HONOLULU – Winners of 12 of the last 15 games, Hawai'i will ride a wave of momentum into a showdown with No. 20 UC Irvine, Thursday through Saturday at Les Murakami Stadium.
The Rainbow Warriors and Anteaters head into the weekend as two of the only three teams in the Big West with at least 15 wins and the only two with only one conference loss. UCI leads the all-time series between the two schools, 38-14, winning two of three in last year's series after UH took the opener.
| HAWAI'I (15-7, 2-1 Big West) vs. No. 20 UC IRVINE (19-3, 5-1 Big West) |
| Dates & Times |
Thursday, Mar. 28 - 6:35 p.m.
Friday, Mar. 29 - 6:35 p.m.
Saturday, Mar. 30 - 1:05 p.m. |
| Location |
Honolulu, O'ahu -- Les Murakami Stadium |
| Radio |
ESPN Honolulu (Thursday, Saturday) | CBS 1500 (Friday) |
| TV/Live Stream |
Spectrum Sports/ESPN+ (Thursday only) |
| Live Stats |
Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| PDF Notes |
Hawai'i | UC Irvine |
| Social Media |
@HawaiiBaseball  | @Hawaiibsb  |
| Promotions |
Stop by the Bank Of Hawai'i gameday sponsor table, show them your Bank of Hawaii Debit or Credit card to receive a special gift. During Legends Weekend we welcome back UH baseball legends to the Les and recognize them on the field!
Thursday (Mar. 28): We rename our press box in honor of two great UH broadcasters, Don Robbs and Jim Leahey. Be in your seats by 6:15 p.m. for a special on-field dedication.
Saturday (Mar. 30) Join forces with Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke's office and Hawai'i Food Bank for the 25th annual State Employees' Food Drive. Don't forget to bring non-perishable food items for donation. Along with the food drive, join us pregame for our annual Easter Egg Hunt beginning at 12:30 p.m. Come early and be first in line to grab some Easter candy and some amazing Easter prizes. And as always we invite youth teams on the field during the National Anthem and Hawai'i Pono'i in the pregame, and to run the bases after the game. |
| Projected Rotations |
Hawai'i
Thursday -- RHP Alex Giroux (3-0, 3.49)
Friday -- LHP Randy Abshier (1-1, 4.45)
Saturday -- TBD |
UC Irvine
Thursday -- LHP Nick Pinto (4-1, 1.98)
Friday -- RHP Trevor Hansen (3-0, 4.40)
Saturday -- LHP Brandon Luu (3-0, 2.61) |
HEAD COACH RICH HILL
At Hawai'i: 72-51, 3rd season
Collegiate Record: 1,151-789-4, 37th season
SERIES VS. UC IRVINE
UC Irvine leads, 38-14
Last Meeting: 2023 in Irvine (UCI won series, 2-1)
LEADING OFF
DID YOU KNOW?
At 15-7 overall, the Rainbow Warriors are off to their best start to a season through 22 games since 2007. Only 12 other UH teams have gotten off to a better start through 22 games, and seven of those teams made it to the NCAA Tournament.
DOMINANT SWEEP OF AZTECS
Hawai'i comes into this weekend's series riding high after a three-game sweep of San Diego State. The 'Bows dominated the first two games, winning 16-5 and 16-0, before rallying to win the finale, 6-5 in 10 innings. UH outscored the Aztecs 38-10 over the three games, hitting .343 with a .519 OBP while the pitchers combined for a 2.89 ERA and 31 strikeouts. Hawai'i batters also drew 33 walks and were hit by 10 pitches.
PRESS BOX DEDICATED IN HONOR OF ROBBS AND LEAHEY
The University of Hawai'i Athletic Department announced the dedication of the Les Murakami Stadium Press Box to two voices who were synonymous with Hawai'i baseball for decades, legendary broadcasters Don Robbs and Jim Leahey. Along with the renaming will come planned improvements to the press box in the coming years, made possible by gifts from Duane Kurisu and Dana & David Matlin. Robbs called more than 2,000 games on the radio over a 40-plus year career as the "Voice of Rainbow Baseball" before retiring following the 2016 season. Leahey spent decades broadcasting games on TV and was on the call for many of the program's biggest moments. He passed away peacefully on Jan. 30, 2023.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE RAINBOW BASEBALL OFFENSE
The Hawai'i offense is on pace to put up numbers not seen by the program in over 20 years. The Rainbow Warriors have scored 180 runs on the season, the most through the first 22 games of a season since 1998. UH is second in the Big West in total runs scored and runs per game while sitting in second in the league and 15th nationally in OBP. All nine regular starters have driven in at least 11 runs on the year while six have an on-base percentage of at least .400, including three over .500. The Rainbow Warriors' 8.18 runs per game would rank fourth in a season in school history if the season ended today while their .439 OBP would rank first dating back to 2002 by a wide margin.
WALK IT OUT
The Rainbow Warriors have shown some high-level plate discipline over the first month of the season, drawing 166 walks to rank ninth nationally and lead the Big West by a wide margin. Hawai'i has worked an average of 7.5 walks per game while also getting hit by a pitch 41 times for a total of 207 free passes.
Ben Zeigler-Namoa leads the conference with 23 walks while
Austin Machado is second in the Big West with 22.
Matthew Miura third on the team and fourth in the league with 21.
UH has also walked 21 more times than it has struck out this year, making them one of only two teams in the country with more bases on balls than strikeouts.
Teams with More Walks Than Strikeouts
Hawai'i – 166 BBs // 145 Ks
Georgia Tech – 173 BBs // 170 Ks
TROPICAL SWARM
The Hawai'i pitching staff has shown off its depth so far in 2024, using a deep pool of arms to rank among the nation's leaders in a number of categories. The Rainbow Warriors currently sit in the top 25 nationally in WHIP (17th), walks per nine innings (18th), ERA (21st), strikeout-to-walk ratio (21st) and shutouts (25th). UH also ranks in the top four of the Big West in all of those categories. The 'Bows have also shown that they can turn to a number of different arms to get outs, as 12 pitchers have appeared in at least five games.
