MINNEAPOLIS – Behind a strong pitching performance and some timely hitting, the Hawai'i baseball team opened the Cambria College Classic with a 3-2 win over Minnesota on Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium.  
 
The Rainbow Warriors got strong efforts on the mound as Harry Gustin turned in the best performance by a UH starter this year, allowing just one run over five innings to get the win, before turning it over to Alex Giroux who went 3.2 and gave up one run. Connor Harrison then got the last out of the game, stranding the potential tying run on second to pick up the save.
 
Hawai'i (5-3) jumped in front from the get-go, as Jacob Igawa reached with a two-out single and Matt Wong followed with a two-run homer on a two-strike pitch to straight away center field to make it 2-0.
 
After cruising through two innings, Gustin found himself in trouble to start the bottom of third after the first three batters reached to load the bases with no outs. A crazy triple play would get the 'Bows out of the inning unscathed as third baseman Zach Storbakken knocked down a hard-hit ball, tagged third base, caught the runner on third in a rundown before Gustin tossed to first base to get the batter who had walked back to the Minnesota dugout.
 
The triple play was the first turned by a UH team since March 18, 2016 vs. Chicago State.

The Golden Gophers (0-9) got on the board with a solo homer in the fifth, but UH got the run back in the seventh. After Dallas Duarte opened the inning with a double, Jared Quandt continued his hot start with a single to center field to score Duarte and make it 3-1.
 
Hawai'i again ran into trouble in the ninth, as Minnesota cut the UH lead to one with a two-out double, but Harrison came out of the bullpen to get a groundout to first base to end the game.
 
UH's pitching staff turned in its third-straight solid effort, as Gustin, Giroux and Harrison combined to strike out eight while walking just two. Over the last three games, the 'Bows have posted a 2.08 ERA with 25 strikeouts after holding an ERA of over seven prior to this stretch.
 
Quandt turned in his third straight multi-hit game and is batting .550 with an on-base percentage of .654 on the year. Additionally, Wong recorded his fourth multi-RBI game of the year while hitting his seventh career home run, and Igawa extended his hitting streak to seven games. Wong's two-run homer also came with two outs, meaning Hawai'i has scored 51.8 percent (29 of 56) of its runs with two away in an inning this year.
 
The Rainbow Warriors continue play at the Cambria College Classic with a matchup against Nebraska on Saturday at 11 a.m. HT.