The Tropics play the final three games of the home stand against the Vancouver Mounties at ‘Iolani Palace.
Game 1- Three Hawaii pitchers combine for a rare three hit shutout of the Vancouver Mounties in the series opener. Elvin Hilliard kicked it off with 4.2 scoreless innings giving up two hits while fanning five. Bill Phillips picked up where Hilliard left off with 2.1 one hit innings. He walked one and struck out three as he earned the win to improve to 4-6 with a 3.52 ERA. Juan Martinez pitched two clean innings with a K to earn his 6th save.
DH Russ McHaney powered the Hawaii offense going 3 for 4 with a two-run homer (7), scored two runs and drove in four. 1B Tomas Borges was 1 for 3 with a walk, stole a base (12) and scored two runs. Bob Chastain was 1 for 4 with a double (17) and scored a run. CF Angelo Lucchesi was 1 for 3 with an RBI double (19) in the 5th inning to plate Chastain.
Hawaii wins 5-0.
Game 2- The Mounties turned the tables on the Trops as they shut down the Hawaii offense. They gave up just a run on four hits and a couple of walks as Vancouver evens the series 1-1.
Tomas Borges, Russ McHaney, Adhyapayana Mehta and Shafiq Zahir each had a hit for the Tropics. Zahir scored the lone run on a fielder’s choice 4-3 groundout by Mitch Wareham in the 3rd.
Bill Williams took the loss for Hawaii after throwing 66 pitches in 4.1 innings. He allowed two runs on six hits with two Ks. He falls to 6-6 with a 5.61 ERA. Gerardo Rea was absolutely horrible. He gave up four runs on two hits and walked three while getting just one out.
Hawaii Manager Rich Kerr said of Rea, “Even his teammates have had enough of his performance this season.”
Vancouver wins 6-1.
Game 3- The Hawaii Tropics looked as if they were going to drop another game to Vancouver and lose yet another series in a lost season. The Trops trailed the Mounties 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th with closer Xuan Ngo entering the game. Ngo has been lights out this season and he was set to face Mehta, Thomas Kramer and Bob Chastain. He struck out Mehta with a wicked curveball that broke down and away with Mehta swinging at air. Tommy Kramer took a strike then lined a fastball about 6 feet over Mounties SS Quintin Trewartha for a double. Bob Chastian hit a slow roller to second that moved Kramer to third with the game tying run. With two out, Carlos Sanchez dug into the box. Ngo threw Sanchez a ball high then a curve that wasn’t even close. Now down 2-0, Ngo threw a fastball that Sanchez took for strike one. Ngo then threw a curveball that again wasn’t close. The last pitch was too close. Ngo’s fastball was hammered by Sanchez 432 feet to left center with the game winner. Sanchez touched home and as is Hawaii Tropics tradition, was showered with Brawndo.
Hawaii pitcher Semih Gurani pitched 5.2 innings allowing a run on three hits with six Ks. Bill Phillips followed that with 1.1 scoreless inning giving up just a hit. Juan Martinez was on the hook for before the Sanchez heroics as he gave up a run on three hits in 1.2 innings. Troy ‘Teddy Bear’ Reynolds faced one batter in the game and struck him out and ended as the game winner. He is now 5-4 with a 2.48 ERA.
Hawaii wins 3-2.
The Tropics wins the series 2-1.
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