HONOLULU – Down three runs to Oregon twice, the University of Hawai'i baseball team came back to top the Ducks 6-4 on Thursday night at Les Murakami Stadium. The Rainbow Warriors (9-5) won the first game of the series for the first time this season since winning on Opening Night against Hawai'i-Hilo.
 
Hawai'i used a five-run sixth inning to snap Oregon's (7-5) seven game winning streak. The five-run inning included just three hits and marked the fourth time the Rainbow Warriors had scored five in an inning this season, the first since Feb. 17 against North Dakota State.
 
The Ducks out-hit the Rainbow Warriors 10-5, but three Oregon errors and Hawai'i working seven walks enabled the Rainbow Warriors to win their fourth game when out-hit by their opponents.
 
Junior shortstop Kole Kaler continued his torrid start to the season with his sixth multi-hit game and his fourth multi-RBI game when he doubled for his first hit of the game and singled in a pair in the sixth.
 
Junior relief pitcher Jeremy Wu-Yelland earned his second save by pitching the final five outs of the game. Wu-Yelland struck out three and did not allow a hit in 1.2 innings of work out of the bullpen. The junior's ERA dropped to 0.75 after his scoreless outing.
 
Hawai'i fell behind 2-0 in first inning and then quickly saw the score to chase sitting at three runs when the Ducks scored in the third inning. The Rainbow Warriors got a run back in the fourth inning on the second error of the inning by the Ducks, but a home run in the fifth inning pushed Oregon's lead back to three.
 
In the sixth inning, a lead-off walk to redshirt junior designated hitter Adam Fogel and a single by redshirt junior first baseman Alex Baeza put Fogel at third for sophomore Tyler Best to bring home on a single deep in the hole to shortstop. Junior center fielder Matt Wong was then hit by a pitch before sophomore right fielder Scotty Scott walked to bring home Best.
 
Kaler then drove in the go-ahead run with his second hit of the game, scoring Wong and sophomore catcher Dallas Duarte, who was pinch running.
 
During the next at bat, Kaler broke for second and got in a rundown long enough for Scott to slide in just before the tag to score Hawai'i's fifth run in the inning.
 
Sophomore Aaron Davenport will toe the rubber at 6:35 p.m. HT Friday night when Hawai'i and Oregon face off at Les Murakami Stadium for game two of the series.