The Tropics finish up their home stand with a four-game series against the Seattle Storm.
Game 1- The Tropics out hit the Storm 11-10 but could only push two runs across the plate as Hawaii loses the series opener. Hawaii starter Austin George allowed four runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings. He fanned four batters in the loss and falls to 2-4 with a 4.99 ERA. Seattle scored three more runs off Jesus Rios in 1 2/3 innings. He gave up two hits and a walk as he just threw gasoline on the fire. Utkan Gocek pitched himself into and out of trouble in an inning of work. He allowed two hits, walked one and struck out one batter.
Adhyapayana Mehta was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Pedro Huerta was 2 for 5 with a couple of doubles and scored a run. Will Patterson was 1 for 2 with a walk and scored a run.
Seattle wins 7-2.
Game 2- Hawaii starter Terry Hansen served up four homers to Seattle hitters as the Storm beat the Trops again. Hansen allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk. He struck out four batters in the loss and falls to 3-2 with a 2.76 ERA. Dominic Thompson allowed a run in an inning on two hits and a walk. Chih Kuang was good in this appearance. He pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings with a walk and a K.
Mehta was 1 for 4 with a triple, a ribbie and scored a run. Ramao ‘Massacre’ Saturnino was 1 for 3 with an RBI. Mike Campbell was 1 for 4 with a solo homer. Thomas Kramer was 1 for 2 with a walk and scored a run.
Seattle wins 6-3.
Game 3- The Storm continues to pound out the extra base hits as they take the third game in a row from the Pacific Division leader Tropics. Troy ‘Teddy Bear’ Reynolds gave up four runs on six hits, two of which were homers. He struck out a batter in 4 2/3 innings and takes the loss to fall to 3-1 with a 2.98 ERA. Bill Ritz pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings allowing a hit and walking two batters. Chih Kuang allowed a run on two hits and a walk in an inning of work. Juan Martinez struck out the two batters he faced.
Mike Campbell was 1 for 4 with a solo homer in the 9th inning. Tommy Kramer was 1 for 3 with an RBI. Angelo Lucchesi was 1 for 3 and scored a run. Mitch Wareham was 2 for 3 with a double, scored a run and an RBI.
Seattle wins 5-3.
Game 4- The Tropics build a 7-2 lead, but their bullpen is living on the edge this season. Reliever Utkan Gocek made the fans extremely nervous as he allowed three runs on three hits. Two of the three hits were homers. He struck out a batter in 1 2/3 innings. Juan Martinez made the fans exhale as he fanned three of the five batters he faced as he threw 1 2/3 hitless and scoreless innings.
Semih Gurani pitched 5 2/3 innings in his start for Hawaii. He allowed two runs on six hits and a walk with a K. He earned the win to improve to 4-3 with a 3.05 ERA.
Mehta was 2 for 5 with a double, stole a base, scored two runs, and drove in a run. Ramao Saturnino was 2 for 4 with a double, a walk and an RBI. Pedro Huerta was 2 for 4 with a two-run homer in the 3rd inning. Shafiq Zahir was 2 for 4 and scored a run. Will Patterson was 1 for 4 with a triple, scored a run and drove in a run. Katsumi Matsumoto was 2 for 4 with a double, scored a run and drove in two.
Hawaii wins 7-5.
The Storm wins the series 3-1.
GM Jim Walker said, “This is why it was good we had those early wins in the bank. This is one of the slumps that was coming. Seattle has our number this season too.”
