UC Riverside baseball team defeats Hawaii, 7-6

The UC Riverside baseball team scored the winning run on a walk-off walk to defeat Hawaii 7-6 today at the Riverside (Calif.) Sports Complex.

With the score tied at 6, UCR’s Anthony McFarland doubled down the left-field line for his fourth hit of the game. McFarland went to third on Anthony Mata’s sacrifice. The Rainbow Warriors opted to intentionally walk pinch hitter Alfredo Capacete and Nick Poss to fill the bases. Connor Harrison’s 3-2 pitch to Mason Grace was high, enabling McFarland to come home with the decisive run.

Cruz Barrios, who started Friday’s opener of the three-game series, pitched the final three innings today to earn the victory.

The ’Bows appeared to be coasting after Stone Miyao drew a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead to 5-1 in the fourth. But for the second consecutive inning, the ’Bows stranded three. The missed opportunities would prove costly as the Highlanders scored two in the fifth to close to 5-3 and three in the sixth to take a 6-5 lead.

By winning Friday and today, the Highlanders (9-30 overall, 3-15 in the Big West) earned their first series victory of the season. The ’Bows fell to 21-15 and 10-8.

The ’Bows are halfway through this eight-game road trip. They play Pepperdine on Wednesday and then begin a three-game series against UC Irvine on Friday.