HONOLULU – Coming off of a sweep on opening weekend, Hawai'i continues its season opening homestand when it hosts long-time rival Wichita State Thursday through Sunday at Les Murakami Stadium.
The Rainbow Warriors lead the all-time series between the two schools, 24-23, while all but two of the meetings have been in Honolulu. The two programs met regularly throughout the 1980s and 1990s when the Shockers would appear in the Rainbow Easter Tournament but haven't played each other since 2013.
| HAWAI'I (4-0, 0-0 Big West) vs. WICHITA STATE (1-2, 0-0 American) |
| Dates & Times |
Thursday, Feb. 20 -- 7:35 p.m. (Time Change)
Friday, Feb. 21 -- 6:35 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22 -- 6:35 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 23 -- 1:05 p.m. |
| Location |
Honolulu, O'ahu -- Les Murakami Stadium |
| Radio |
ESPN Honolulu (Thurs., Fr., Sun. | CBS 1500 (Sat.) |
| TV/Live Stream |
Spectrum Sports/ESPN+ (Thursday, Friday only) |
| Live Stats |
Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| PDF Notes |
Hawai'i | Wichita State |
| Social Media |
@HawaiiBaseball  | @Hawaiibsb  |
| Projected Rotations |
Hawai'i
Thursday -- LHP Sebastian Gonzalez (0-0, 13.50)
Friday -- RHP Itsuki Takemoto (1-0, 3.60)
Saturday -- RHP Cooper Walls (0-0, 7.36)
Sunday -- LHP Cory Ronan (0-0, 8.10) |
Wichita State
Thursday -- RHP Jeremiah Arnett (0-0, 9.00)
Friday -- RHP Brady Hamilton (0-1, 5.79)
Saturday -- RHP Grant Adler (0-0, 10.38)
Sunday -- LHP Jace Miner (1-0, 3.60) |
HEAD COACH RICH HILL
At Hawai'i: 98-60, 4th season
Collegiate Record: 1,177-798-4, 38th season
SERIES VS. WICHITA STATE
UH leads, 24-23
Last Meeting: Mar. 20-23, 2013 in Honolulu (UH won series, 3-1)
DID YOU KNOW?
The Rainbow Warriors outscored Marshall, 8-1, in the final three innings of games on opening weekend. UH erased late-inning deficits in games one and three of the series to win via walk-off both times, finishing the weekend with four runs scored in the ninth inning.
NEW YEAR, SAME STREAK
One of the hottest teams in the country to end last year, Hawai'i has continued that momentum into the new season. UH owns both the nation's longest active home winning streak - 15 games - and overall winning streak - 9 games - dating back to the end of last year. The 'Bows have also won 20 of their last 21 games while the 15-game home winning streak is UH's longest since 1992 (20 games).
WALK-OFF WARRIORS
Hawai'i opened the 2025 season with a four-game sweep of Marshall highlighted by a pair of walk-off wins in games one and three of the series. The Rainbow Warriors erased 5-0 and 7-3 deficits in Friday's opener to win 9-8 behind
Draven Nushida's two-out, walk-off single to cap off a three-run ninth inning. After taking game one of Saturday's doubleheader, 6-2, the 'Bows came from behind late again in the nightcap, coming back from down 6-3 through six innings to win 7-6 thanks to
Shunsuke Sakaino's walk-off single. The 'Bows then completed the sweep with a comfortable 10-2 win Sunday.
MAINTAINING MOMENTUM
Hawai'i has carried over the momentum it built over the final month and a half of last season when it finished as one of the hottest teams in the country down the stretch. The Rainbow Warriors own the nation's best record since Apr. 16, 2024 at 22-2 (.917 win pct.), ahead of teams like defending NCAA Champion Tennessee and Big West title winners UC Santa Barbara.
Best Win Pct. Nationally Since Apr. 16, 2024
Hawai'i - .917 (22-2)
UC Santa Barbara - .871 (27-4)
Tennessee – .825 (33-7)
RICH WITH EXPERIENCE
A veteran of the collegiate coaching ranks,
Rich Hill is in his fourth season leading the Hawai'i baseball program and 38th year overall as a collegiate skipper. Hill is currently fifth among active Division I head coaches in career wins with a record of 1,177-798-4 over his tenures at Cal Lutheran, San Francisco, San Diego and Hawai'i. Hill is also just two wins away from reaching 100 victories at UH. If the 'Bows win the first two games of this weekend's series vs. Wichita State, he will become the fastest Hawai'i coach to reach 100 wins.
# of Games to Reach 100 Wins at UH
Les Murakami - 161 games (100-61)
Rich Hill - ??? (currently 98-60)
