MĀNOA — The University of Hawai‘i had been planning Les Murakami Hall of Fame night for months. Last June, it was announced that the program's legendary coach was going to be inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
When the day finally came for UH to honor its former baseball coach and namesake of its 4,312-seat stadium, Mānoa greeted the occasion with a torrential downpour for hours before the 6 p.m. Friday ceremony was set to begin.
Current Hawai‘i baseball coach Rich Hill was not concerned for one second. Minutes before the 89-year-old Murakami was set to be wheeled out to the field by his caretaker, the skies magically cleared.
"I was not worried at all," Hill said. "Coach Les was gonna be blessed. Today we had a beautiful rainbow. All that rain just meant we were going to have a killer rainbow. And we did. ... All that rain means a blessing."
Over 50 of Murakami's former players and assistant coaches were in attendance during Friday's pregame ceremony. Murakami, who built the program from scratch, amassed a career record of 1,079-570-4 from 1971 to 2000.
Murakami led the 'Bows to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and six Western Athletic Conference titles. Hawai‘i finished the 1980 season as the national runner-up at the College World Series. The year before, they began their season a scorching 60-3.
Fans lined up hours before the game to get one of 600 free commemorative Les Murakami caps handed out. Additionally, players on the current team wore hats that had Murakami's retired jersey No. 11 on the side, which were to be auctioned off after the game. Two of Murakami's grandchildren threw out the first pitch.
Despite needing assistance to get around the field, Murakami, 89, clearly absorbed and appreciated the night's festivities. Former players stepped to the home plate podium and delivered words about their beloved former coach. The ceremony ended with former Wichita State head coach Gene Stephenson and Hawai‘i pitching legend Derek Tatsuno presenting Murakami with his blue College Baseball Hall of Fame blazer.
"Fantastic. There's only so many words," said Murakami, who acknowledged that he continues to keep up with the team from afar, especially when they're on TV.
Murakami is UH's second College Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, joining Tatsuno, who was inducted in 2007.
"It's an honor. As a former inductee, we all get to vote. We have ballots every year, and I've been voting for coach Les every year," Tatsuno said. "I was so happy when he got finally got in.
"I wouldn't be the person I am if wasn't for coach Les. He gave me the opportunity to play here. He turned the program into a DI program. Prior to that, I had no interest, but when he made the schedule to become a DI schedule, that was the reason why I came here."
Once the game got underway, the Rainbow Warriors used a four-run first inning to secure a 4-2 victory over Wichita State, riding six strong innings from starting pitcher Hekili Robello.
In Thursday's series opener the night before, the 'Bows were hitless and down 6-0 entering the seventh inning stretch, but miraculously won 7-6 despite mustering just four hits as a team.
Hawai‘i enters Saturday's contest against the Shockers 5-1 overall at the halfway point of the series.
In addition to Stephenson's presence, Wichita State head coach Brian Green was still able to hold Friday's ceremony in high regard despite the losses. Green was a Hawai‘i assistant from 2003 to 2004, returning to the Islands multiple times with multiple teams over the years to compete at the Les. Prior to his time at UH, Green was an assistant for Hill at San Diego in 2002.
"I think when the pregame festivities were going on, I had a thought come in, and it's really just that it was one of those 'get to' moments and pride that I get to be the head coach at Wichita State with Gene Stevenson, and he's still around and supportive and then also got to coach at UH," Green said. "To be a part of both those programs with a couple of the pioneers of college baseball is pretty cool. There's a lot of pride flowing around today. And then obviously, I've been an assistant for Rich as well. So, a lot of connections going on before the game started."
Green and Wichita State were most recently in Mānoa in 2025, back when a series of delays threw the Shockers off their rhythm. There were no such travel issues in 2026.
"Obviously, had a great first seven and a half innings of the series (Thursday), and that was a gut punch, and I didn't think we responded very well (Friday), but the trip's been great. We love coming here. It's a long trip, but it's great trip. You get great fans, great baseball, really competitive. You come here, you've got to learn how to win a tight ballgame, because it's hard to score. And it's a great experience for that early in the season."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
