Coming off of a sweep of UC Davis, Hawai'i will look to stay in the race for a Big West title when it heads back on the road for a three-game series at CSUN. The two teams will play a trio of day games Friday (12 p.m. HT), Saturday (11 a.m. HT) and Sunday (10 a.m. HT).
| HAWAI'I (25-18, 14-10 Big West) at CSUN (29-16, 15-9 Big West) |
| Dates & Times |
Friday -- 12 p.m. HT
Saturday -- 11 a.m. HT
Sunday -- 10 a.m. HT |
| Location |
Northridge, Calif. |
| Radio |
ESPN 1420 AM |
| Live Stream |
Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Live Stats |
Here |
| PDF Notes |
Hawai'i | CSUN |
| Social Media |
@HawaiiBaseball  | @Hawaiibsb  |
| Projected Rotations |
Hawai'i
Friday -- LHP Harry Gustin (3-3, 3.48)
Saturday -- LHP Randy Abshier (5-2, 4.12)
Sunday -- TBD |
CSUN
Friday -- RHP Lucas Braun (5-4, 5.14)
Saturday -- RHP Thomas Bainton (6-2, 4.03)
Sunday -- LHP Jon Mocherman (2-1, 3.50) |
HEAD COACH RICH HILL
At Hawai'i: 53-42, 2nd season
Collegiate Record: 1,132-780-4, 36th season
SERIES VS. CSUN
Record: 22-39
Streak: UH won 2
Last Meeting: May 15, 2022 (UH won 10-1)
LEADING OFF
DID YOU KNOW?
Kyson Donahue is hitting .315 on the season, but .415 when he bats in the cleanup spot with four homers, 23 RBIs and a .738 slugging percentage. UH is 13-4 when Donahue bats in the No. 4 spot.
HOME SWEET HOME
Hawai'i stayed alive in the hunt for a Big West title with a three-game sweep of UC Davis in its return to Les Murakami Stadium after a two-week road trip. The Rainbow Warriors came from behind to win game one, 5-3, before winning convincingly on Friday and Sunday to complete the sweep. UH has now won six straight home games and eight of the last nine after sweeps of the Aggies and Long Beach State, improving to 16-7 on the season at home. Hawai'i hit .351 as a team over the weekend, outscoring UC Davis 23-8 while slugging .495 with six doubles, a triple and two home runs. UH pitching posted an ERA of 2.67, striking out 29 while walking just eight and holding the Aggies to 21 hits and a .210 batting average.
THE ULTIMATE GOAL
With the 2022-23 academic year in the books, the Rainbow Warriors had seven student-athletes receive their degrees at this past Saturday's commencement ceremony. Six of the seven earned their undergraduate degrees while one will be finishing up a master's.
Kyson Donahue – Interdisciplinary Studies
Dallas Duarte – Human Development & Family Studies
Tyler Dyball – Interdisciplinary Studies
Jacob Igawa – Civil Engineering
Zach Losey – Finance*
Dalton Renne – Sociology
Tai Walton – Economics
*Master's degree; will graduate following summer of 2023
IN THE HUNT
Heading into the final two weeks of the season, the Rainbow Warriors remain in contention to win a Big West title. Hawai'i is currently in fifth place in the league, but only three games behind first-place Cal State Fullerton with six games to play. Additionally, each of the Rainbow Warriors' remaining two series are against teams ahead of them in the standings, with this week's matchup against fourth-place CSUN and next week's home series against third-place UC Santa Barbara to come. Second-place UC San Diego, who the 'Bows took two of three from earlier in the year, is not eligible for the NCAA postseason as a part of its transition to Division I.
NAIL BITERS
Hawai'i has been in a number of close games this season, especially during Big West play. The 'Bows have had 18 games decided by three or fewer runs, including 13 games in the last 22 that have been decided by one or two runs. UH is 11-7 in games decided by three runs or less and 5-7 in one-run games, while 14 of the Rainbow Warriors' 24 Big West games have been either one or two-run games, including seven of the last 12 conference games.
LATE INNING MAGIC
The Hawai'i bats have come through in the clutch late in games to lead the 'Bows to wins this year. In wins this year, the Rainbow Warriors have scored the go-ahead runs in the sixth inning or later 10 times, including seven times in the last 12 wins. UH is also 6-0 in games that have been tied after the sixth inning and 7-0 in games that are tied after five. Additionally, the 10 go-ahead run-scoring plays have come off the bat of seven different players.
Jared Quandt – Wright State (2/18), RBI 2B, 8th inning
Jacob Igawa – at Cal Poly (3/17), E9, 10th inning
Kyson Donahue – Tulane (3/24), 2B, 2 RBI, 6th inning
Matthew Miura – CSU Bakersfield (4/8), FC, RBI, 8th inning
Dallas Duarte – UC San Diego (4/14), 2B, RBI, 8th inning
Jacob Igawa – Long Beach State (4/21), 1B, 2 RBI, 7th inning
Zach Storbakken – Long Beach State (4/22), 2B, RBI, 8th inning
Matt Wong – at UC Riverside (4/29), HR, 2 RBI, 9th inning
Jared Quandt – at UC Irvine (5/5), 3B, RBI, 7th inning
Dallas Duarte – UC Davis (5/11), 2B, 2 RBI, 6th inning
MIX & MATCH
After using 50 different batting lineups in 52 games a year ago, head coach RICH HILL again has a ton of options offensively in 2023, having used 41 different lineup combinations through the first 43 games of the season.
» No UH player has been in the same spot in the lineup in every game.
» All nine spots in the lineup have had at least three different players start in them.
» 15 different players have started in the No. 8 hole while 10 have started in the No. 9 spot.
SHUT THE DOOR
Lefty
Connor Harrison has been one of the Rainbow Warriors' go-to arms out of the bullpen all season. The junior is third in The Big West with 23 appearances and is third in the league and 14th nationally among all qualified pitchers with a 2.33 ERA. Harrison also is tied for third in the conference with seven saves and has 40 strikeouts to 13 walks in 46.1 innings pitched.
» Owns a 1.86 ERA over 19.1 innings at home, striking out 21 while walking six in 11 appearances.
» Has not allowed an earned run in 16 of his 23 appearances.
» Got his first start of the season in Sunday's win over UC Davis, throwing four innings and striking out two.
» Has pitched at least four innings in three of his last five appearances.
FILTHY FRESHMAN
Harrison Bodendorf has been a key piece of the Rainbow Warrior pitching staff throughout his freshman year. On the season, the lefty is 5-1 with a 3.88 ERA and 55 strikeouts over 48.2 innings pitched with a .245 batting average against. Bodendorf ranks second among Big West freshmen in strikeouts and has transitioned more to an end of game role in recent outings, with three saves in his last four appearances after having none in his first 14.
» One of three pitchers in the conference with at least three saves and five wins.
» All three of his saves have been multi-inning outings, striking out five over three innings at UC Irvine on May 5 while fanning four over three scoreless Thursday and pitching 2.1 innings with three Ks Sunday.
» Has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 38-8 in his 13 relief appearances compared to a 17-17 ratio in five starts.
