Takemoto’s two-way talent helps lift Hawai’i over UC Davis in opener

HONOLULU – Hey Shohei, Itsuki Takemoto is here – we’re all good. 

The University of Hawai’i baseball team took Saturday’s series opener over UC Davis (11-8, 3-1 Big West) with the help of the sophomore two-way playing Takemoto’s seven strong innings on the mound, Matt Miura’s perfect night and Jared Quandt’s continued brilliance at the plate, beating the Aggies, 7-2.  

Takemoto got the start on the mound while getting the call to bat cleanup in the same contest for the first time this year, going 7.0 innings, striking out seven and walking none while helping his own cause with a 1-for-2 showing at the plate with a double and two runs batted in as he picked up his second win of the season.  

After being held hitless in the last two games against No. 15 UCSB, Hawai’i center fielder Matt Miura broke out of the mini slump with a 4-for-4 showing at the plate. The four hits (one double, three singles) matched a season-high for the junior from Maryknoll as he also stole a base and scored two runs for the Rainbow Warriors. 

Right fielder Jared Quandt provided the biggest blow of the game from the plate for Hawai’i (15-5, 4-3 Big West), crushing a bases-clearing triple in the bottom of the first inning that put the hosts ahead from the start. The senior switch hitter raised his on-base percentage to .453 as he reached three times in total throughout the night, adding a single and a walk to go with his RBI triple in the win. 

UC Davis pulled within a run in the top of the fourth with Braydon Wooldridge’s two-run blast to right field but failed to record a hit after the inning concluded as Takemoto twirled a gem. Freddy Rodriguez tossed two innings in relief for Hawai’i, striking out four Aggie batters. 

Ben Ziegler-Namoa added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning with an RBI single and Takemoto smacked a two-run double into the gap to break open a 6-2 lead for the hosts by the end of the frame. Ziegler-Namoa smacked an RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to close the scoring, his 16th run batted in of the year. 

All smiles for Ben Ziegler-Namoa after his RBI single jumpstarted a 3-run inning in the fifth. Photo credit: Michael Lasquero | HSRN

Standout shortstop Jordan Donahue made his return to the lineup after suffering a hamate injury on opening night, going 0-for-4 at the plate but making all four plays in the field he got a chance at in his second appearance of the season.

Hawai’i and UC Davis reconvene on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. HT for the second of three games. Right-hander Liam O’Brien (2-0, 1.07 ERA) is expected to toe the slab for the Rainbow Warriors and Tyler Wood (2-0, 3.18 ERA) is projected to go for the Aggies.