HONOLULU – After going up against some strong nonconference competition over the first four weeks of the season, the Hawai'i baseball team opens Big West play on the road at Cal Poly, Friday through Sunday.
The two teams open the series with a 3 p.m. HT first pitch Friday, followed by 1 p.m. and 10 a.m. HT start times in the two games over the weekend. The Rainbow Warriors are 12-30 all-time against the Mustangs and will look to win a series against them for the first time since joining The Big West in 2013.
| HAWAI'I (7-7, 0-0 Big West) at CAL POLY (3-10, 0-0 Big West) |
| Dates & Times |
Friday, March 17 - 3:00 p.m. HT
Saturday, March 18- 1:00 p.m. HT
Sunday, March 19 - 10:00 a.m. HT |
| Location |
San Luis Obispo, Calif. -- Baggett Stadium |
| Television |
None |
| Radio |
ESPN 1420 AM | Listen Online |
| Live Stream |
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Live Stats |
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| PDF Notes |
Hawai'i | Cal Poly |
| Social Media |
@HawaiiBaseball  | @Hawaiibsb  |
| Promotions |
N/A |
HEAD COACH RICH HILL
At Hawai'i: 35-31, 2nd season
Collegiate Record: 1,114-769-4, 36th season
SERIES VS. CAL POLY
Overall: 12-30
Last Meeting: May 28, 2022 (UH won, 6-4)
Streak: UH won 1
LEADING OFF
BIG WEST SUCCESS
The Rainbow Warriors head into year two of Big West play under head coach
Rich Hill after posting their best-ever finish in the conference last year, coming in third at 19-11. Hawai'i went 16-5 over its final 21 Big West games in 2022, winning six of its final seven conference series with three weekend sweeps in that stretch. The only series UH lost over that span was against Cal Poly at home on the final weekend of the year.
EVERYONE CONTRIBUTES
Over the first four weeks of the season, head coach
Rich Hill has used nearly every option at his disposal on the 40-man roster. Of the 40 players on this year's team, 38 have gotten playing time while 23 different Rainbow Warriors have been in the starting lineup at least once. A total of 18 different position players have made a start while six different players starting at least one game on the mound. Additionally, 17 of UH's position players have recorded a hit while 11 pitchers have thrown five or more innings and 15 have appeared in at least three games on the mound.
RALLY WITH TWO
The UH offense has done a lot of its damage with two outs in innings, scoring nearly half of its 96 runs with two away. The Rainbow Warriors have pushed across 42.7 percent of their runs (41 of 96) with two gone, scoring at least one two-out run in all but one game. Additionally, Hawai'i is hitting .288 with two outs in an inning while 11 different players have come through with a two-out RBI.
LIFT OFF
The Hawai'i bats have shown some pop over the first four weeks of the season. The Rainbow Warriors have hit 14 home runs on the year, the most by a UH team through the first 14 games of a season since at least 2002. Six different 'Bows have homered, led by
Matt Wong,
Jared Quandt and
Kyson Donahue with three each, to put UH in third place in the conference in long balls.
» UH's 14 home runs are already just as much or more than it has had in six of the last 11 seasons.
» The 'Bows are tied for The Big West lead in multi-HR games with five.
» Hawai'i has hit back-to-back home runs twice this season, while 10 of the 14 have come in UH's wins.
» Seven of the home runs have come in two-strike counts while five have been to lead off an inning.
OUTFIELD FIREPOWER
The Hawai'i outfielders have delivered a ton of offensive firepower, led by
Jared Quandt and
Matt Wong. Quandt currently leads the team in batting average (.439), on-base percentage (.529) and slugging (.707) while ranking third in The Big West in all three categories. Wong is batting .321 and is tied for the team lead with three home runs while driving in 12 runs and slugging .585. Additionally,
Tai Walton is hitting .286 with two homers and five RBIs in 10 games played while
Matthew Miura has started the last five games in left field and has an OBP of .435 with eight runs scored.
SHUT THE DOOR
Lefty
Connor Harrison has been one of the Rainbow Warriors' go-to arms out of the bullpen so far. the junior leads the team with six appearances and has posted a 1.42 ERA with 16 strikeouts to just one walk over 12.2 innings pitched. Harrison has also recorded the team's only two saves of the year and is holding opponents to a .156 batting average against.
» Earned saves in each of UH's two wins at the Cambria College Classic over Minnesota and Maryland.
» Has not issued a walk in his last 44 batters faced.
» Recorded 10 of his team-leading 16 strikeouts in his first two appearances vs. Wright State and San Diego State, matching a career-high with five punch-outs in both outings.
CAN'T TOUCH THIS
One of the key pieces on the Hawai'i pitching staff over the first four weeks has been JUCO transfer
Alex Giroux. The sophomore right-hander owns a team-low 1.26 ERA with 13 strikeouts and four walks over 14.1 innings pitched in four appearances. Giroux has made one start while being used in long relief in his last three appearances, and has been one of the toughest pitchers to hit in The Big West and the country. He leads the conference in WHIP (0.70), batting average against (.122) and hits allowed per nine innings (3.77) while ranking in the top 20 nationally in all three categories.
