HONOLULU – Using powerful efforts by the Rainbow Warrior seniors to gain the edge, the University of Hawai'i baseball team (12-6) knocked out both games of Saturday's doubleheader with Illinois State (8-9), completing the perfect four-game series sweep over the visiting Redbirds.
 
Across the two-game, 16-inning stretch, UH seniors accounted for 12 hits, 12 RBI and five runs, as well as a seven-inning complete game pitching win.
 
Game 1: Hawai'i 7, Illinois State 3
The Rainbow Warriors built an early lead and expanded it to a commanding advantage off huge-scoring hits from the Warrior seniors, fending off a late Redbirds push in the final frame of the four-run victory, in the seven-inning affair to start the day.
 
The Rainbow Warriors got things moving early as Illinois State starter Brent Headrick wasn't finding the zone, using a Johnny Weeks single and two consecutive walks to set up senior catcher Chayce Ka'aua for a three-run double into the left center alleyway.
 
After the tough start, Headrick settled in for four scoreless innings, but saw trouble again in the sixth. Right fielder Adam Fogel belted a leadoff double into the alley and sent ILSU to the bullpen for Mitch Vogrin. Ka'aua followed with an RBI single into shallow center to plate his fourth runner of the day and senior Eric Ramirez followed with a two-run homer into the street beyond the second right field fence. Senior Center fielder Dylan Vchulek capped off the frame with an RBI single ricocheted off Vogrin to bring Daylen Calicdan home for the final score.
 
Intent on going the distance, senior right-handed starter Neil Uskali tossed six scoreless innings with just two hits, but the charging Redbirds finally got to him in the seventh, logging three runs on three hits to trim the final margin to 7-3. Uskali (3-1) became the first UH pitcher to reach three wins on the year after the complete game five-hitter, collecting four strikeouts.
 
Ka'aua led all UH batters, hitting 2-for-3 with a career-best four RBI in game three.
 
Game 2: Hawai'i 7, Illinois State 6
Again the Rainbow Warriors were called upon for some offensive heroics and delivered, fighting back to win after clawing back from a first-inning deficit to the Redbirds – who had their sights on denying the sweep.
 
Starter Logan Pouelsen struggled to put away Redbird hitters early in the finale, with Illinois State registering four runs right out of the gate for their then-largest lead of the series.
 
Biding their time against Redbirds starter Colton Johnson, Hawai'i had to chip away at the lead despite missed opportunities in each frame. After another Illinois State run reached the scoreboard in the fifth, the Rainbow Warriors started to make their move.
 
Ramirez was able to tack up the first UH score after reaching via walk, coming home on an error play that put Shortstop Maaki Yamazaki on the basepath. Back-to-back singles by Weeks and Fogel scratched Yamazaki across and the 'Bows were in business.
 
Facing a 5-2 deficit with Matt Walker on the mound for ILSU, catcher Tyler Murray got the 'Bows started in the fifth, reaching third with the bases loaded courtesy of a pair of walks. Vchulek pushed one run through with an RBI single, but Hawai'i wasn't finished for the frame. Collecting his fourth hit of the night, Weeks belted a three-run double into the right field corner to scratch out the deficit and grant Hawai'i its first lead at 6-5.
 
Despite the presence of UH's top reliever on the bump, closer Dylan Thomas, the Redbirds made their move, rallying to a 6-6 tie in the eighth on a John Rave sacrifice fly.
 
However, in the home half, the Rainbow Warriors would not be denied, using a Fogel leadoff single to push past the Redbirds again on Murray's sac fly to center field for the 7-6 advantage.
 
Making amends for the tie run, Thomas (1-0) struck out the side in the ninth to secure his first win of the year and lock up the four-game sweep. Thomas finished with four strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Kash Koltermann and Kyle Hatton combined for 3.1 innings of relief while UH rallied, allowing a hit, a run and two walks.
 
Weeks finished with a career game, hitting 4-for-5 with three RBI in the finale. Fogel wasn't far behind, batting 3-for-4 with an RBI and the game-winning run.
 
Rising to the top of the latest Big West Standings, the sweep moves UH to a 12-6 record; UC Irvine sits in second at 10-7. The Rainbow Warriors return to action next week in the final home non-conference series, hosting Seton Hall in a four-game set at Les Murakami Stadium, Friday-Monday (March 23-26). The Pirates (7-9) will face Oklahoma State and Lafayette next week before heading to Honolulu.