HONOLULU – Earning a series-opening victory in his first collegiate start, University of Hawai'i baseball (9-6) freshman right-handed pitcher Cade Smith held Illinois State (8-6), while the Rainbow Warriors racked up run support to collect the 6-1 victory on Thursday at Les Murakami Stadium.
 
The Rainbow Warriors benefitted from an early advantage over the Redbirds, blowing the game open late as the defense backed both Smith and left-handed reliever Kyle Hatton.
 
Getting things started and making it back-to-back games with a double, left fielder Johnny Weeks led off the third with a two-base knock, scooting to third on a passed ball before taking home on a Kekai Rios sacrifice fly. Making the most of a hard Dustin Demeter single, designated hitter Logan Pouelsen rumbled home from second to slide under the tag for the 2-0 advantage.
 
It took 44 pitches from Smith before Illinois State got a man aboard, as Collin Braithwaite broke up a fourth-inning no-hitter with a double to right field. Smith reached his 70th pitch before the Redbirds would record another. However, ILSU capitalized the second time around, as John Rave used a steal, an error and a wild pitch to tack the first and only Redbirds run on the board in the sixth.
 
Earning his first career win, Smith (1-1) dealt a 6.1-inning three-hitter with four strikeouts and no walks. With Braithwaite logging his second double in the seventh, Hatton took over and closed out the frame with two outs on three pitches, halting Braithwaite stealing third and inducing a flyout. Closing the door in the final two frames, Hatton earned his first career save with the Warriors.
 
In the meantime, Hawai'i capitalized quickly on the Redbirds' fourth pitching change of the night, as center fielder Dylan Vchulek led off the seventh with his first double of the season, racing home to re-establish the two-run lead on Maaki Yamazaki's RBI single lined into center field.
 
The Rainbow Warriors opened things up in the eighth, plating a pair on RBI doubles by Tyler Murray and Yamazaki, capping off the night with Yamazaki crossing home on Adam Fogel's  RBI single to center field for the 6-1 margin.
 
Reaching a season-high 12 hits, four UH batters collected a pair of hits, headed by Yamazaki, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run. In addition, Vchulek hit 2-for-3 with a run.
 
The four-game series between the Rainbow Warriors and Redbirds continues on Friday at Les Murakami Stadium. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m. for the second game of the series.