HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i baseball team (9-5) bounced back from a first-inning Sacred Heart (5-9) home run, the Rainbow Warriors steadily growing their lead in the 8-2 series-clinching victory on Saturday night at Les Murakami Stadium.
 
For the third straight game in the series, the Pioneers put up an early strike against the Rainbow Warriors, but faced an immediate Hawai'i retort en route to a Rainbow Warriors win. This time it was Alex Perry for Sacred Heart, who took Hawai'i starting pitcher Neil Uskali's third pitch just beyond the left field wall for a home run and a first-inning SHU lead.
 
However, once again the Rainbow Warriors had a quick answer, sparked by a Dustin Demeter one-out double in the bottom of the first. Two batters later, Demeter came in for the tying score on an Adam Fogel sacrifice fly.
 
The Rainbow Warriors made their move in the bottom of the second, as center fielder Dylan Vchulek got things started with the go-ahead run on an RBI double into the left center alley. Demeter followed with a two-run single to break the game open with a 4-1 lead.
 
Although Uskali allowed the early homer, he quickly settled in and held the Pioneers for the next four innings, only giving one additional run before yielding to Dylan Thomas in the top of the seventh.
 
The 'Bows put the game completely out of reach across the sixth and seventh, tacking up four more runs for the 8-2 advantage. Josh Rojas scored on a Marcus Doi RBI single in the sixth. Alex Fitchett brought home Kekai Rios, and Johnny Weeks capped off the scoring with a two-run double.
 
Finishing out of the game, Thomas struck out three before handing off the ninth to Casey Ryan, who struck out two and allowed no hits. Uskali (2-1) went 6.0 innings in the win, scattering seven hits and two runs, striking out six.
 
At the plate, Demeter batted 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run, while Fogel was 2-for-2 with one run and one RBI. Seven batters collected their share of 10 hits, marking UH's fifth game in the last seven with a minimum of 10 team hits.
 
With the win, Hawai'i takes a 3-0 series lead. The Rainbow Warriors and Pioneers close off the series on Sunday with a 1:05 p.m. first pitch at Les Murakami Stadium.