Hawai‘i Softball Sweeps Friday Doubleheader at RWSS

Hawai‘i Softball Sweeps Friday Doubleheader at RWSS

Feb 28, 2026

Hawai‘i Softball Sweeps Friday Doubleheader at RWSS

Game 1: Hawai‘i 8, Mercyhurst 0 (5 innings)

Hawai‘i opened its Friday slate with a dominant five-inning run-rule victory over Mercyhurst at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

The Rainbow Wahine struck early with three runs in the first and never looked back, adding two more in the second, one in the fourth and two in the fifth to secure the 8–0 win.

Macy Brandl was sharp in the circle, tossing a complete-game one-hitter with five strikeouts to improve to 2-0 on the season. Mercyhurst managed just a single hit and did not draw a walk.

At the plate, Hawai‘i made the most of six hits and seven walks:

  • Carys Murakami went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two stolen bases.

  • Bailey Nagasako drove in two runs and reached base three times.

  • Jamie McGaughey added an RBI double.

  • Briana Maio-Silva scored twice and swiped two bases.

Clean defense backed Brandl, as Hawai‘i committed no errors in the opener.

Game 2: Hawai‘i 6, Portland State 5 (8 innings)

The nightcap delivered drama.

Hawai‘i built a 3–1 lead in the third inning behind home runs from Maycen Gibbs, Jamie McGaughey, and Milan Ah Yat, then carried a 5–3 advantage into the seventh.

Portland State responded in the top of the seventh, scoring two runs on a fielding error at second base to even the game at 5–5 and force extra innings.

Under the international tiebreaker rule, Hawai‘i capitalized.

With the ghost runner placed at third to start the bottom of the eighth, Jamie McGaughey hit a ground ball to shortstop. A fielding error by the PSU shortstop allowed Rhea Furtado to score from third, sealing the 6–5 walk-off win.

Despite committing three errors defensively, Hawai‘i’s offense delivered in key moments:

  • Gibbs finished 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.

  • McGaughey went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs — plus the game-winning contact in extras.

  • Ah Yat added a solo shot.

  • Furtado scored twice, including the winning run.

Hannah Pitts earned the win in relief (2-3), while Millie Fidge also saw time in the circle.

 

By the Numbers

  • Hawai‘i outscored its opponents 14–5 on the day.

  • The Rainbow Wahine hit four home runs in the nightcap.

  • Brandl and Pitts combined for 11 strikeouts across the doubleheader.

  • Hawai‘i improves to 7-9 overall with the sweep.

HPU Cross Country Builds on Consistency, Community in 2026

HPU Cross Country Builds on Consistency, Community in 2026

Sep 19, 2026

Hawai‘i Pacific University cross country is underway in 2026 with a 22-athlete roster and an emphasis on consistency, growth and building a strong team environment. Head coach Kevin Schwarz joined Sharks Weekly alongside sophomore Drake Hanley and...

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Rosenthal’s all-around night helps No. 3 Hawaii sweep No. 6 BYU

Rosenthal’s all-around night helps No. 3 Hawaii sweep No. 6 BYU

Feb 27, 2026

Rosenthal’s all-around night helps No. 3 Hawaii sweep No. 6 BYU

Tread Rosenthal celebrates after a point in the second set against BYU Friday Night. | Photo Credit: Daniel Fujita, HSRN

HONOLULU – Championship contender in full bloom.

Donning floral print uniforms while celebrating the Lunar New Year inside Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, the third-ranked University of Hawai’i men’s volleyball team made quick work of No. 6 BYU (13-4) on Friday night with a sweep over the rival Cougars, (25-18, 25-21, 25-16).

Louis Sakanoko’s 15 kills on 25 swings led the way in the 11th straight win for the Rainbow Warriors, but it was junior setter Tread Rosenthal’s balanced performance piloting the offense that had head coach Charlie Wade’s mind wondering mid-match.

“I’m continually impressed with Tread,” Wade emphasized after the match. “Like he does stuff that just doesn’t show in the stat sheet. I thought today, like – and this doesn’t really happen much in my career – when I start to miss you in your junior year, when you’re still playing … He just impacts the game in so many ways.”

Hawai’i (14-1) saw the junior dish out 32 assists and tie his career-high with four aces from the service line in the sweep, tacking on a block, three kills and five digs for good measure. It was the 11th time in 13 outings that Rosenthal eclipsed 30 assists and his seventh match with multiple service aces this season.

Quintin Greenidge helped Hawai’i put on a defensive display as well, sprawling all over for 11 of the 29 total digs tallied by the team. The UH serve-receive game also put on a clinic, going without a single receiving error for just the third time this season and first time since January 8.

The Rainbow Warriors picked up where they left off on Wednesday night, riding a balanced offensive attack to a .500 hitting percentage as a group in a 25-18 opening set win. Sophomore Kainoa Wade had five of his nine total kills in the first frame while the Flying Frenchmen, Louis Sakanoko and Adrien Roure, each had four kills to help power the hosts to begin the evening.

Louis Sakanoko jogs back to the service box after a point by Hawai’i. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

The second set saw sloppiness seep back into the Hawai’i service turns, dishing out seven errors behind the stripe in a much tighter frame. BYU took a 15-14 lead into the media timeout with the help of 10 different Rainbow Warrior miscues, but a slightly-more focused group returned after the break to help the hosts respond in turn.

Rosenthal dealt a pair of aces out of the deck to help Hawai’i flip the frame on its head, giving UH a 20-17 lead and forcing a timeout from BYU. The Cougars made one final push, but Roure rammed the door shut in the second set with his lone ace of the night for a 25-21 decision and commanding two-set advantage.

Adrien Roure leaps to smack a serve on Lunar New Year Night for Hawai’i. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

“One of the things I love about these guys, Adrien and Louis, and their evolution, their maturity is shown in so many ways,” Wade said of his dynamic French duo. “One is being able to go back to the service line and not feel like they got to pull driver and swing out of their shoes as the only way to score … They’re starting to learn and to trust that we can score in different ways and being able to modulate from the service line.”

The two squads traded blows to an 11-11 deadlock to begin the third set, but Sakanoko, Finn Kearney and Kainoa Wade took turns in the service box helping Hawai’i race out to a 21-13 advantage and force BYU to burn both timeouts.

Sakanoko put UH on the cusp of the sweep of their historic rivals with his 14th putdown of the evening and finished off the Cougars two rallies later with his 15th and final kill, sending home the season-high crowd of 6,493 fans buzzing for the weekend.

“It’s so much fun,” a smiling sophomore middle blocker Trevell Jordan said about playing in front of the growing home audience. “Never had anything like it before, it’s really an experience and it really adds something to your play.”

Jordan, in his first season with the Rainbow Warriors after transferring from Grand Canyon following the school’s decision to cut the men’s volleyball program, added four kills on eight swings and five total blocks (four assists, one solo) in the win. The sophomore had a season-high seven kills against the Cougars on Wednesday night and helped Hawai’i out-block BYU both evenings.

The Cougars hit .183 as a team over the three frames, their second-worst showing of the season, while committing 16 hitting errors in the Friday night loss to the Rainbow Warriors. Trevor Herget was the lone player to register double-digit kills for BYU, racking up 10 putdowns and committing seven attacking errors on 24 total swings.

With the first foot into the second-half season gauntlet, Hawai’i continues a seven-match homestand next week when No. 7-ranked Pepperdine visits the islands for a pair of games. The Rainbow Warriors will host “Dig Pink” night on Wednesday, March 4 for the first of the two meetings with the Waves with opening serve scheduled for 7 p.m. HT.

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Hawaii handles BYU in first match back at SSC in over a month

Hawaii handles BYU in first match back at SSC in over a month

Feb 26, 2026

Hawaii handles BYU in first match back at SSC in over a month

The Rainbow Warriors celebrate after defeating BYU in four sets. | Photo: Rayden Aoki

MANOA — Home sweet home.

Playing its first match at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in more than a month, the University of Hawaiʻi men’s volleyball team defeated BYU in four sets Wednesday night before a crowd of 4,800.

Set scores were 27-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-18.

The third-ranked Rainbow Warriors (13-1) extended their winning streak to 10 matches while snapping the sixth-ranked Cougars’ nine-match win streak.

“It was great. Stan Sheriff is the best gym you can play in America definitely, and playing here as a Hawaiʻi team is even better,” said junior outside hitter Louis Sakanoko.

The two teams will conclude their series Friday night. The two-match series was not on the schedule at the start of the year, but was created after the cancellation of the NIL Tournament in California earlier this month. A portion of ticket proceeds from the series will go directly toward the universities’ NIL initiatives, supporting efforts to recruit and retain players.

“I had so much fun,” Sakanoko said. “Thank you to all the fans for coming. The attendance was pretty crazy for a last-minute game, so really, really happy to be here.”

Sakanoko’s comfort on the Rainbow Warriors’ home court was on full display on the penultimate point of the first set when he put down a reverse attack behind his head while facing away from the net.

“It’s Louis being Louis,” Hawaiʻi coach Charlie Wade said.

Sakanoko said it happened in the flow of the moment.

“We don’t even really practice that. Just in the moment, that’s the only thing I could find to score, so I tried. And I know Charlie doesn’t like that, so I better score when I do that or I’m in trouble.”

This play resulted in a Hawai’i kill by Louis Sakanoko (23). | Photo: Rayden Aoki

Sakanoko was one of three Rainbow Warriors to finish with double-digit kills, recording 15 as Hawaiʻi hit .451 as a team in the win. Sophomore opposite Kainoa Wade led the team with 16 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Adrien Roure hit .500 and finished with 14 kills.

“Tonight everyone was really efficient,” Sakanoko said. “I think the more spread out the offense is, the better for us because it’s one or two blockers maximum, so it’s always really nice.”

Middle blocker Jordan Trevell also hit .636 without an error and had seven kills on 11 swings. Setter Tread Rosenthal recorded 46 assists and added three kills, while libero Quintin Greenidge also contributed a point.

Hawaiʻi dropped the second set by the minimum two points but responded by winning the third set by its largest margin of the match.

Greenidge noted that playing at home helps the team stay composed after a setback.

“There’s just a level of comfort that we have on this court,” he said. “Even after losing that second set, we can go back (in the locker room), come back out, see all our fans and just reset and know that we can win.”

Wade also made a key substitution after the intermission, inserting sophomore middle blocker Ofeck Hazan, who finished with four kills on six swings.

“We weren’t really touching much in the middle. (BYU was) running the middle a fair amount and scoring, and Ofeck is just kind of that high-energy guy. Always gives you a lift. Does a lot of things that never show up on the stats,” Wade said.

Ofeck Hazan (16) celebrates after a Hawai’i point in the fourth set. | Photo: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

“Thought it was a good spot for him to come in, and he absolutely delivered.”

Trent Moser led the Cougars (13-3) with a match-high 18 kills in the loss.

Nelson, Trojans hold off Buffanblu on final play of preseason tilt

Nelson, Trojans hold off Buffanblu on final play of preseason tilt

Feb 25, 2026

Nelson, Trojans hold off Buffanblu on final play of preseason tilt

Mililani junior Zenn Nelson tries to shake loose away from a Punahou defender. | Photo: Daniel Fujita

MILILANI — A preseason girls flag football matchup in Central Oahu Tuesday night certainly had a championship-like finish.

Host Mililani rallied from a 27-12 halftime deficit and held off Punahou on the final play of the game for a 32-27 win at John Kauinana Stadium.

The Trojans were one of the top teams last year during the sport’s inaugural season in the state, but fell short of taking home any hardware to show for it in 2025. Mililani was undefeated to start the season before losing to Moanalua in the OIA championship game and also lost to eventual state champion Campbell in the state semifinals.

Junior Zenn Nelson, one of the returning standouts from last year’s squad, is ready for the Trojans to bounce back in 2026.

“I have an amazing team and amazing coaches,” said Nelson, who accounted for two scores and had an interception defensively against Punahou.

“I think we’re going to have a great year this year. Definitely a comeback year.”

Nelson’s shiftiness on the field as a quarterback saw her account for all of the Trojans’ touchdowns in their first four postseason wins in 2025 — but missed the team’s final two state tournament games after breaking her collarbone in the quarterfinals, she disclosed.

That experienced has helped Nelson tackle the upcoming season with a refocused mindset.

“I got my collarbone broken so I realized have to be grateful for every chance I get so I started working on throwing more, route running and definitely I have to start working out more to get it stronger. The coaches are really great so I’m really grateful for them,” she said.

The Trojans are under new leadership at the coaching position this year with Ed Cera coming in, but there is some familiarity as Nelson participates in Cera’s club team Island Empire.

“I’m more familiar with them so I have more of a connection so it’s easier to talk to them and they understand the game more. They brought a lot of new plays and I feel like we have more drills that we get put to work for that so I think it’s really good,” Nelson said.

There are also new additions to the Mililani team.

One is Kamehameha transfer Hayden Kaahanui-Cera, who has been playing flag football since she was four years old and adds another arm in the backfield that frees up Nelson to play multiple positions outside of quarterback.

Mililani junior quarterback Hayden Kaahanui-Cera keeps the ball for a touchdown in the second quarter. | Photo: Daniel Fujita

Kaahanui-Cera threw two TDs and also ran in two more in the win against Punahou.

“I think my team has all my back. We have really talented girls out here. Hayden is a really good quarterback so I’m glad that I have that weight off my shoulder and I felt like my stronger side was mainly wide receiver and running back so I’m glad I could do that, but we just switch on and off,” said Nelson.

Another solid addition is Lily Tavale, who Nelson got to play with on the girls basketball team during the winter season. Tavale caught the game-winning score from Kaahanui-Cera late in the fourth quarter.

“She’s a really good strong player, basketball and football so I think having her is a strong set in our starting seven,” Nelson said of Tavale.

Lily Tavale catches a 2-point conversion pass in the third quarter to cut into Punahou’s lead, 27-26. | Photo: Daniel Fujita

Of the returners, Sophie Foster showed her worth in the comeback win against the Buffanblu as a snapper and receiver. She was easily the receptions leader of the game, hauling at least 10 passes. On the game-winning drive Foster caught three passes early in the possession to help extend the drive.

“She’s a great player, all-around. I think she did a great job tonight,” Nelson said of Foster. “I think us having a good connection is really good for the team.”

While Nelson had an exceptional game, she was almost responsible for giving the game up on the penultimate play of the game when a Punahou receiver caught a pass above her and rumbled downfield eluding defenders before Sadie Kauhane came up with a stop.

Nelson said the play was a learning opportunity and also credited her teammates for helping her flush any negative thoughts.

“I should have been more aggressive going to get the ball instead of just jumping because it’s more of an advantage for them to come and get it. I was also kind of dwelling on that mistake and I really got in my head, but my teammates had my back and just said keep on going and I realized just because I make a mistake doesn’t affect my whole game.”

On the final play of the game, the Punahou quarterback rolled to their right and found a lane down the sideline and appeared to get the ball over the end zone. But when the scrum cleared, it was Mililani’s Alizae Maialoha who had the game-sealing flag pull to secure the win.

The Trojans have a number of preseason games in the next two weeks before opening up the season against ‘Aiea on March 11. That matchup will be the first game of a double-header at Moanalua.

Hawaii caps AC Carter Night with dramatic overtime win over UC Santa Barbara

Hawaii caps AC Carter Night with dramatic overtime win over UC Santa Barbara

Feb 21, 2026

Hawaii caps AC Carter Night with dramatic overtime win over UC Santa Barbara

Hawai’i guard Hunter Erickson (0) raises his fist in celebration after the Rainbow Warriors outlasted UC Santa Barbara in overtime. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

HONOLULU – A night to remember.

Playing for a season-high audience of more than 8,000 fans and some of the greatest names in program history, the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team outlasted UC Santa Barbara inside Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday evening in overtime, 78-75.

“This one is one that I’ll never forget,” said head coach Eran Ganot after the win. “I cannot thank the power of the Hawai’i fanbase for their love and passion and emotion that they showed in there.”

Celebrating program legend Anthony ‘AC’ Carter’s jersey retirement, Hawai’i icons spanning from the 1970s through the 1990s and into the 21st century returned to the islands for a weekend celebration fit for a superstar.

University of Hawai’i legend Anthony Carter poses with a framed version of his retired jersey alongside UH athletics director Matt Elliott. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

It sparked an overwhelming sense of pride in the program as members from the over 100-plus year history of the program gathered in the same place to celebrate Rainbow Warrior royalty together. That program-wide togetherness became a rallying cry for the UH coaching staff to the team entering the weekend after suffering the first two-game losing streak of the season.

After beautiful renditions of the national anthem and Hawai’i Pono’i from Henry Kapono and the City of Refuge Christian Church sparked up the noise inside the Stan Sheriff Center, the teams got right to business trading stops and a few early buckets as the Gauchos took an early 7-5 lead through five minutes.

Ike Finlinson started to wake up the Rainbow Warriors on offense, scoring all nine of his points in the first 12 minutes of action to push the hosts ahead by the under-eight-minute media timeout, 22-15.

After being held to a 2-for-13 stretch through the middle of the opening stanza, UC Santa Barbara found the offensive fuel over the final seven minutes as they made six of their final 10 shots from the floor, including back-to-back threes with under a minute remaining to take a 32-30 lead at the break.

“Lapses are killers,” said junior guard Isaiah Kerr when asked about the end of the opening frame for Hawai’i. “It’s simple stuff where we’re kind of beating ourselves, and so that was the conversation at halftime. We’re playing good defense, sometimes we beat ourselves and we had to make that change.”

The Gauchos continued to gain separation when play resumed, scoring the first six points out of the locker rooms to extend out to a 38-30 lead over the Rainbow Warriors. Seniors Dre Bullock and Harry Rouhliadeff took turns getting the offense restarted for UH, scoring the next seven points to pull the hosts back within one, but back-to-back buckets by Aidan Mahaney put the visitors back up by a handful.

Kerr made the change he spoke about wanting to see, sparking Hawai’i on both ends after re-entering the game by helping cool off the increasingly warm Mahaney with his defense and knocking down a triple and a couple of free throws as the Rainbow Warriors rallied ahead of the Gauchos with under nine minutes left to play, 52-51.

Hawaii G Isaiah Kerr closely guards UCSB’s Aidan Mahaney. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

“I said to [Isaiah Kerr] after the game, I have never seen a player play as hard as I did see him tonight,” Ganot shared. “What happened is a rising tide lifts all ships, and Dre then took it to another level.”

After UC Santa Barbara shoved back ahead by a handful with 5:03 remaining in regulation, Kerr and Bullock willed the Warriors back before Harry Rouhliadeff tied it twice in the final minute to send the game to overtime.

Kerr began the extra period with a 3-pointer from the right wing to ease the nerves of the 8,103 fans standing anxiously waiting and wanting to celebrate the memorable evening. The junior guard elicited the loudest pop from the crowd all night two minutes later as he forced UCSB forward Hosana Kitenge to foul out as Kerr finished a layup through contact to put the Rainbow Warriors ahead for good with 1:59 remaining.

“[The 3-pointer to begin overtime] wasn’t even the play that was set up originally,” Kerr said chuckling about his hot finish. “I was just wide open when I caught the ball, so I was like alright it’s going up, and it went in. I felt really good to get that start and then that kind of had me in a little bit of a more aggressive mindset.”

Hunter Erickson and Isaac Johnson each split trips to the free throw line to help keep UH up over the final minute and Kerr made the on-the-fly decision to not foul while up three as UCSB’s CJ Shaw forced up a contested 3-pointer from the right wing that clanked off the side iron and into Bullock’s hands to clinch the 78-75 win.

The victory snapped UH’s eight-game losing streak against UC Santa Barbara and returned the Rainbow Warriors into a tie atop the Big West standings with UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge with two weeks remaining in the regular season. The Anteaters fell at home against UC San Diego on Saturday night while CSUN clipped Long Beach State by two in Long Beach.

Dre Bullock paced Hawai’i in the win with 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals, going 7-for-16 from the field while knocking down 6-of-9 from the charity stripe. Isaiah Kerr added a season-high 17 points off of the bench for the Rainbow Warriors, scoring 15 points after halftime while drawing the defensive assignment of Aidan Mahaney for a majority of his 32 minutes of work.

Harry Rouhliadeff was the final player to finish in double figures for UH, scoring 10 points and recording two of the biggest baskets of the game for the hosts before fouling out in overtime.

Hawaii F Harry Rouhliadeff tosses up a putback with under a minute remaining to tie the game. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

“Harry’s battling foul trouble and he makes two of the biggest emotional plays,” Ganot quickly pointed out postgame. “That’s our captain, make no mistake.”

Colin Smith led the Gauchos with 19 points and eight rebounds in the loss while Marvin McGhee IV recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Aidan Mahaney scored 16 points before fouling out in overtime but was held to 7-of-20 shooting from the floor and didn’t get to the free throw line in a game for the first time in the entire month of February.

Hawai’i (19-7, 11-5 Big West) will head to the continent next week for the final road trip of the regular season, visiting UC Davis on Thursday, February 26 before hopping over to face Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, February 28.

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Hawai’i shuts down Wichita State bats on Les Murakami Hall of Fame Night

Hawai’i shuts down Wichita State bats on Les Murakami Hall of Fame Night

Feb 21, 2026

Hawai’i shuts down Wichita State bats on Les Murakami Hall of Fame Night

Tsubasa Tomii pitched one scoreless inning with one strikeout as the first arm out of the bullpen. | Photo: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

HONOLULU – You’ve got to put on a show with Les and the legends in the house.

Behind an electrifying performance from the pitching staff and a jolt of offense from the jump, the University of Hawai’i baseball team held up its end of the bargain on Les Murakami Hall of Fame Night with a 4-2 win over storied rival Wichita State (4-2) on Friday evening.

Junior right-hander Hekili Robello (2-0) picked up his second win in as many starts this season, spinning 6.0 innings of two-run ball (1 ER) while allowing four hits, walking one and striking out nine.

“He was, again, lights out,” head coach Rich Hill said of Robello’s second straight sweet six-inning showing. “You notice he’s in an 0-2 count almost all the time. So you talk about first pitch strikes, mixing the slider and then he’s also got a changeup … he just fills up the zone. It’s a unique [arm slot], guys have a hard time with it.”

The Big Island fireballer turned it over to the bullpen for the final three frames, watching as Tsubasa Tomii, Saul Soto and John Alkire II combined for 3.0 innings of scoreless work to lock down the win. The trio of relievers allowed two total baserunners and only one hit in their action on Friday, combining for 42 pitches total to record the final nine outs.

Hawai’i (5-1) did all of its scoring in the opening inning, posting a four-spot in their first chance of the night again Shockers RHP Brady Hamilton. The first four batters reached base for the Rainbow Warriors before Evan Rolbiecki’s RBI groundout mercifully gave the first out of the bottom of the 1st for Wichita State.

Kamana Nahaku helped the Rainbow Warriors tack on two more runs before the end of the first inning, roping a single between the shortstop and third baseman to score Kody Watanabe and Jake Redding. Tate Shimao tried to advance from first to third on the single but was gunned down for the final out of the frame.

Kamana Nahaku’s 2 RBI single in the bottom of the first inning brought home the final runs of the night for Hawai’i. | Photo: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Wichita State responded in the top of the 2nd with the help of a couple Hawai’i miscues, loading the bases with a leadoff single, a walk and an E4 before Kaleb Duncan tapped an RBI single into right to get the Shockers on the board and keep the bases juiced with nobody out.

An RBI groundout by Zeb Henry plated the second run for Wichita State, but more importantly helped Hekili Robello settle back in for the Rainbow Warriors. The junior right-hander bounced back to get Jaden Gustafson to pop out to the infield and struck out Jayson Jones to end the threat from the Shockers with UH still leading, 4-2.

“He’s just got ice in his veins, you know, the guts of a burglar,” Hill said of his starter’s resolve to get out of the 2nd-inning jam. “This environment can overwhelm some people … I mean, that’s [Rainbow Baseball] legends, that’s Coach Murakami, Coach Gene Stevenson. They’ve got the Hall of Fame blue jackets out here, a packed house screaming and he just went out there like it was another day at the park in Hilo. It was really fun to see. He’s got a great future.”

Robello would retire 11 Wichita batters in a row after allowing the two runs, finally seeing another Shocker reach base with two down in the bottom of the 5th when Jayson Jones smacked a single into right, but the UH starter got MJ Sweeney to ground out to second base the very next at-bat to end the frame.

The Hilo High product struck out the side in the top of the sixth, working around Owen Washburn’s one-out double to hand over a multi-run cushion to the ‘Bows bullpen.

Tomii twirled a scoreless 7th frame in his fourth outing of the young season, striking out one while showing off his funky spinning offspeed stuff for the fans in attendance. New Mexico State transfer Saul Soto spun a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th, delighting the crowd with a backwards K in his lone stanza of work.

Tsubasa Tomii pitched one scoreless inning with one strikeout as the first arm out of the bullpen. | Photo: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

RHP John Alkire II locked down the 9th for the Rainbow Warriors again, earning his second save of the season and sending fans home happy on Les Murakami Hall of Fame Night with a 4-2 win over the Shockers.

Brady Hamilton (1-1) took the loss despite going 7.0 innings, allowing the four 1st-inning runs and nothing more as he gave up seven hits, walked two batters, hit three more and struck out six.

Hawai’i and Wichita State return to action on Saturday for the third game of the four-game series with first pitch scheduled for 3:05 p.m. HT.

UPDATE: Please note, Saturday’s game has postponed due to rain and will be made up on Sunday as the Rainbow Warriors and Shockers play a doubleheader. The first game will be 7 innings with first pitch set for 11 a.m. HT with a 9-inning game to follow afterwards.

The dugout greets the defense after getting out of the seventh inning unscathed. | Photo: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Ben Zeigler-Namoa was steady at first base and at the plate for Hawai’i, scoring the game’s first run while garnering two hits. | Photo: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Draven Nushida makes contact with a pitch against Wichita State. He was one of two players with multiple hits Friday night. | Photo: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Moanalua handles visiting Kailua, 41-18

Moanalua handles visiting Kailua, 41-18

Aug 8, 2026

New year, new Moanalua. Na Menehune handled visiting Kailua, last season’s Division I state champion, in convincing fashion with a 41-18 win on opening weekend Saturday night. Running back Titan Te’o was at the forefront of the victory with three...

Waimea opens season with 67-6 rout of Kaimuki

Waimea opens season with 67-6 rout of Kaimuki

Aug 8, 2026

Waimea opened its season in dominant fashion Saturday night, cruising past visiting Kaimuki 67-6 at Hanapepe Stadium. The Menehune scored on their opening kickoff, with Kepa Pablo returning it for a touchdown to give Waimea an early lead. Waimea...

Radford runs past Castle on opening night, 44-20

Radford runs past Castle on opening night, 44-20

Aug 7, 2026

Radford started the season off with a bang, roaring past visiting Castle, 44-20, Friday night at John E. Velasco Stadium. Running back Colby Burgess led the way for the Rams running for 201 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries. He scored...

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