Hawaii Avenges Baseball Loss to Valparaiso

By Fred Guzman

This non-conference series was supposed to provide Hawaii an opportunity to tune up for its biggest challenge of the season.

Instead, the Rainbows have bumbled their way through the opening two games against a mid-major team that rolled into town with a 15-21 record.

To be fair, the Crusaders are on a major roll following a dismal start to their season. But the mistake-prone Rainbows have hardly looked that part of a conference leader preparing for a crucial four-game series next week at WAC rival Fresno State.

UH fell behind big early before rallying for five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning in Thursday’s 8-7 loss.

On Friday, Hawaii overcame six errors by capitalizing on the offensive contributions of Breland Almadova and Kolten Wong in an ugly 9-8 victory at Les Murakami Stadium.

Almadova homered and scored three times while Wong drove in three runs as Hawaii improved its overall record to 22-16.

The series finale is set for tonight, marking the end of a seven-week 27-game homestand for Hawaii before it goes on the road for 12 of its final 16 regular-season games.