The University of Hawaii earned a milestone victory on Thursday night over UC Riverside at Les Murakami, routing the Highlanders 11-2.
A crowd of 1,084 watched the Rainbow Warriors improve to 30-15 overall and 13-9 in Big West Conference play, reaching the 30-win mark for the first time since 2012.
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Hawaii also won its ninth consecutive game, its longest such streak of the Rich Hill era, which began in 2022. It is also currently the longest winning streak in the country.
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Fresh off breaking the record for career relief appearances for a UH pitcher, Connor Harrison got the start for the ‘Bows and struck out six over four innings, allowing three hits and two runs.
Reigning Big West Pitcher of the Week Alex Giroux, though not as dominant as his last outing on the mound, held the Highlanders scoreless over 3.2 innings, allowing four hits with four strikeouts to earn his second consecutive win.
Eric Marrujo took the loss for UC Riverside (15-29, 5-17 Big West) after going five innings with no strikeouts, giving up six hits, four runs (two earned) with a walk.
Hawaii had 12 hits as a team and broke the game open with seven runs in the bottom of the eighth. Jake Tsukada, Ben Zeigler-Namoa and Elijah Ickes each had multiple hits for the ‘Bows, with Tsukada racking up game-highs of three hits, two RBI and two runs.
The Rainbow Warriors and Highlanders will resume their series on Friday at 6:35 p.m.