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The University of Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors (21-26, 12-9 Big West) baseball team has been simply hot the past two weeks, emerging from a two-week California road trip with a perfect 6-0 record, sweeping Big West series at Long Beach State and UC Riverside. The 'Bows return to Les Murakami Stadium for the final home stand of the 2015 season, hosting a crucial series with No. 21 Cal State Fullerton (28-21, 13-5 Big West) for senior weekend.

In addition to one of the most important on-field series, the 'Bows will also bid a Les Murakami Stadium farewell to eight seniors. This weekend, Jarrett Arakawa, Kaeo Aliviado, Eric Gleese, Andrew Jones, Juliene Jones, Steven Pollakov, Jordan Richartz and Stephen Ventimilia will all play their final games before the home crowd as Rainbow Warriors. The group will be honored during a postgame ceremony and will receive commemorative plaques.

Aided by the consecutive sweeps, Hawai'i has edged its way back into the Big West title race, but must capitalize on opportunities in this weekend's series. The Titans currently are tied for first in the league race with UC Irvine, while Hawai'i has moved into fourth behind UC Santa Barbara.

The Titans come to Honolulu on a hot streak of their own. After starting out slow, CSF has come on strong in Big West play, positioning themselves at the top of the standings during much of the conference slate. They earned a 2-1 series win over UCSB at home last week and fell to No. 2 UCLA in extras at home before making the trip.

Fourth-year head coach Rick Vanderhook has the Titans on a roll, led by a stellar pitching staff that has registered a 3.09 team ERA. At the plate, CSF bats .268, but collects timely hits to score five (5) runs a game on average.

Left fielder Josh Vargas has proven a steady leadoff hitter for the Titans, ranking fourth in the Big West batting average rankings at .351. Vargas reaches base at a team-leading .464 clip. The junior outfielder has batted in 12 runs and ties for the team lead with 34 runs of his own, thanks to 52 hits and a team-high 25 walks.

Batting third in the order, designated hitter David Olmedo-Barrera is also a serious threat to reach base, logging a .435 on-base percentage, aided by a .331 average and Big West second-best .550 slugging percentage. Once on the base path, Olmedo-Barrera has collected 10 stolen bases. He leads the Titans in RBI (36), ties in runs (34) home runs (6) and triples (5), but also tops CSF in strikeouts (42).

On the mound, junior right-handed pitcher Thomas Eshelman leads a strong pitching staff, topping the Big West with 96.1 innings pitched and 95 strikeouts, logging a league fourth-best 1.78 ERA with a 6-5 record. Opponents have hit .214 off him on average. Following him, junior righty Justin Garza has been steady, earning a 4-3 record with a 3.05 ERA, striking out 53 batters in 65 innings. Sporting a 6-2 record and 3.84 ERA, freshman left-hander John Gavin has rounded out the rotation, striking out 53 hitters in 68 innings. However, recent addition to the starting group, right-hander Miles Chambers could make an appearance in Honolulu, carrying a 3-3 record and 2.52 ERA, striking out 43 in 50 innings.
 
CSF closer Tyler Peitzmeier leads the Big West and ranks in a tie for seventh nationally with 13 saves, registering a 2-3 record and 2.77 ERA, fanning 44 hitters through 39 innings.

The Rainbow Warriors have won seven of their last eight games, including six straight outings, producing the first back-to-back conference sweeps since 2006. Upped hitting from unexpected sources has been a huge factor in the recent successes, most notably from shortstop Jacob Sheldon-Collins. The Melbourne, Victoria junior was hitting .237 coming out of non-conference play, but has quietly been moving up the hitting ranks. This week, he took over the top batting average spot with a .297 average, after belting an .800 (8-for-10) average against UC Riverside and hitting .619 on the road trip. He has scored 22 runs and batted in 11 more.

Alex Sawelson has remained sound as designated hitter, hitting .286 with 20 RBI and 15 runs, collecting eight (8) doubles and a triple. Catcher Chayce Ka'aua has been hot since the beginning of Big West play, hitting .333 in conference games. He now currently has 21 runs and 16 RBI, and leads the team with nine (9) doubles, batting .277 overall.

The latest addition to the lineup has been freshman third baseman Jonathan Weeks, who took over the hot corner across the past two series. The move paid off, as Weeks hit .348 in the six road wins, logging three (3) RBI and two (2) runs, and holding down the left side with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Through 27 games, largely in reserve, Weeks has seven (7) RBI and eight (8) runs.

At the core of the recent success has been the work of the starting pitchers and finding steady relievers to secure wins. Getting the 'Bows started each week, junior right-hander LJ Brewster is 6-4 with a 2.92 ERA, striking out 55 through 83 innings of work. Although his scoreless streak was snapped at 21 innings, Saturday right-hander Tyler Brashears registered his fifth consecutive game-winning start, moving his record to 8-4 with a Big West fourth-best 1.82 ERA, striking out 62 with just 17 walks in 88 innings pitched. Rounding out the rotation, Jarrett Arakawa met some challenges last Sunday, but he's been sturdy for the 'Bows, going 3-3 with a 3.74 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 43 innings.

The rise of closer Quintin Torres-Costa has been an essential element lately, as his scoreless streak has extended to 13 games and 21 innings, accumulating eight (8) saves and 45 strikeouts in 34 total innings. As a reliever, the redshirt sophomore lefty's ERA is 0.83 and he's registered a 1-3 overall record this season.

In addition, relievers Andrew Jones and Kyle Von Ruden have aided the 'Bows in Big West games of late, registering ERAs of 1.83 and 1.54, respectively, in conference play. Jones has been a middle reliever in each of the last two series, while Von Ruden closed up Sunday's 9-2 win at UC Riverside, going 5.1 innings without a run, allowing three (3) hits and fanning three (3).What: Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors (21-26, 12-9 Big West) vs Cal State Fullerton Titans (28-21, 13-5 Big West)
When:  Friday (May 15), 6:35 p.m.
             Saturday (May 16), 8:05 p.m.
             Sunday (May 17), 5:05 p.m. (Senior Night)
Where: Honolulu, O'ahu (Les Murakami Stadium)
Television: OC Sports (channels 16 [SD] and 1016 [HD]) will broadcast the entire series. In the booth will be Jim Leahey and Pal Eldredge.
Live Video Streaming: The TV broadcast of all three games will appear on Big West TV at http://bit.ly/UHBSB
Radio: ESPN Honolulu 1420 AM will carry the broadcast with Don and Scott Robbs. Neighbor islands can listen live on KNUI on Maui, KHLO in Hilo, KKON in Kona and KTOH on Kaua'i. 
Audio Webcast: www.espn1420am.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats will be provided by Hawai'i Athletics throughout the series at the links listed below.
           Game 1 Live Stats
           Game 2 Live Stats
           Game 3 Live Stats
Series History: Cal State Fullerton leads the overall series by a 13-5 margin (.278 UH win percentage) and met last year in a Big West Series in Fullerton, California. The series dates back to the 1979 season.
Promotions: Pepsi is the sponsor of Friday's and Saturday's contests and will award "free Pepsi for a year" to a lucky fan at both games. Friday's contest will be followed by an autograph session on the field. The University of Hawaii Federal Credit Union is the sponsor of Sunday's "Senior Night" game and will distribute 1,500 team photos and honor the departing seniors after the game with commemorative plaques.