How does the University of Hawai‘i baseball team get rewarded by winning a do-or-die game?
By getting placed in another one.
The Rainbow Warriors, after routing UC San Diego in Sunday's regular season finale, earned the final spot in the first Big West Conference baseball tournament since 1998. Hawai‘i will take on UC Santa Barbara in a Wednesday play-in at 9 a.m. HST in Fullerton, Calif. The loser is eliminated, while the winner joins the conference's top three teams in a double elimination-tournament that begins on Thursday.
Throughout the course of the year, head coach Rich Hill has downplayed the significance of specific games, consistently emphasizing that the team being committed to its process is more important. But even for Hill, there's no denying what's at stake for the 'Bows on Wednesday.
"We have a chance to go to the College World Series," Hill said after Sunday's victory, "and that hasn't happened in a long time."
The Rainbow Warriors have not played in a conference tournament since the 2012 WAC tournament. UH joined the Big West in 2013, which returns to the postseason tournament format for the first time in 27 years this week.
In years past, the Big West's automatic NCAA Tournament bid went to the regular season champion. The 'Bows have not made the NCAA Tournament since 2010 and have not had a season worth an at-large bid since then in the eyes of the selection committee.
As evidenced by their softball counterparts, pursuing a spot in the conference tournament breathed more excitement into a season that otherwise would have been viewed as over multiple weeks before it officially ended for the Rainbow Warriors.
Hawai‘i's pitching staff entered Sunday off a day of rest. All three pitchers who appeared were efficient with their pitch counts: Sebastian Gonzalez got through the first four innings on 55 pitches, Freddy Rodriguez cruised through the next four with 45 and closer Isaiah Magdaleno threw 17 in the ninth.
"It'll be all hands on deck trying to win a game," UH pitching coach Keith Zuniga said of Wednesday. "Nothing we haven't experienced before. So, we're excited."
It's been 15 years since Hawai‘i played postseason baseball, back when the team was simply known as the Rainbows. In all likelihood, a deep run for UH in 2025 would require the team to dig deep within its pitching staff. When the calendar turns to May and June, the limits of college arms are tested in consequential games.
"The biggest thing is just taking it pitch by pitch, something we've been kind of talking about all year long," Zuniga said. "We'll worry about Wednesday, that's the main focus. All year long, anytime we've had to piece it together, our guys have really stepped up. When you talk about games and mixing and matching, that's what playoff baseball is really all about.
"Sometimes it's not so much the guys that got you to the playoffs, but some of the guys who are fresher and haven't had so much mileage on their arm throughout the course of the season, that really step up big. I'm just excited for us to get another day of baseball and have the opportunity to continue to play, because I know these guys will be ready."
On Wednesday, the Rainbow Warriors listed true freshman Cooper Walls as the probable starter. On Tuesday, Walls was named the Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year after racking up 44 strikeouts to just 13 walks after joining the regular pitching rotation. Walls was one of five Rainbow Warriors honored by the Big West, joining all-conference first teamers Itsuki Takemoto and Magdaleno, as well as second teamers Matthew Miura and Ben Zeigler-Namoa.
"I feel like I've grown every single start," Walls said on Tuesday. "Obviously going to this conference tournament is getting more important as we go on. Tomorrow's super important as well.
"For me, just attack. There's no change in mentality, no change in anything. It's just a baseball game. So go out there, do your thing, and it'll all work out."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
