HONOLULU – Fans got their first look at the 2025 Hawai'i baseball team as well as the brand new Les Murakami Stadium field turf as the Rainbow Warriors topped a group of over 60 former players, 4-2 Saturday afternoon.
UH welcomed back a group of over 60 former players from all eras of the program for their annual Alumni Game. Prior to the game, the Rainbow Warriors held a traditional blessing of the new field turf that was completed earlier this month and is branded with the Hawai'i Athletics "H" in center field as well as "Hawai'i" spelled out behind home plate.
The current 'Bows took a lead in the second inning behind an
Itsuki Takemoto RBI single and
Aidan Kuni sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. The Alumni would respond with a run in the fifth before UH got it back with a single run in the sixth to make it 3-1. The two teams traded runs in the seventh and eighth to close out the scoring.
Freshman
Cooper Walls got the start and went three scoreless innings while
Anthony Andrews pitched 1.1 scoreless innings late in the game and
Max Jones tossed a clean ninth inning to secure the victory.
The Alumni group was led on the field by a group of former players who recently completed their Rainbow Warrior careers. Four pitchers from the 2024 team –
Tai Atkins,
Nainoa Cardinez,
Connor Harrison and
Trevor Ichimura – all took the mound while the lineup featured recent 'Bows such as Scotty Scott,
Jake Tsukada, Breland Almadova, Pi'ikea Kitamura,
Naighel Ali'i Calderon and
Blake Hiraki.
The Rainbow Warriors open the 2025 season on Friday, Feb. 14 against Marshall. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.
Season tickets are on sale now, and single-game tickets will go on sale Feb. 5.