HONOLULU – Stone Miyao's eighth-inning solo blast and Randy Abshier's gem on the mound led the Hawai'i baseball team to a 4-3 win over Rice to even the series at a game apiece Saturday before 4,127 fans at Les Murakami Stadium.
 
After the Owls tied things up with two runs in the top of the eighth, Miyao came up to start the bottom of the frame and blasted a 2-1 pitch over the right field fence to put the 'Bows back in front.
 
Itsuki Takemoto, who allowed a game-tying two-out, two-run homer in the eighth, came back out for the ninth and responded by pitching a scoreless ninth and ending things with a strikeout.
 
Abshier turned in his third straight strong start, striking out 11 batters with just one walk over seven innings. He held the Owls hitless over the first five innings before a pair of doubles in the sixth inning put Rice on the board. In his last three starts, Abshier has 31 strikeouts to just two walks.
 
The Rainbow Warriors were also held in check offensively over the first three frames by Owls' starter J.D. McCracken before breaking through in the fourth. Miyao led off the inning with a single before Kamana Nahaku reached on a bunt base hit. Two batters later, Jordan Donahue plated Miyao on a bunt base hit before Ben Zeigler-Namoa scored the second run on a passed ball. Austin Machado then made it 3-0 with a two-out RBI double off the wall in right field.
 
Miyao's go-ahead homer in the eighth marked his first extra-base hit of the season and first since he ended last year's season finale with a walk-off two-run shot. On the weekend, he's 3-for-7 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
 
The Rainbow Warriors and Owls play game three of their series Sunday at 1:05 p.m.