University of Hawai‘i baseball coach Rich Hill likes to say all will be revealed prior to a series.
That sentiment will carry the most relevance it has all year when the Rainbow Warriors embark on a road trip that consists of eight games in 11 days, starting with a midweek game at Santa Clara on Tuesday. From there, the 'Bows will play consecutive road series at the two teams atop the Big West Conference standings, sandwiched by a midweek game at USC on April 15.
By the time the 'Bows return home, they'll either be a team primed to contend for a Big West title or clawing to get into the inaugural five-team conference tournament.
"Two huge series of course, but I think for us, the key is to keep it one game at a time," senior utility player Ben Zeigler-Namoa said. "If we keep it one game at a time, I think we're gonna have a really good road trip. If we don't, we may have some issues. I think ultimately, as long as we keep doing our preparation like normal, we'll be good during the road trip."
Over the weekend, Hawai‘i lost its first home series in over a year, losing two of three to Long Beach State. Hawai‘i's bats erupted for 17 hits in a 10-5 win to open the series against Long Beach State on Friday night. The Beach evened the series on Saturday, 3-2, after limiting the 'Bows to five hits. UH was held at bay by LBSU reliever Albert Roblez, who held the Rainbow Warriors to one hit and two walks with eight strikeouts in 5.1 scoreless innings. Kamehameha-Maui alumnus Ka‘imi Kahalekai then got the final two outs for his first collegiate save.
In Sunday's rubber match, UH committed an uncharacteristic three errors on the field and lost 5-4, its three-run rally in the ninth inning falling short as Kahalekai notched his second consecutive save.
The Rainbow Warriors exited the weekend 22-8 overall and 9-6 in Big West play, their RPI dropping from 40 to 72. Although Hawai‘i is currently third in the Big West standings, the 'Bows have yet to go through the gauntlet of facing Cal Poly and UC Irvine on the road in consecutive weeks, a pair of teams that are a combined 23-1 in Big West play.
In crafting Hawai‘i's 2025 schedule, Hill decided to start the team's upcoming road trip a day early in order to squeeze in a midweek contest on the Mainland. After Tuesday's game at Santa Clara, the Rainbow Warriors will go to California's Central Coast to take on Cal Poly (22-8, 12-0) from Friday to Sunday.
UH will then head to Southern California for a midweek game at USC on April 15, then a three-game set at UC Irvine (23-7, 11-1), the 13th ranked team in the country, from April 17-19.
"I don't see it as a challenge playing the top two teams. It's playing baseball," Hill said following Sunday's loss. "We're just immersed in the process of us being the best versions of ourselves. The opponent is very good. So, we're going to take care of ourselves. Go back to the drawing board, and we're at the halfway point, so a lot of things can happen. This is very typical of a season where you have some tough losses and you go through some growing pains and emerge better on the other side."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
