FRESNO, Calif. - Steven Wright proved it's not how you start but how you finish.
Wright got off to a slow start, but recovered well enough to strike out 13 and allow only four hits over eight innings to lead Hawai'i to an 8-0 win over Louisiana Tech in the opening game of the Western Athletic Conference Thursday afternoon at Pete Beiden Field.
The win was Wright's 11th in 13 decisions. The 13 strikeouts tied a career-high set back on March 10 against Western Illinois.
"It was all right," Wright said. "I didn't feel like I had my best stuff. If I don't have my best stuff, I try to stay aggressive.
"The strikeouts were because I was way ahead in the counts. I was just spotting my fastball early. I threw it better later in the game and then threw some off-speed."
Mike Trapasso, Hawai'i coach, admitted he was concerned about Wright in the early going.
"The first inning he didn't have anything," Trapasso said. "The second inning he threw a couple of pitches that had some life to them. He threw better later in the game."
The Rainbows took a 1-0 lead off Luke Burnett, 4-6, when Eli Christiansen hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second. Hawai'i added two in the fourth and one in the sixth before exploding for four runs, one earned, in the eighth off reliever Steve Alverson.
Matt Inouye, Joe Spiers and Christiansen drove in two runs apiece for Hawai'i (41-13). Luis Avila slammed a solo homer for the winners.
Adam Cobb singled twice for the Bulldogs, who dropped to 32-24.
FRESNO STATE 10,
SACRAMENTO STATE 2
The host Bulldogs, 40-16, scored three runs in the first two innings and rolled to an easy first-round win over the Hornets, 24-27.
Fresno State plays San Jose State at 3 p.m. and Sac State plays Louisiana Tech at 11 a.m.
Doug Fister allowed only two runs and five hits over eight innings to improve to 8-5. He fanned eight and walked only one hitter.
Fresno State took a 1-0 lead on Nick Moresi's run-scoring infield out. The top-seeded Bulldogs added two in the second when Ozzie Lewis (4-for-5) singled with runners at second and third following an error, walk and infield out.
Sacramento State scored one in the fourth to make it 3-1, but Kent Sakamoto homered to make it 4-1. The Hornets cut the lead to 4-2 in the top of the eighth on Buddy Morales' (3-for-4) solo homer only to see Fresno State explode for six runs in the bottom of the inning.
•Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1281