NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Trailing by six runs heading into the ninth inning, the Hawai'i baseball team staged a storybook comeback scoring 10 runs in the frame to pull off a 14-10 victory to clinch a series win at CSUN Sunday.
Kamana Nahaku capped off an incredible weekend by matching a school single-game record with three home runs, giving him five long balls and 11 RBIs on the weekend. He's the sixth UH player ever to homer three times in a game and the first since Kolten Wong on Mar. 15, 2009. Additionally, Hawai'i set a new program single-game record for home runs as a team with six.
Behind 10-4 going into the final frame, the Rainbow Warriors sent 13 men to the plate to score 10 runs on seven hits, going from down six to up four. The first three batters of the inning reached to load things up for
Draven Nushida, who smashed a grand slam over the fence in right to pull UH to within a pair of runs at 10-8.
After a pitching change,
Aidan Kuni drew a one-out walk before
Shunsuke Sakaino tied things up with a two-run homer to dead center against his former team. Two batters later
Matthew Miura gave Hawai'i the lead for good with a double down the right field line to score
Jordan Donahue, making it 11-10.
The 'Bows weren't done yet as
Jared Quandt provided some insurance with an RBI single and Nahaku crushed his third homer of the game to drive in Quandt and make it 14-10.
Isaiah Magdaleno came back out for his third inning of work in the ninth and set the Matadors down in order to secure the miraculous victory.
The Matadors put up the first three runs of the game – all with two outs – scoring one in the second and two in the third to go up 3-0.
The 'Bows would respond loudly in the fifth, tying it up thanks to a pair of homers. Nahaku led off the inning with his third homer of the weekend to put Hawai'i on the board before
Kedren Kinzie followed a
Draven Nushida single with a two-run homer to make it 3-3.
After UH tied the game at three in the fifth inning, CSUN broke things open with four two-out runs in the sixth to take the lead for good. Cameron Calvillo delivered the first run of the frame with a go-ahead two-out single before Xaiver Rios smacked a three-run homer out to left with two strikes to make it 7-3.
Nahaku cut the deficit to 7-4 with his fourth homer of the weekend and second of the day to lead off the seventh, but the Matadors scored three in the eighth to make it 10-4 ahead of the UH rally.
The Rainbow Warriors also won their 20th game of the season, marking the fastest the team has reached 20 wins since 1992.
UH hit 10 home runs on the weekend after coming into the series with just seven all season while 18 of the team's 30 hits over the three games went for extra bases. Nahaku provided the power all weekend, smashing five homers and driving in 11 runs while hitting .600 and scoring seven runs.
The Rainbow Warriors return home to host Hawai'i Pacific on Tuesday with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.
