HONOLULU – Itsuki Takemoto tossed a gem on the mound and came through with some clutch at-bats offensively to lead the Hawai'i baseball team to a 7-2 series-opening win over UC Davis before a sold out Les Murakami Stadium Saturday.  
 
Head coach Rich Hill started Takemoto both on the mound and at designated hitter for the first time this year, and the native of Japan delivered. The sophomore pitched a career-long seven innings and struck out seven batters with no walks to earn the win on the mound while coming through with a key two-run double in the fifth inning.
 
The Rainbow Warriors improved to 25-3 in last their 28 home games dating back to last year while Saturday's sell out was the fourth of the season, matching last year's total. It's also the fourth consecutive sold out Saturday night at Les Murakami Stadium.
 
The Rainbow Warriors wasted no time giving Takemoto some offense, as Jared Quandt smashed a three-run triple off the wall in right center to give UH an early 3-0 advantage.
 
UCD would come back with a two-run homer in the fourth to cut the Hawai'i lead to 3-2, but the 'Bows responded in the fifth to stretch the lead back out. Ben Zeigler-Namoa delivered the first of back-to-back two-out knocks with an RBI single to right to make it 4-2. One batter later, Takemoto helped his own cause out with a two-run double to left center, making it 6-2.
 
Matthew Miura turned in a big day offensively, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored and a double while Quandt went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. The top five in the Hawai'i order did all of the damage, combining to go 9-for-13 with seven runs scored and seven RBIs.
 
Additionally, shortstop Jordan Donahue made his return to the lineup after suffering an injury in the opening game of the season, starting in the No. 8 spot.
 
The Rainbow Warriors and Aggies will meet for game two of the series Sunday with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.