The University of Hawai‘i baseball team kept its postseason hopes alive on Wednesday, riding a pair of home runs and shutdown relief pitching to a 6-2 win over UC Santa Barbara in an elimination game at the inaugural Big West Tournament.
After earning a spot in the conference tournament with a win-or-go-home victory on Sunday, the Rainbow Warriors went hana hou with another clutch performance, this time away from the islands.
Trailing 2-1 entering the bottom of the fifth, Lahaina’s Ben Zeigler-Namoa delivered the swing of the game, launching a three-run home run to left-center to give UH a 4-2 lead. Two innings later, Matthew Miura added insurance with a two-run opposite-field homer, stretching the lead to 6-2.
Freshman Pitcher of the Year Cooper Walls got the start and tossed four innings, allowing two runs.
From there, the bullpen took over. Corey Ronan earned the win with 2.1 scoreless innings before closer Isaiah Magdaleno slammed the door shut.
Magdaleno recorded the final eight outs without allowing a hit, notching three strikeouts and earning his eighth save of the season.
Zeigler-Namoa finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Elijah Ickes went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Miura scored two runs to go along with his two RBIs.
With the win, the Rainbow Warriors advance to the double-elimination portion of the Big West Tournament and will face top-seeded UC Irvine on Thursday.
First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. HST. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with radio coverage available via ESPN Honolulu.