HONOLULU – The University of Hawaiʻi baseball team could not overcome the strong pitching of No. 19 UC Irvine in a 4-0 defeat on Sunday at Les Murakami Stadium. Completing the first series of Big West play, Hawaiʻi won the opener on Friday before falling to the Anteaters on Saturday and Sunday.
 
The Rainbow Warriors (11-16, 1-2 Big West) ran into UC Irvine starter Trenton Denholm, who gave up just three hits and two walks over his 8.0 innings without giving up a run. Taylor Rashi finished out the game for UCI with a scoreless ninth inning. 
 
UH put runners on first and second in the sixth and ninth innings, but could not convert them to runs. Brennen Hancock, who was involved in both scoring threats with singles in both innings, finished 2-for-4 on the day.
 
On the mound, freshman Li'i Pontes got the start, going 3.0 innings and allowing three runs (only one earned) on six hits. Logan Pouelsen came out of the bullpen for the next 2.1 innings, allowing one run before Preseason All-American Dylan Thomas tossed the final 3.2 innings without yielding a run.
 
UC Irvine scored twice in the second and added another on a solo home run by Brendan Brooks in the fourth. An RBI single off the bat of Jake Palmer in the sixth concluded the scoring for the visitors on the day.

The Anteaters are ranked in the various national polls, as high as No. 19 in the Baseball America Top 25. 
 
Next up, UH will host UC Davis for a three-game set at Les Murakami Stadium scheduled for April 5-7.