HONOLULU — That was a new one for Rich Hill.
In a wild sequence with two outs in the bottom of the 13th inning, Jared Quandt took a big lead from third on a 0-2 count, then sprung for home plate. UC Davis’ Carter Delaney fired a rushed pitch that was fouled off by UH’s David Vergel de Dios just as Quandt dove down to the plate.
There was a moment of uncertainty of what happened, but then home plate umpire Dax Upton emphatically pointed toward Delaney and down at the plate.
Walk-off balk. Final, 2-1 UH.
[Note: See below for more photos of Hawaii-UC Davis baseball.]
As delirious UH players sprinted from the dugout and chased Vergel de Dios into the outfield, UC Davis coach Tommy Nicholson came out for an explanation from the officials. He did not argue for long, though, and the stunned Aggies emerged from the dugout to shake hands.
“I'm not sure that I've had that in the books in my life, but all the credit goes to Jared Quandt,” Hill said. “He just walked down there deep, and took off before (Delaney) had a chance to really start his windup. I think that's where the balk was.”
Those who stuck around among a Monday night crowd of 1,566 (3,255 tickets issued) witnessed UH (17-5, 6-3 Big West) achieve the three-game series sweep and fifth straight win overall for its best 22-game start since 1998.
UH hosts Hawaii Hilo at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday and will then embark for Cal State Northridge for a normal Friday-to-Sunday Big West series.
The ‘Bows will have to reckon with at least one impactful injury in the weeks ahead. Third baseman Elijah Ickes, who filled in at shortstop for a month for injured all-conference teammate Jordan Donahue, hurt his non-throwing hand on a slide in Sunday’s 16-0 rout of UCD, two games into Donahue’s return.
Quandt, who made a highlight diving catch in right in the top of the ninth and led off the 13th with a walk, landed awkwardly as he tried to brace himself from Vergel de Dios’ foul ball on his steal attempt and appeared to be favoring his left arm. The senior downplayed it as a “tweak” afterward.
“It's always next man up with us, and that's just how it's always been in this program,” Quandt said. “And it's a team where, luckily, we have a lot of depth, and we got a lot of guys that can play, and (the coaches) did a great job recruiting, bringing in a bunch of ballers.”
On the winning moment of a nearly four-hour game — a called play, Hill said — Quandt said the team’s objective was indeed to draw a balk. Delaney was in his sixth inning of relief and had yet to allow a run.
Quandt said he had attempted to steal home before, but never in a walk-off situation. “A lot of times it does draw a balk, and the pitcher panics, steps off in a way that they're not supposed to, and the run scores. That's kind of what we're shooting for.”
He added, “(Delaney’s) taking his time getting to the plate, and it’s a leverage count for them. And we’re just taking a chance there, taking a gamble, and just trying to pick them apart a little bit. And it worked out,” he said.
He shouted out third baseman Kedren Kinzie, who came in as a defensive replacement in the top of the 12th. The Waiakea High graduate smacked a two-out single to left to get Quandt to third; UCD then elected to intentionally walk Donahue to load the bases and bring up the backup-backup catcher Vergel de Dios, a Baldwin graduate from Kahului.
“Once I got in, I was like, ‘yeah, we're probably gonna win this game,’” Vergel de Dios said. “I mean, it's kind of what we do, you know, with the Manoa Magic and stuff.”
Indeed, the Rainbow Warriors’ fifth walk-off win of the season came courtesy of several heroes in a game that seemed to go against UH from the outset. UC Davis scored in the top of the first and chased UH starter Cooper Walls after two innings of work. Meanwhile, Aggies starter Bryan Green was mostly untouchable for six innings as he struck out nine and walked one.
Pinch hitter Aidan Kuni had a key hit to score Donahue from second to tie it at 1-1 in the seventh.
Middle relievers Ethan Thomas and Cory Ronan helped get UH to the endgame, and top reliever Isaiah Magdaleno took over. Magdaleno (2-0) threw seven innings of scoreless relief from the seventh to 13th frames to give his team several chances to win it.
It was the longest relief outing of Magdaleno’s life. He said he knew his time would come by the end of the series, which was moved back a day because of exams.
Magdaleno, who struck out three against just two hits and no walks, faced the minimum from the ninth through 13th. A one-out baserunner via Xaige Lancaster’s error at third in the top of the 11th was erased by a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
“I just felt like it was more so cruise control, just going out there, executing my pitches, and really just staying focused in between innings,” Magdaleno said. “Sticking with my routine, getting ready for the next one.”
UH center fielder Matthew Miura was 8-for-9 with six walks for the series; he made his first out against UCD in extra frames Monday.
Donahue, in just his fourth game of the season, went 4-for-5 Monday and had seven hits across the last two games.
The best opportunity for UC Davis (11-10, 3-3) to go home with a victory came in the eighth, when the Aggies led off with back-to-back hits and Jaxon Murphy reached third with no outs. But Magdaleno ably fielded a squeeze attempt from Riley Acosta, throwing home to Hunter Faildo to get Murphy for the second out.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
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