HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i baseball team defeated Cal Poly 6-4 on Senior Day at Les Murakami Stadium Sunday afternoon.
The Rainbow Warriors (28-24, 19-11) capped off an incredible first year under head coach Rich Hill, where they finish third in the conference and posted their best record since joining the Big West. At the same time, the Mustangs (37-21, 22-8) ride off in second place in the Big West to end the year.
Hawai'i got on the board first in the bottom of the second. Sophomore utility Kyson Donahue walked to get things going and was followed up by two hit batters to load the bases. Cal Poly managed two outs before, junior left fielder Scotty Scott wore a ball to the leg to score the game's first run.
In the bottom of the third, graduate center fielder Cole Cabrera reached base on a single and got moved over to third from sophomore second baseman Stone Miyao. Junior right fielder Matt Wong in a familiar position having runners in scoring position, poked one to the right-field warning track for a sac fly as UH took a 2-0 lead.
Cal Poly got on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth inning and led off with an error allowing the first batter to reach second. After being moved over on a groundout, the Mustangs singled in their first run of the ballgame. UH called upon junior reliever Tai Atkins to handle the last out of the inning and thwarted the attack to keep a one-run lead.
UH answered in the bottom of the sixth as Wong and Miyao reached base to open the inning. Sophomore Aaron Ujimori laid down the sac bunt to advance both runners into scoring positions. During the next at-bat, a wild pitch led to the inning's first run. A hit-by-pitch and strikeout led to freshman shortstop Jordan Donahue, who, with two outs, drove one over the left fielder's head for a two-out two-RBI double. Cabrera followed in the footsteps of Donahue with an RBI double of his own and extended the lead 6-1.
The Mustangs did not go quietly in the ninth as the first two batters reached base safely. The always dangerous Brooks Lee got his first hit of the series down the right-field line for an RBI double. On the next at-bat, Yorke reached on an error but scored two more in the process. However, that was the end as a fly ball to center field closed out the game, with UH victorious for the final time this year.
Cabrera kept in the theme of his weekend, where he had his third game with a pair of hits to pace the 'Bows. Jordan Donahue's clutch two-RBI led the Rainbow Warriors and gave them the boost they needed down the stretch.
Junior starting pitcher Cade Halemanu (4-5) in his final outing picked up his fourth win as he allowed one earned run and struck out six in the process.
Mahalo to Andy Archer, Matt Wong, Cole Cabrera, Buddie Pindel and Scotty Scott for your contributions to the program.
The Rainbow Warriors will return in spring 2023!
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