The Tropics return home for the last home stand before the Brewster Baseball Association All Star Break. The Trops will host the Madison Wolves to start the home stand in a four-game matchup. Hawaii holds a slim 87-84 lead over Madison All-Time and is 3-1 this season.
The Hawaii Tropics pitching staff one-hits the Madison Wolves but lose in the series opener. Hawaii starter Utbah ‘Crawdad Me’ bin Muta was the hard luck loser as he gave up two runs on a two-run blast in the 6th inning. Walks hurt him all day as he issued five while fanning three batters as he falls to 7-6 with a 3.18 ERA. Utkan Gocek no hit the Wolves for 1.2 innings with two Ks and Bill Phillips no hit them for two innings. He also walked two and struck out two.
The Trops offense had just five hits and worked two walks while striking out eight times in the loss. Angelo Lucchesi led all Hawaii hitters going 2 for 4 with a double (10).
Madison wins 2-0.
The Hawaii offense continued its slumber until the 7th inning. Trailing 3-1, the Trops scored on a two-run double off the bat of Felipe Hernandez. Hernandez had two doubles on the day (5) but none bigger than the shot off the wall in right center.
“A bit more loft and that ball would have left the yard.”, said Hawaii Manager Rich Kerr.
In the 8th, the Trops Russ McHaney broke the 3-3 stalemate with a two-run homer to left center that traveled 416 feet. Luis Estrada followed with a double, move to third on a flyball by Frank McMillan then scored on a sac fly by Carlos Sanchez to give the Tropics a nice three run cushion.
Chih Kuang picthed a scoreless 9th with a walk to earn the save for reliever Luis Perez. Perez improved to 6-0 with one scoreless inning. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out one.
Hawaii wins 6-3.
The Trops get a three-run homer by Frank McMillan and a Grand Slam by rookie Jake Diamond as they trample the Wolves 9-3. Diamond was 2 for 5 with five ribbies and McMillan was 1 for 5. SS Julian Rivera added an RBI single and later scored a run.
Semih Gurani held the Madison Wolves offense to a run on five hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out six as he improves to 7=3 with a 2.22 ERA.
Hawaii wins 9-3.
The Wolves offense circled their prey then attacked scoring 15 runs on 14 hits while also drawing 5 walks in a rout of the Trops. Hawaii starter Elvin Hilliard allowed just one hit through two innings but then the flood gates opened as the Wolves scored eight runs on six hits and two walks in 3.2 innings. Hilliard walked off the field shaking his head as reliever Bill Williams took his warm up tosses. Williams gave up three runs in an inning of work then passed the ball to Utkan Gocek who proceeded to give up two runs in 1.2 innings. Phil Thompson gave up two more meaningless runs later in the game.
The Hawaii offense did fight back scoring 9 runs on 17 hits and drawing two walks. Luis Estrada hit his 20th bomb of the season and drove in five runs on the day. Russ McHaney was 3 for 4 with a double (8) and a solo homer (11). He drove in two runs and scored one. Carlos Sanchez was 2 for 5 with a double (17) with an RBI and a run scored.
Madison wins 15-9.
The Trops and the Wolves split the four-game series.
Trops GM Jim Walker said, “We keep getting series splits while the Popes keep taking series. If you blink, they will disappear when you open your eyes.”
Pacific Division Standings as of July 2, 2058
Frick League Wildcard Standings
