HONOLULU – Junior right-hander
Isaiah Magdaleno delivered an unforgettable performance on Friday night, tossing a complete-game shutout and taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning to lead the Hawai'i baseball team to a thrilling 1-0 victory over UC Riverside at Les Murakami Stadium.
Magdaleno (5-4) was absolutely dominant from the opening pitch, overpowering the Highlanders' lineup to rack up a career-high 16 strikeouts. The Los Angeles native navigated eight flawless, hitless frames before UC Riverside's David Whittle chopped a one-out infield single to shortstop in the top of the ninth to break up the historic no-hit bid.
Unfazed, Magdaleno induced a pair of fielder's choices and finished the game with another strikeout to seal the masterpiece. In total, he yielded just one hit and one walk, throwing 78 of his 107 pitches for strikes while facing only 30 batters on the night. He was also perfect through 6.1 innings and struck out at least one batter in every inning, including multiple punch-outs in each of the first six frames.
It was the first complete game effort by a Rainbow Warrior pitcher since Randy Abshier on Apr. 22, 2023 while his 16 strikeouts are the most by a UH pitcher since at least 2002. The program record for strikeouts is 20, held by Derek Tatsuno (May 20, 1978 vs. Oregon).
The Rainbow Warriors (22-19, 11-11 Big West) provided their ace with the only run support he would need in the bottom of the first inning.
Tate Shimao sparked the offense with a one-out double to right field and subsequently advanced to third on a groundout by
Ben Zeigler-Namoa. Freshman
Mana Lau Kong then stepped up and delivered a clutch, two-out RBI single to right-center field, bringing Shimao home to put Hawai'i in front, 1-0.
Shimao paced the Hawai'i offense, finishing the night 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored, while Lau Kong went 1-for-3 with the decisive RBI.
Kody Watanabe and
Taylor Takata also contributed hits to round out the offensive attack for the 'Bows.
The two teams will meet for game two of the series Saturday at 6:35 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.
