HONOLULU – Trailing 2-0 in the series, the University of Hawai'i baseball team (23-19, 9-9 BWC) made all the right offensive moves on Sunday against Cal Poly (21-25, 8-7 BWC) at Les Murakami Stadium, taking the finale with a solid offensive approach behind a pair of solid pitchers.
 
Making his first career start, senior right-hander Brody Hagel-Pitt knocked down 13 of the first 14 batters he faced to give the 'Bows some breathing room. In the meantime, the 'Bows hitters scored in back-to-back innings to set the tone early. After Dylan Vchulek led off the third with a single, he came around to put up UH's first lead on a Dustin Demeter sacrifice fly. Maaki Yamazaki expanded the advantage in the fourth with an RBI double to plate Alex Baeza.
 
The Mustangs finally got to Hagel-Pitt in the fifth, putting up a single run off Scott Ogrin's RBI double.
 
With the 'Bows in the driver seat and a 2-1 advantage, Hawai'i went to typical closer Dylan Thomas for an extended relief appearance in the sixth. The ever-steady Thomas' presence sparked another UH push, as an Eric Ramirez RBI single in the home half provided an insurance run.
 
A two-run Hawai'i lead again expanded in the eighth, as the 'Bows put three doubles on the board and brought home three runs courtesy of RBI by Baeza, Ethan Lopez and Vchulek for the 6-1 advantage.
 
Although Cal Poly cut a run off the lead in the ninth, Thomas finished the job and earned his 12th save of the year on a career-long 4.0 innings, matching his career high of four strikeouts. Hagel-Pitt (1-0) earned his first victory, going 5.0 innings with three hits and no walks allowed.
 
At the plate, Adam Fogel went 2-for-3 with two scores, both hits for doubles to match his two-bag count from a year ago. Lopez and Vchulek also both hit 2-for-4 with an RBI.
 
Next week the Rainbow Warriors head back on the road for their final non-conference series, visiting Fresno State in a three-game series at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium, May 11-13.