HONOLULU—In front of a sellout crowd at Les Murakami Stadium, the University of Hawai'i baseball team fell short to No. 5 Vanderbilt, 9-2 on Friday evening.
 
The Rainbow Warriors (4-5) dropped their third straight game to start a series on the season. The Commodores (7-2) continue their reputation as one of the best baseball programs in the nation, scoring five runs or more in their seventh consecutive game and extending their winning streak to six straight.
 
The Commodores got off to an early roll, scoring seven runs in the first three innings. Junior pitcher Cade Halemanu was scratched from the lineup before the first pitch, sending sophomore Tai Atkins to the mound for his first start of the season. Vanderbilt tagged Atkins with two earned runs over his inning and two-thirds of work.
 
The power of the Vanderbilt lineup was unveiled with a five-run inning in the third, capped off by a three-run home run by second baseman Tate Kolwyck.
 
As UH trailed 7-0, the offense picked up its two runs of the game in the bottom half of the third. Freshman second baseman Jordan Donahue led off with a walk and was followed by a single through the left side of the infield by senior left fielder Scotty Scott. Both advanced on a ground ball by graduate center fielder Cole Cabrera. Donahue later scored on a ground ball to the shortstop from sophomore shortstop Kyson Donahue, making his first home start of the season. Scott scampered home during the next at-bat on a wild pitch, bringing the score to 7-2. The knock by Scott extended his career-long hit streak to 10 games and continued his on-base streak to 11 games, both dating back to last season.
 
Junior pitcher Dalton Renne settled in after coming into the game in the third, throwing four and third innings, with six strikeouts and allowing two earned runs out of the bullpen. Freshman Junior Flores pitched the last two innings, allowing one earned run of his own.
 
After their seven-run, three-inning affair, the Commodores added two more runs throughout the night for the eventual 9-2 final. Starting pitcher Chris McElvain featured why he is one of the best in collegiate baseball by picking up the win with seven innings of work while striking out a career-high 13.
 
Games two and three will take place on Saturday, with the 'Bows' first doubleheader of the season beginning at 1:05 p.m. HT. Graduate pitcher Andy Archer is set to make his third start of the season as he'll faceoff with Carter Holton.