NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Broken hearts heal, but the University of Hawai'i baseball team's extra innings loss to defending national champion Vanderbilt on Sunday will sting for a few days. The Commodores' (10-3) walk-off three-run home run from Isaiah Thomas, his second home run of the game, topped the Rainbow Warriors (8-5) in 11 innings.
 
Hawai'i scored first for the second-straight game, but then had to claw back to tie the game before scoring two runs in the 11th inning. With two outs and two on, Thomas hit his second home run of the game to end the series.
 
Three different Rainbow Warriors had multi-hit games, including junior center fielder Matt Wong's first D-I home run, a solo shot to tie the game in the seventh inning.
 
Junior Jeremy Wu-Yelland gave 4.0 scoreless innings of relief work out of the bullpen for Hawai'i, striking out six on the day. Wu-Yelland lowered his ERA on the year to 0.87.
 
The starter for the Rainbow Warriors, junior Brandon Ross went 3.1 innings, giving up three hits, two runs, one earned, and struck out four. The junior gave up his first run of the season on his 221st pitch of the year, Thomas' first home run of the game.
 
Back-to-back two-out doubles by juniors Kole Kaler and Dustin Demeter in the third inning scored Hawai'i's first run of the game. A single by redshirt junior Alex Baeza scored the second run of the inning.
 
The Commodores scored the next three runs before the Rainbow Warriors answered through Wong's blast to left field.
 
Hawai'i sent eight to the plate in the 11th inning with Kaler's one-out walk starting the inning. Demeter sent one towards the wall in left and the Vanderbilt left fielder couldn't grab it.
 
With two in scoring position and the Vanderbilt infield in, a ground ball to shortstop by redshirt junior Adam Fogel plated Kaler just before the tag was applied. A sacrifice fly by Baeza scored Demeter to put the Rainbow Warriors ahead by two. Hawai'i would end up stranding the bases loaded.
 
Vanderbilt used a lead-off single and then a one-out single to make it a one-run game in the home half of the 11th. With two outs and a 2-0 count, Thomas hit the game winning home run.
 
The Rainbow Warriors will host Oregon in a four-game series at Les Murakami Stadium March 5-8. The Ducks have won seven straight games since opening the season 0-4.