HONOLULU-- The University of Hawai'i baseball team hosts its first conference matchup of the year this weekend, with a three-game series set to begin Friday night at 6:35 pm HT.

HAWAI'I (7-12, 1-2) VS. UC IRVINE (13-7, 3-0)
Date | Time				Friday, Mar. 25, 2022 6:35 p.m. HT | Saturday Mar. 26, 6:35 p.m. HT | Sunday Mar. 27, 1:05 p.m. HT
Location				Honolulu, O'ahu- Les Murakami Stadium
Television				Spectrum Sports (Sunday)
Live Stream				ESPN+ (Sunday)
Radio				CBS 1500 (Entire Series)
Tickets				Purchase Here
Live Stats				FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY
Game Notes				Hawai'i | UC Irvine
Social Media				@HawaiiBaseball  | #HawaiiBSB | @hawaiibsb  | Facebook
Promotions				First Hawaiian Bank is the series sponsor and will distribute 300 reusable bags and award great prize packs throughout the series.  Friday (Mar. 25): Prince Kuhio Day Tribute and "Aloha Friday", fans are encouraged to wear their favorite Aloha apparel.  Saturday (Mar. 26): "Girl Group Night" top music and videos from your favorite groups played throughout the game. Little League teams or groups that have purchased a group rate package are invited onto the field for the National Anthem & Hawaii Pono'i prior to the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday (Check-in 30 minutes prior to first pitch of the first game near the Big West Conference logo on the ground level).  Sunday (Mar. 27): "Boy Band Day" top music and videos from your favorite groups played throughout the game. Sunday is also a "Season-Ticket Holder Appreciation" game and all UH season-ticket holders in all UH sports will receive 50% off upper level adult tickets. UH season-ticket holders can purchase their tickets in advance (Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. until 5 p.m.) at the Simplifi Arena or on game day at Les Murakami Stadium. Supplies are limited and other restrictions may apply.

• The Rainbow Warriors took their first series loss of conference play 2-1 against Long Beach State this past weekend.
• Although the 'Bows were outscored 12-10, it was the lowest production a team has had against UH in a series so far.
• Redshirt Junior Matt Wong continued his hot streak against Long Beach State, where he raised his batting average to .300 and launched two home runs in back-to-back games against the Dirtbags.
• Cade Halemanu showed he wants that Friday Night spot back in the longest outing from a pitcher all season. In six innings of work he allowed one earned run on three hits, while striking out five.
• Junior Pitcher Buddie Pindel has shown signs of excellence out of the pen but was called on to start on Sunday, where he outputted five scoreless innings of work.
• The UH bullpen is far from clear as it has seen 8 different guys start games and 11 guys able to give innings out of the pen.
• Junior first baseman Jacob Igawa has featured his power of late, hitting homeruns in back to back to back series. He leads the team with three home runs.
• UH is a combined 0-for-18 in pinch-hit situations, while opponents are 3-for-29.

LEAN ON ME
The bullpen has been a stable part of the 'Bows approach. Going into the Long Beach State series, the pen had an ERA of 5.94. After the three-game series, it's now 5.60. Despite the series loss, four pitchers have stood out as "stoppers" in the early part of the season. Dalton Renne has filed 15.2 innings of action for a 2.87 ERA, sophomore Trevor Ichimura 12.2 innings with a 2.13 ERA, while freshman Cory Ronan has seen action in 10.0 innings boasting a 0.90 ERA. Buddie Pindel who normal comes out of the pen was called upon for Sunday's start where he delivered five scoreless innings on the mound. He is tied for most wins on the team at two, and has an 4.96 ERA.

SLIM SHADY? NAH, HAWAI'I ELECTRIC COMPANY
You may notice many of the everyday players have dyed their hair blonde; well, there's a reason behind it. When someone reaches bases with an extra-base hit or records a significant strikeout, don't be surprised if you see the hat or helmet come off—followed by a rubbing of the head towards the dugout, signaling the creation of electricity. The team calls themselves the "Honolulu Electric Company," as they're a higher energy crew.

GOTTA GET THEM HOME
After 16 games, one downfall of the UH offense is getting runners in. On-base-wise, UH sits comfortably at .327 but hits just .219 as a team. So far, the leadoff spot of an inning is hitting .376, but when runners are on base, the team is hitting .237. A positive to pay attention to is when runners are on third, UH is hitting .549. UH did however show off the long ball this weekend with three homeruns.

PEARL CITY NATIVE
Local boy and pitcher Cade Halemanu showed some early signs of struggles with a 8.64 ERA in his first four appearances and an untimely blister seemed to take him out of the Friday night starting role. However, with something to prove Halemanu took the mound this past weekend against Long Beach and threw the longest outing of the season with six innings, only allowing three hits and one earned run, showing us that he does have that ace behavior.

A COUPLE OF LONG AND HISTORIC NIGHTS
Head coach Rich Hill is very familiar with playing long games; in his first game as the head coach of Hawai'i on February 18th against Washington State, the 'Bows played a 9-inning game in four hours and 27 minutes. Not to be outdone, on February 28th, Hill and the 'Bows played a 15-inning, six-hour, and 14 minute game against San Diego State. In two of the first eight games at UH, Hill coached the longest 9-inning game and the longest game time-wise in program history. He has accumulated five four-hour long games so far.

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. Jordan has played in 16 games this season and started in 15, with 12 at shortstop and three at second base. While Kyson is battling back from injury, playing in eight games and starting seven at shortstop. The duo have played SS and 2B together in three games this season so far.

HOMEGROWN TALENT