HONOLULU – Backed by a dominant pitching performance from junior right-hander Hekili Robello and a pair of relievers, the Hawai'i baseball team shut out UC Irvine, 3-0, on Saturday night at Les Murakami Stadium.
 
The win secured UH's first series victory over the Anteaters since 2018, and will give the 'Bows an opportunity to go for the sweep Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
 
Robello (6-2) anchored the effort on the mound, tossing six scoreless innings while scattering just two hits. The Hilo native struck out seven batters and worked around three walks on 106 pitches to earn the victory. The stellar outing lowered Robello's season ERA to 2.94 while the outing was his third scoreless start of six or more innings – all coming at home.
 
The Hawai'i bullpen seamlessly preserved the combined shutout, as John Alkire II and Brody Martin-Grudzielanek worked the final three innings. Alkire II took over in the seventh, pitching a scoreless frame with one strikeout. Martin-Grudzielanek then shut the door over the final two innings, striking out three batters and allowing just one hit to secure his first save of the season.
 
Offensively, the Rainbow Warriors (18-13, 8-9 Big West) manufactured runs early by capitalizing on Anteater mistakes. In the bottom of the first inning, Tate Shimao drew a walk, advanced to third on a double to left-center by Martin, and crossed the plate on a wild pitch by UC Irvine starter Finnegan Wall.
 
The duo replicated the sequence in the third inning, with Shimao and Martin providing back-to-back singles before Shimao scored on another wild pitch to make it 2-0.
 
Hawai'i added an insurance run in the seventh inning when Martin singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on an Evan Rolbiecki RBI single through the left side to make it 3-0. Martin paced the offense with a stellar 3-for-4 performance, while Shimao went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.
 
The two teams will finish off the series Sunday at 1:05 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.