HONOLULU – Junior right-hander
Isaiah Magdaleno delivered his second complete-game one-hit shutout in his last three starts, striking out 14 batters to propel the Hawai'i baseball team to a 4-0 victory over CSUN on Wednesday night at Les Murakami Stadium.
With the commanding win, the Rainbow Warriors (26-21, 15-13 Big West) officially clinched a spot in the next week's Big West postseason tournament, locking themselves into a top five regular season finish.
Magdaleno (7-4) continued his incredible late-season surge, completely overpowering the Matadors (24-27, 11-17 Big West) from the opening pitch. The reigning two-time Big West Pitcher of the Week allowed just a solitary single to Mateo Rickman in the fifth inning. He issued zero walks and hit just two batters, throwing 71 of his 101 pitches for strikes in a flawless, dominant effort.
Over his last three outings, Magdaleno has cemented his status as one of the elite arms in the country, striking out 39 batters over 26.0 innings while allowing just a run on six hits with two walks. In his last two home starts, Magdaleno has fanned 30 batters while walking only one and giving up two hits in 18.0 shutout innings.
The Rainbow Warriors provided their ace with immediate run support, striking for three unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning against CSUN starter Gabriel Hernandez. After
Kamana Nahaku reached safely on a throwing error by the third baseman,
Tate Shimao laced an RBI single down the right-field line to put Hawai'i on the board.
Following a
Ben Zeigler-Namoa double, catcher
Jake Redding blasted a two-out, two-run double to right-center, bringing both runners home to extend the early advantage to 3-0.
Hawai'i added a final insurance run in the bottom of the seventh inning. First baseman
Josh Martin sparked the rally with a single up the middle and was replaced by pinch runner
Gabe Wright. After Nahaku successfully advanced Wright with a sacrifice bunt, Shimao delivered a clutch RBI double to left-center, capping the scoring at 4-0.
Shimao paced the Hawai'i offense, finishing 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs, while Redding also contributed a multi-hit performance by going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Hernandez (4-4) suffered the loss for CSUN despite a solid outing, allowing four runs—only one earned—on seven hits and three walks over 6.1 innings of work.
The Rainbow Warriors continue Senior Week Thursday night, taking on the Matadors once again at 6:35 p.m.
