Hawaii‘s Isaiah Magdaleno pitches a gem to shut out UC Riverside
· Yahoo Sports
Quenching an appetite for destruction, Isaiah Magdaleno pitched a one-hitter, striking out a career-high 16, in the Hawaii baseball team’s 1-0 victory over UC Riverside at Les Murakami Stadium.
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A crowd of 2,380 saw Magdaleno take a no-hitter into the ninth inning. But with one out, UCR’s David Whittle hit a chopper that bounced over third baseman Tate Shimao’s outstretched reach. Shortstop Taylor Takata fielded the ball, but his long throw was too late to get Whittle at first base.
After a mound visit from head coach Rich Hill, Magdaleno got the final two outs — punctuated by an aloha-ball strikeout of Andrew Rivas — for the second complete game by a Rainbow Warrior in Hill’s 251 games at UH.
Of Hill’s mound visit, Magdaleno said, “He told me to calm down and reset. The no-hitter was gone, but I still had a job to do.”
It was a much-needed outcome for the ’Bows, who entered the stretch that Hill billed as “winning time.” The 22-19 ’Bows improved to 11-11 in the Big West, remaining in fifth place. The top five teams qualify for the Big West Tournament.
A week earlier, Hill and pitching coaching Keith Zuniga placed a 60-pitch limit on Magdaleno against sixth-ranked Oregon State. Magdaleno exited in the third inning after relinquishing six runs.
“It turned out to be a blessing in disguise,” Hill said of the early exit.
Zuniga said that abbreviated outing kept Magdaleno well rested for the opener of the three-game series against UCR. “Because this is what matters,” Zuniga said.
Zuniga said Magdaleno was diligent in studying video and scouting reports of the Highlanders and in his weight training. On Friday afternoon, Magdaleno went to his go-to meal.
“L&L barbecue chicken and two eggs,” Magdaleno said.
Catcher Jake Redding said: “I knew from the get-go Isaiah was going to have a good day. His catch play and his bullpen (session) before the game, there was so much intent behind it. It just looked a little different from what I’d seen in the past.”
Magdaleno struck out two in the first inning, three in the second, and two each in the third and fourth innings.
He had his choice of every pitch on the menu: a 91 mph four-seam fastball, changeup, curve, cutter and slider.
“He even toyed around with a sinker that we didn’t throw much in the past,”Redding said. “We had some really good success with it.”
Magdaleno said: “I was able to stay calm, cool and collected between pitches — and throw strikes.”
In the first seven innings, he threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of 22 batters.
Zuniga said Magdaleno was able to drop a changeup into the zone for an early strike. In a pitcher’s count, Magdaleno bounced the changeup to induce a swing-and-a-miss.
“It looks like a fastball out of his hand, but it’s a Bugs Bunny changeup — 10 to 12 mph slower than his fastball,” Zuniga said. “That’s what makes it difficult for hitters. Guys can handle hard changeups when they can keep their bats through the zone and keep it in play. But when you catch people on their front foot, that thing just falls off the table. It all starts with his arm speed.”
Magdaleno also was helped by Redding’s alertness. In the UCR sixth, Robert Pitts was ruled to have been hit on the ankle by a 1-2 pitch. Redding signaled to Hill for a challenge.
“I saw (Pitts) buckle his knee a little bit,” Redding said. “I didn’t think that was a hit by pitch. I told Rich, ‘I think I saw something with his knee, if it hit him at all.’ Back there, I was able to catch that ball fine. There was nothing impeding that path.”
The umpires voided the hit by pitch, reversing it to a called third strike on Pitts.
As the game progressed, the ’Bows adhered to the don’t-tell rule on no-hitters. Pitcher Zac Tenn and shortstop Elijah Ickes formed a barrier to keep teammates from talking to Magdaleno in the dugout.
“I had two security guards — Zac Tenn and Elijah,” said Magdaleno, who was aware of the no-hitter. “Nobody was coming over to talk to me. I just tried to stay calm and throw strikes and get the batters out.”
The ’Bows got all the offense they needed in the first inning. Shimao doubled and scored on Mana Lau Kong’s bloop single to right. Lau Kong fell behind 0-2, then battled to a full count.
“Tough at-bat,” Hill said. “He could have buckled. He had a couple good takes with two strikes. He got a full count and touched it ugly, and that’s what happens.”
Lau Kong said: “I got that inside slider, fought it off and got it to the outfield.”