Baseball Hosts Conference Leader Cal Poly

13 days ago

University of Hawaii Athletics

HONOLULU – After back-to-back weekends on the road in conference play, Hawai'i will host Big West leader Cal Poly for a three-game series starting Friday at Les Murakami Stadium. The Rainbow Warriors will look to play themselves back into the conference title race as this weekend's series kicks off a stretch of three straight series against teams currently in the top five of the league. The Mustangs lead the all-time series, 31-14, but UH took two of three games last year in San Luis Obispo.

Cal - Figure 1 — Photo University of Hawaii Athletics

HAWAI'I (20-14, 4-8 Big West) vs. CAL POLY (21-14, 11-4 Big West) Dates & Times Friday, Apr. 19 -- 6:35 p.m. Saturday, Apr. 20 -- 6:35 p.m. Sunday, Apr. 21 -- 1:05 p.m. Location Honolulu, O'ahu -- Les Murakami Stadium Radio ESPN Honolulu or CBS 1500 TV/Live Stream None Live Stats Friday | Saturday | Sunday PDF Notes Hawai'i | Cal Poly Social Media @HawaiiBaseball | @Hawaiibsb Promotions Stop by the Fantastic Sams sponsor table, to grab a rally towel on Saturday and a lanyard on Sunday. All weekend we will be collecting non-perishable food donations for the Hawai'i Foodbank as a part of the State Employees' Food Drive. If you bring in a can of food your name will be put into a raffle to win select UH prizes throughout the game.

Friday (Apr. 19): We will hold a wiffle ball home run derby at the Tropical Turn Up on the mauka lawn! Come early to participate.

Sunday (Apr. 21) Brought to you by Warrior Wrestling Entertainment it is WARRIOR MANIA! Come and enjoy a new style of Warrior Baseball!

Projected Rotations Hawai'i Friday -- TBD Saturday -- TBD Sunday -- TBD Cal Poly Friday -- TBD Saturday -- TBD Sunday -- TBD

HEAD COACH RICH HILL At Hawai'i: 77-58, 3rd season Collegiate Record: 1,156-796-4, 37th season

SERIES VS. CAL POLY

Cal Poly leads, 31-14 Last Meeting: 2023 in San Luis Obispo (UH won series, 2-1)

LEADING OFF DID YOU KNOW? Leadoff batter Jordan Donahue brings a 17-game hitting streak into the weekend. The shortstop is hitting .389 (28-for-72) with seven doubles in that stretch. It's the longest streak by a UH player since 2018 when Kekai Rios also hit safely in 17 straight. NO FREEBIES Hawai'i currently ranks as one of the top teams in the country at limiting walks allowed and errors by its defense. UH is 11th in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings and 14th nationally in fielding percentage. The Rainbow Warriors are one of three teams in the country to rank in the top 15 nationally in both categories, joining only Texas A&M and Arkansas who are currently the No. 1 and 2 ranked teams respectively by D1Baseball. THE DONAHUE CONNECTION Jordan Donahue and Kyson Donahue have paced the UH offense over the last few weeks, with the pair combining to hit .419 with 22 RBIs and 11 doubles over the last 15 games. The cousins have are the top two hitters on the team overall with Jordan hitting .390 on the season and Kyson batting .340. Jordan enters the weekend on a 17-game hitting streak while Kyson has a hit in 12 of the last 15 games. HEATING UP Kyson Donahue has started to swing a hot bat over the last month of the season, taking his average all the way up to .340 to put him second on the team in hitting. In the last 15 games since the start of the San Diego State series on Mar. 22, Donahue is hitting .455 with five doubles and 10 RBIs in addition to 12 runs scored. The senior has a hit in 12 of those 15 games including nine multi-hit performances highlighted by a pair of three-hit games and one four-hit game. TROPICAL SWARM The Hawai'i pitching staff has shown off its depth so far in 2024, using a deep pool of arms to rank among the nation's leaders in a number of categories. The Rainbow Warriors currently sit in the top 25 nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (10th), walks per nine innings (11th), shutouts (19th) and WHIP (27th). UH also ranks in the top three of the Big West in all of those categories. The 'Bows have also shown that they can turn to a number of different arms to get outs, as nine pitchers have thrown at least 15.0 innings and 11 different pitchers have earned a win. FILTHY FRESHMAN One of UH's best arms out of the bullpen the last few weeks has been freshman Sebastian Gonzalez. The lefty is coming off of a stellar outing on Sunday at UC Santa Barbara, working 6.1 shutout innings of relief with five strikeouts and no walks. On the season, Gonzalez owns a 2.65 ERA with 22 strikeouts to just four walks in 17.0 innings pitched over 10 appearances. » One of just three pitchers nationally to work at least nine innings and give up no runs during the week of Apr. 8-14, and the only one to do so over two appearances. » Earned first career save on Apr. 9 at Santa Clara, working 2.2 shutout frames with four strikeouts. » Has 13 strikeouts and no walks in 11.0 innings pitched in his last three appearances.