The University of Hawai'i baseball team will face the defending national champion in the regular season for the first time since 2010 (Fresno State, 2009) when they head to Nashville, Tenn., to take on Vanderbilt at Hawkins Field this weekend for three games. 
 

Feb. 28-Mar. 1 | Hawkins Field | Nashville, Tenn.
HAWAI'I RAINBOW WARRIORS (7-3, 0-0 Big West)		at		VANDERBILT COMMODORES (7-2, 0-0 SEC)

PITCHING PROBABLES

GAME 1 • Friday, Feb. 28 • 12:30 p.m. HT Live Stats • SEC+ • Radio (ESPN Honolulu | FM 92.7, AM 1420) RHP [SR] Logan Pouelsen (0-1, 6.06) vs. RHP [JR] Mason Hickman (1-0, 0.00)

GAME 2 • Saturday, Feb. 29 • 10 a.m. HT Live Stats • SEC+ • Radio (ESPN Honolulu | FM 92.7, AM 1420) RHP [SO] Aaron Davenport (2-0, 2.76) vs. RHP [SO] Kumar Rocker (2-0, 0.75)

GAME 3 • Sunda, Mar. 1 • 8 a.m. HT Live Stats • SEC+ • Radio (ESPN Honolulu | FM 92.7, AM 1420) LHP [JR] Brandon Ross (1-0, 0.00) vs. LHP [JR] Jake Eder (1-0, 4.00)

Hawai'i is off to it's best 10-game start since 2012 when the Bows started the season 7-3, matching the 2012 squad with a 7-3 record. Hawai'i is coming off a four-game split series with Washington State. 

The Rainbow Warriors are led offensively by junior shortstop Kole Kaler who carries a .417 batting average into the series and whom also leads the nation in triples (3). Kaler is supported offensively by sophomore outfielders Tyler Best (.364) and Scotty Scott (.345), both of whom have a couple of doubles, and redshirt juniors Alex Baeza (.333) and Dustin Demeter (.300). Best filled in as the lead-off batter for Hawai'i the final two games of the series with Washington State after Scott rested the final two games. 

On the pitching side, sophomore Aaron Davenport went a career-high 7.1 innings on Friday night, scattering 10 hits in the effort before giving way to junior Jeremy Wu-Yelland and freshman Vince Reilly, who picked up his second save of the year in the outing. Reilly is one of two freshman in the country with two saves so far this year.

Vanderbilt is on a six game winning streak after topping South Alabama in a two-game midweek series and a weekend sweep of Illinois-Chicago after dropping two games to open the season at the MLB4 Collegiate Baseball Tournament. Vandy's two losses came at the hands of 2019 runner-up Michigan and Big West foe Cal Poly. The Commodores face Evansville and Saint Louis Tuesday and Wednesday before taking on the Rainbow Warriors. 

The Commodores are led by top 2021 MLB prospect Kumar Rocker, according to D1Baseball. Rocker threw a no-hitter in the 2019 Super Regional as a freshman. Rocker was one of two Vanderbilt pitchers to be named D1Baseball Preseason First-Team All-American along with shortstop Austin Martin.