MINNEAPOLIS – Right-handed starter Neil Uskali dealt out a complete game shutout to help the University of Hawai"i (5-5) baseball squad to its second victory over defending Big Ten Champion Minnesota (5-4) on Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Rainbow Warrior offense also chipped in eight hits, including two home runs, to drive UH in the 4-0 win.
 
The Rainbow Warriors batted well behind the stout pitching of the Cuesta College transfer, Uskali, who held the Gophers without a hit in five innings of Saturday's Dairy Queen Classic contest.
 
Held without a score in the first frame for the first time on this trip, the Rainbow Warriors were still able to nab an early score. UH took advantage of a pair of Minnesota miscues, as catcher Kekai Rios reached on an error by Minnesota pitcher Brett Schulze, later coming home on a wild pitch after first baseman Logan Pouelsen moved him over via the first UH hit of the night.
 
While the Gophers muted the Rainbow Warriors for a pair of innings, UH added to their lead in the fifth. With two outs against the Rainbow Warriors, three consecutive hits scratched a run across, as Demeter went home on Josh Rojas' single ricocheted off Schultze for the 2-0 advantage.
 
Stepping in for Schulze after just five innings, Jeff Fasching collected an out on his first batter, but left fielder Alex Fitchett drove deep to left center for his second home run this week, helping the 'Bows to chase him off after just three batters and a 3-0 Hawai'i lead.
 
Rookie right fielder Jacob Sniffin put another one out of the park for the Rainbow Warriors in the eighth, sending a career-first home run beyond right center to push the lead to four runs; an advantage the Rainbow Warriors would maintain through the final pitch.
 
Although the Rainbow Warriors took care of business on offense, the real story on Saturday was the five-hit complete came shutout delivered by junior right-hander Neil Uskali (2-1) in his third start. All five Gopher hits were just singles, as Uskali struck out two batters and walked only one in the win. For UMN, Schulze (0-1) took the loss, throwing 5.0 innings with two runs given on five hits.
 
The Rainbow Warriors tabbed the first shutout of the year, while Uskali became the first Rainbow Warrior pitcher this campaign to surpass the eight-inning mark en route to a complete game.
 
At the plate, Sniffin and Adam Fogel each finished with two hits, batting 2-for-3 and 2-for-5, respectively.
 
On the week, the Rainbow Warriors are 2-1 and are now 1-1 in Dairy Queen Classic games. The tournament continues on Sunday, with the Rainbow Warriors meeting Oral Roberts (7-3). The Eagles entered the weekend 8-1, but fell to Minnesota in 13 innings on Friday and dropped a 7-5 contest to Iowa in the Saturday early game. First pitch between the Rainbow Warriors and Eagles is slated for 7:15 a.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium.