SENIOR DAY: Fullerton 5, Hawaii 2

Sunday marks the final home game for eight University of Hawaii baseball seniors, including four-year starters Kaeo Aliviado and Stephen Ventimilia and fifth-year senior Jarrett Arakawa.

Aliviado homered in a 4-2 loss to Cal State Fullerton that ended around 11:30 p.m. last night. The story didn’t make it into all of the newspapers, so here’s a quick recap.

Saturday’s game started at 8:05 p.m. and had a really weird feel to it. Even with UH trailing by only two runs in the final three innings, the atmosphere was pretty much dead, certainly by the time it hit 11 p.m.

Hawaii needs a win today to have its first winning season in three years in the BWC.

LINEUPS

Cal State Fullerton (30-22, 15-5)
Josh Vargas, LF (.355, 7 2b, 2 3b, 34 runs)
Tyler Stieb, CF (.311, 9 2b, 1 3b, 23 runs)
David Olmedo-Barrera, DH (.333, 6 2b, 5 3b, 7 HR, 38 RBIs)
Dustin Vaught, RF (.265, 3 2b, 30 runs)
Jerrod Bravo, 3B (.286, 4 2b, 2 3b, 20 runs)
Josh Estil, 1B (.281, 8 2b, 1 3b, 5 HR, 30 RBIs)
Timmy Richards, SS (.256, 8 2b, 1 3b, 24 runs)
A.J. Kennedy, C (.169, 7 2b, 16 RBIs)
Taylor Bryant, 2B (.243, 1 2b, 2 HR, 11 RBIs)
RHP Connor Seabold (2-3, 3.50 ERA, 43 2/3 IP, 49 K)

Hawaii (21-27, 12-10)
Stephen Ventimilia, 2B (.248, 6 2b, 1 3b, 25 runs)
Alan Baldwin, LF (.257, 5 2b, 2 3b, 1 HR, 19 runs)
Kaeo Aliviado, CF (.247, 8 2b, 1 3b, 5 HR, 29 RBIs)
Alex Sawelson, DH (.273, 8 2b, 1 3b, 20 RBIs)
Eric Ramirez, 1B (.277, 4 2b, 29 RBIs)
Chayce Ka’aua, C (.270, 9 2b, 16 RBIs)
Jacob Sheldon-Collins, SS (.289, 5 2b, 2 3b, 22 runs)
Jonathan Weeks, 3B (.260, 1 2b, 1 3b, 8 RBIs)
Matt LoCoco, RF (.164, 3 2b, 8 runs)
LHP Jarrett Arakawa (3-3, 3.74 ERA, 43 1/3 IP, 21 K)

TOP 1: 14-pitch solid first inning for Arakawa, who gives up a leadoff single but then paints three straight pitches on the corner to strike out Olmedo-Barrera. Titans leave a runner in scoring position.

TOP 2: Fullerton scores first for the third straight game as Bravo leads off with a double and scored on Kennedy’s one-out single. Aliviado tries to throw out Richards at third but the ball gets away. Arakawa backs it up and throws out Kennedy at third but Richards scores to make it 2-0.

BOT 3: Weeks draws a leadoff walk and is on second with two outs for Baldwin, who delivers UH’s first run-scoring hit with RISP in the series. Two-out single up the middle makes it 2-1. Aliviado JUST MISSES another home run but it goes off the top of the wall for a double and Baldwin scores to tie the game. Oh man. Aliviado missed that by maybe two or three feet. Team-leading 30th RBI for Aliviado.

TOP 5: Hawaii gives up an awful run on errors by Sheldon-Collins and Baldwin. Bryant reaches on the Sheldon-Collins error and is on second with one out for Stieb who singles to left. Fullerton holds Bryant and Baldwin’s throw comes in to second instead of the cutoff man and it’s low and bounces away from Ventimilia and Bryant is about to score. Arakawa gets Olmedo-Barrera to hit into a double play but Fullerton takes the lead.

TOP 6: Arakawa throws a season-high 98 pitches. He allowed the leadoff hitter on base every inning and gives up four runs but only two earned as the defense makes three errors behind him. No walks and five strikeouts.

Fullerton adds a run in the seventh when Stieb triples with two outs off Von Ruden. Andrew Jones comes in and throws a wild pitch on a 2-0 fastball to allow the runner to score to make it 5-2.

Hawaii finishes 12-12 in conference play after getting swept by Fullerton. UH is currently sixth in the Big West and was 8-1 against the teams below it but 1-11 against the four teams within three games of the lead heading into the final week.

Could anything be more appropriate than that? Kaeo Aliviado, for the final defensive out by UH at home this year, robs Taylor Bryant of extra bases with a diving catch near the track in center field. Another really cool moment for him. Nice way to end his career.

Aliviado gets a huge round of applause as he comes to bat in the ninth and reaches on an infield single. Pollakov comes in as a pinch hitter and reaches on an error before Ramirez hits into a double play to end it.