The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors baseball team ended their season with a 2-1 loss to Cal Poly in the Big West tournament in Fullerton, California. Despite a strong start and pitching, the team did not advance to the championship game. Hawaii’s coach Rich Hill described the tournament as “transformational” and said he wants the tournament to expand to six teams, according to Spectrum Local News.
Hawaii scored one run in the first inning. Despite loading the bases with no outs, they did not score additional runs. Cal Poly scored two runs in the fourth inning. Freddy Rodriguez started for Cal Poly, pitching six innings, allowing two runs on three hits with three strikeouts. Ethan Thomas pitched the final two innings, striking out four, as reported by Hawaii Athletics.
The Bows finished the season with a 35-21 record, matching consecutive 35-win seasons last seen in the early 1990s. In the Big West Championship, Hawaii defeated UC San Diego and won elimination games against UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton. After the tournament, Coach Hill said, “We’ll be able to reflect on that and it’ll feel a lot better with time.” During the offseason, pitchers Magdaleno and Rodriguez will play in the Cape Cod League. Hill said, “the future’s bright on our pitching staff for sure,” as mentioned by Spectrum Local News.
