IRVINE, Calif. – Isaiah Magdaleno earned Big West Pitcher of the Week honors Monday after delivering an unforgettable, historic performance on Friday night. The junior right-hander tossed a complete-game one-hit shutout with 16 strikeouts to lead UH to a 1-0 win in the series opener against UC Riverside.
Magdaleno was absolutely dominant from the opening pitch, making history as the only pitcher in the country this year to throw a complete-game shutout with at least 16 strikeouts. He struck out at least one batter in every inning, including multiple punch-outs in each of the first six frames, on his way to allowing just one hit and one walk on 107 pitches.
The right-hander was untouchable for most of the night, carrying a perfect game through 6.1 innings before a full-count walk in the seventh inning ended it. He then carried his no-hit bid all the way into the ninth inning before an infield single to shortstop with one out ended it.
Despite losing the no-hit bid with two outs to go, Magdaleno settled down and picked up a strikeout to strand the tying run at third and preserve the win, setting the tone for UH's three-game sweep of the Highlanders.
Magdaleno's masterpiece marked the first complete-game effort by a Rainbow Warrior pitcher since Randy Abshier on April 22, 2023. Furthermore, he is one of only six pitchers nationally to strike out 16 or more batters in a game this year. In doing so, he became just the third pitcher in program history—and the first since 1979—to strike out at least 16 batters in a game, joining Gerald Ako and program record-holder Derek Tatsuno, who famously struck out 20.
It's the second time this season that Magdaleno has earned conference pitcher of the week honors, also taking home the recognition after fanning a career-high 12 batters over 8.1 innings vs. Ball State on Feb. 26.
