HONOLULU – Tied for the longest active winning streak in the nation at eight games, Hawai’i will look to keep its hot streak going when it hosts UC Riverside for a three-game series Thursday, Friday and Sunday at Les Murakami Stadium.
The Rainbow Warriors will look to continue their climb up the conference standings and continue a trend of scorching hot finishes under head coach Rich Hill. UH leads the all-time series against UCR, 20-13, but lost two of three games last year in Riverside.
HAWAI’I (29-15, 12-9 Big West) vs. UC RIVERSIDE (15-28, 5-16 Big West) | |||||
Dates & Times | Thursday, May 9 — 6:35 pm Friday, May 10 — 6:35 p.m Sunday, May 12 — 1:05 p.m | ||||
Location | Honolulu, O’ahu — Les Murakami Stadium | ||||
Radio | ESPN Honolulu | ||||
TV/Live Stream | Spectrum Sports/ESPN+ (Thursday, Friday only) | ||||
Live Stats | Thursday | Friday | Sunday | ||||
PDF Notes | Hawai’i | UC Riverside | ||||
Social Media | @HawaiiBaseball | @Hawaiibsb | ||||
Promotions | Military Appreciation Weekend It’s Military Appreciation Weekend at The Les. All military personnel with a valid ID will receive a ticket discount of 50 percent off. Mahalo to all who serve our country! | ||||
Projected Rotations | Hawai’i Thursday — TBD Friday — TBD Sunday — TBD | UC Riverside Thursday — TBD Friday — TBD Sunday — TBD |
HEAD COACH RICH HILL
At Hawai’i: 86-59, 3rd season
Collegiate Record: 1,165-797-4, 37th season
SERIES VS. AND RIVERSIDE
UH leads, 20-13
Last Meeting: 2023 in Riverside (UCR won series, 2-1)
LEADING OFF
DID YOU KNOW?
The Rainbow Warriors are outscoring teams 69-28 (8.6-3.5) during the current eight-game winning streak. UH is hitting .327 as a team during that stretch while holding teams to a .201 batting average, winning five of the eight games by at least five runs.
LETHAL ARMS
The Rainbow Warrior pitching staff is coming off a dominant weekend in which it held then-conference leader CSUN to just three runs, two earned, in a three-game sweep. The ‘Bows limited the Matadors to a .168 batting average while posting a 0.67 ERA with 24 strikeouts to just six walks. Hawai’i also held CSUN scoreless for a stretch of 20 straight innings from the third inning Friday through the sixth frame Sunday.
GOING STREAKIN’
Winners of the last eight games, Hawai’i heads into this weekend’s series as one of the hottest teams in the country. The Rainbow Warriors come into the UC Riverside series tied for the longest active winning streak in the nation and the longest winning streak for the program since winning eight in a row in April 2022. The ‘Bows are also winners of 10 of their last 11 games and have also earned back-to-back sweeps for the first time since 2022.
SECOND HALF SURGES
The Rainbow Warriors have enjoyed strong second half surges in each of the first three seasons under head coach Rich Hill. UH is 51-26 in the months of April and May under Hill compared to a 35-33 in February and March. This year, Hawai’i is 14-5 since the start of April after going 17-11 over the final two months of the season a year ago and 20-10 in April and May during Hill’s first season in 2022. Hawai’i has also put up some big numbers both at the plate and on the mound during the final two months of the season under Hill.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE RAINBOW BASEBALL OFFENSE
The Hawai’i offense has put up numbers not seen by the program in recent years. The Rainbow Warriors are averaging 7.23 runs per game, on pace for the highest scoring average by a UH team since 1998. Additonally, Hawai’i’s .293 team batting average currently ranks third in the Big West and would be the highest since 2007 if the season ended today while his .416 on-base percentage is second in the league and would be the best since 2002 when the program began tracking OBP. Additionally, six regular starters are both hitting over .300 and have an OBP of at least .420 while four have driven in at least 30 runs.