HONOLULU – Strong pitching and timely hitting helped the University of Hawaiʻi baseball team earn a 3-1 victory over defending Big West Champion Cal State Fullerton on Saturday in the rubber match between the two sides at Les Murakami Stadium.
 
The Rainbow Warriors (16-20, 6-6 Big West) won back-to-back games after falling in the opener versus the Titans (16-19, 4-5 Big West) to win the series over Cal State Fullerton for the first time since 2016.
 
A day after hitting the game-winning home run in the ninth, Logan Pouelsen turned in a solid pitching performance, going 5.0 inning allowing one run on four hits. Out of the bullpen, Preseason All-American Dylan Thomas was unhittable, going the final 4.0 innings without allowing a baserunner.
 
The 'Bows racked up nine hits on the day led by two apiece from Maaki Yamazaki, Alex Baeza, Daylen Calicdan and Tyler Best. Yamazaki also smacked his first home run of the season on the day.
 
The Titans got on the board first with a run in the fourth for a 1-0 lead.
 
Hawaiʻi tied the game in the fifth on an RBI single off the bat of Tyler Best to score Daylen Calicdan, who led off the inning with a single up the middle. The 'Bows went on to take the lead the following inning on a solo home run from Yamazaki over the fence in right for a 2-1 edge. For the senior, it was the third homer of his career.
 
Hawaiʻi added to its lead in the seventh to make it 3-1 when Calicdan led off with a triple then scored on Dallas Duarte's bunt.
 
Next up, Hawaiʻi will play eight-consecutive road games beginning with a non-conference tilt at the University of San Diego on Wednesday, April 24.