HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i baseball team will begin its 2022 campaign on Friday in a four-game series with Washington State at Les Murakami Stadium.
 

HAWAI'I (0-0,) vs. WASHINGTON STATE (0-0)
Date | Time				Friday, Feb. 18, 6:35 p.m. HT | Saturday, Feb. 19, 6:35 p.m. HT | Sunday, Feb. 20, 1:05 p.m. HT | Monday, Feb. 21, 6:35 p.m. HT
Location				Honolulu, O'ahu | Les Murakami Stadium
Television				Spectrum Sports (Friday & Monday)
Live Stream				ESPN+ (Friday) | ESPN + (Monday)
Radio				ESPN Honolulu | CBS Radio 1500
Live Stats				Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Monday
Game Notes				Hawai'i | WSU
Social Media				@HawaiiBaseball  | #HawaiiBSB | @HawaiiBSB  | Facebook
Promotions				Outrigger Hotels and Resorts is the sponsor of opening weekend and will award great prizes throughout the series.  Sign up for your chance to win at the sports marketing table near the main entrance.   Saturday is "Military Night" and commemorations will be featured throughout the game honoring the military.

   

PROBABLE ROTATION
HAWAI'I								WASHINGTON STATE
Name				Yr.		(Rec., ERA)	DAY	Name	Yr.		(Rec., ERA)
Cale Halemanu				Jr.	RHP	(0-0, 0.00)	Thur.	Grant Taylor	So.	RHP	(0-0, 0.00)
Andy Archer				Gr.	RHP	(0-0, 0.00)	Fri.	Cole McMillan	R-So.	LHP	(0-0, 0.00)
TBA							Sat.	McKabe Cottrell	R-Jr.	LHP	(0-0, 0.00)
TBA							Sun.	TBA

HEAD COACH RICH HILL
Overall record: 1,079-738-4 (35th season)
At Hawai'i: 0-0 (1st season)

SERIES VS WASHINGTON STATE
Overall record: 23-14, UH
Streak: WSU, 1 (Split last series in 2020, 2-2)

FIRST PITCH

• Friday night's game will mark the first under head coach Rich Hill, as he was named the third head coach in program history on June 18, 2021.
• Hill enters the season with a 1079-514-4 and is currently the youngest coach in NCAA Division I with 1,000 wins, which he accomplished in 2018 while coaching at the University of San Diego.
• Four former assistants under Hill are currently at the helm of some top collegiate programs, including conference foe Long Beach State with Eric Valenzuela and this week's opponent in the Cougars with head coach Brian Greene.
• The Rainbow Warriors have a newly revamped roster in 2022 with 16 players leaving via graduation or transfer portal, but 18 returners, and of those, 11 saw time as starters.
• With 33 student-athletes on the roster, 20 of them are from the Aloha State, including 13 from the island of O'ahu.
• There are 15 newcomers on the roster, including nine freshmen and six transfers.
• The 'Bows last faced off with WSU in February 2020, splitting the series 2-2 at Les Murakami Stadium.
• Junior Cade Halemanu, Friday night's starter, picked up the win in the third game of the series against the Cougars in 2020 with a relief appearance, marking the second of his career in a two-inning effort of no runs, one hit, and five strikeouts.
• Senior outfielder Scotty Scott saw playing time in 2020 against the Cougars, starting the first two games going 2-of-7 in series before being hit in the head by a pitch in the second game of the series, missing the next two.

WELCOME BACK WONGY
Returning to the active roster in 2022 from an ACL injury in 2021 is junior outfielder Matt Wong, a Honolulu native who transferred to play for his home state in 2020 from the College of Southern Nevada. In 2020, Wong showed promise hitting .254 in 17 games with five doubles, two triples, and one home run before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wong started in all four games against WSU in 2020 at centerfield, going 3-for-13 with a double and one run batted in.
 
NOT LOCAL BUT MIGHT AS WELL BE
Currently projected for the opening series is a starting nine of eight players who hail from Hawai'i the only player who is not is senior left fielder Scotty Scott. The Cypress, Texas native is in his fourth year with the program and returns as one of the top offensive threats in the lineup. Sitting at the top of the lineup either at leadoff or slotted at No. 2, Scott provides a career on-base percentage of .409 while recording .433 or better each of the last seasons. Plus, when he gets on base, he produces as he has led the team in runs scored each of the previous three seasons.
 
ACE IN HAND
Pearl City native Cade Halemanu will take the mound as the 'Bows No. 1 starter Friday evening after turning in a hopeful sophomore season in 2021. Halemanu started in 12 games a year ago, accumulating a 5-2 record, and was second on the team in innings pitched with 70. His 3.60 ERA was best between the starters, finishing second in strikeouts with 57. The only pitcher on staff to record a better opponent average was Austin Teixeira at .225 in 11 games, while Halemanu recorded an opponent average of .244.
 
COACHING PEDIGREE
UH is the fourth stop as a head coach for Rich Hill as he previously served at California Lutheran (1988-1993), San Francisco (1994-1998), and San Diego (1999-2021). While at San Diego, Hill coached 93 former players who later were selected in the MLB Draft; of those 93, 15 made their way to the Major Leagues. He also mentored Golden Spikes winner Kris Bryant, National Pitcher of the Year, Brian Matusz, and had 32 All-American or Freshman All-American selections in his tenure with Toreros.
 
YELLOW JACKET TO RAINBOW WARRIOR
A new face to be aware of will be Saturday night's starting pitcher, senior Andy Archer. Archer, a native of Duluth, Georgia, spent five seasons within the Georgia Tech program. Three of his first four years were primarily out of the bullpen, as he lost the 2019 season due to injury. In 2021 his role changed to starting pitcher, accumulating a 5-5 record with a 4.80 ERA. Archer is known as a strikeout pitcher, collecting 144 during his time in Atlanta.
 
FRIENDLY FOE TURNED TEAMMATE
Not every player stays home to play college baseball, but some do come home to wrap up their career, and senior Cole Cabrera will look to end his career on a high note. The Punahou graduate left the island and played at conference foe Cal Poly for four seasons, but he decided to return and play at Hawai'i in his fifth year. In 2021 he hit .261 in 49 games, with four home runs and 21 runs batted while playing a spotless centerfield with no errors.
 
TWO DONAHUES, ONE TEAM
When looking at the 2022 roster, your mind will wander about Kyson and Jordan Donahue. The infield duo are cousins, and both have multiple years of eligibility remaining. Their grandpas were brothers, and their dads are first cousins. Even though they both went to different high schools, Kyson went to Punahou, and Jordan went to Damien. They're close and decided to transfer to Hawai'i to play together. Jordan redshirted at Oregon State, while Kyson played two years at Arizona, seeing action in 20 games.  
 
FANCY SEEING YOU HERE
There are two connections between UH and WSU outside of the program's overall record. While at San Diego, Hill coached against the Cougars three times, developing a 1-2 record, but won the last encounter, 5-4 in 2015. Plus, sophomore pitcher Trevor Ichimura, a graduate of 'Iolani high school spent his first collegiate season at WSU in 2019. While a member of the Cougars' program he made seven appearances out of the bullpen, pitching 6.1 innings. He transferred to UH in 2020, sat out, and pitched last season. He pitched in seven games, and recorded a 1.59 ERA through his first six appearances before giving up six earned in his last appearance against Cal Poly.

HOMEGROWN TALENT

NAME	HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL	YEAR	POS.
Matt Aribal	Pearl City, O'ahu	Jr.	INF
Tai Atkins	Kohala, Hawai'i (KS-Hawaii)	So.	LHP/OF
Cole Cabrera	Honolulu, O'ahu (Punahou)	Gr.	OF
Naighel Calderon	Lanai City, Lanai (Lanai)	So.	OF
Nainoa Cardinez	Kapa'a, Kaua'i (Kapa'a)	So.	C/UTL
Jordan Donahue	Mililani, O'ahu (Damien)	So.	INF
Kyson Donahue	Honolulu, O'ahu (Punahou)	R-So.	INF
Dallas Duarte	Ke'eu, Hawai'i (KS-Hawai'i)	Jr.	C
Tyler Dyball	Honolulu, O'ahu (Kaiser)	R-So.	RHP
Cade Halemanu	Pearl City, O'ahu (Pearl City)	Jr.	RHP
Blake Hiraki	Honolulu, O'ahu ('Iolani)	So.	C
Trevor Ichimura	Honolulu, O'ahu ('Iolani)	R-So.	RHP
Jacob Igawa	Hilo, Hawai'i (Waiakea)	Jr.	UTL
Stone Miyao	Hilo, Hawai'i (Waiakea)	So.	INF
Li'i Pontes	Honolulu, O'ahu (KS-Kapalama)	Jr.	RHP
Bronson Rivera	Holualoa, Hawai'i (Konawaena)	Fr.	INF
Austin Teixeira	Waimanalo, O'ahu (Saint Louis)	Fr.	LHP/OF
Aaron Ujimori	Honolulu, O'ahu ('Iolani)	Fr.	INF
Matt Wong	Honolulu, O'ahu (Saint Louis)	Jr.	OF
Kody Watanabe	Aiea, O'ahu ('Iolani)	Fr.	INF
Matt Wong	Mililani, O'ahu (Saint Louis)	R-Jr.	OF