On Friday night, the Hawaii baseball team faced off against No. 20 UC Irvine for the second night in a row. Despite being down seven runs, the Rainbow Warriors put up a valiant effort, but ultimately fell to the Anteaters with a final score of 12-8 at Les Murakami Stadium.
In the eighth inning, Hawaii came close to tying things up when they managed to close the gap to 9-8. They had runners in scoring position with one out, but UCI’s reliever Ricky Tibbett struck out two batters to escape the inning. The Anteaters then added three insurance runs in the ninth, making it difficult for Hawaii to keep up. Despite a late single from Dallas Duarte in the bottom of the ninth, Hawaii was unable to complete their comeback.
UC Irvine took an early lead with a pivotal three-run homer by designated hitter Thomas McCaffrey in the fourth inning. However, Hawaii’s head coach Rich Hill praised his team’s resilience and determination, noting that they fought back from a difficult position and nearly pulled off an upset.
The Anteaters had a strong offensive showing, with left fielder Caden Kendle going 4-for-4 and first baseman Anthony Martinez contributing with a 3-for-5 performance. Randy Abshier, Hawaii’s second-day starter, struggled on the mound, giving up 10 hits and eight earned runs in just over three innings.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s series finale, Hill expressed confidence in his team’s ability to bounce back from their tough loss. With a semi-rested pitching staff ready to go, he is determined to avoid being swept by a Big West opponent and breaking his streak of not being swept during his tenure as head coach.
