B4 | Hawaii scored five runs on two hits with an error to take a 7-1 advantage.
- T5 | Quickly responding, the Scarlet Knights posted a four-spot. Sweeney led off with a double to right field and advanced on an infield single by Nyisztor. With one out, DiGeorgio found the hole on the right side for an RBI single, and pushed Nyisztor to third. Lasko followed with an RBI groundout, with Brito being hit by pitch to put two aboard. Next up, Cimillo delivered an RBI single up the middle. Brito crossed as the fourth run of the rally on a wild pitch.
- T7 | RU put another four on the board to take the lead, 9-7. Brito absorbed a pitch to leadoff and Cimillo walked to promptly put traffic on the base paths. Evan Sleight then slashed a single to left field to load the bases for Tony Santa Maria, who put the ball in play for an RBI fielder's choice. Sweeney walked to reload the bases, with Nyisztor following with a two-run single to put the Scarlet Knights on top. Richie Schiekofer later beat out a relay to first base for an RBI that scored Sweeney.
- B8 | Hawaii used three consecutive singles to plate one before a two-out double placed two in scoring position. A passed ball allowed the go-ahead run to cross, as an error tacked on another on the play.
- T9 | Sweeney picked up a one-out single and Nyisztor walked to put the tying runs on base. After a strikeout, DiGeorgio kept the game alive with an RBI single, but Dalton Renne entered and secured one out for the save.
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The series continues with a Saturday doubleheader at Les Murakami Stadium. The first game is scheduled to start at 6:05 p.m. ET as a seven-inning contest. The nightcap will be nine innings in regulation.
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"We were in this position two weeks ago," Owens said. "A long Friday game and a doubleheader the next day. We came out and played very well, I'm expecting the same from the guys tomorrow."
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