For the second consecutive year, the University of Hawai’i baseball team began its season with a walk-off win, defeating Gonzaga 3-2 in 10 innings at Les Murakami Stadium on Friday night.
The game was marked by strong pitching and timely hitting from both teams. There were only 11 hits and four errors combined throughout the contest. Hawai’i had opportunities to score late but did not break through until extra innings.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, Kody Watanabe led off with a single to right field. Ben Zeigler-Namoa followed with a bloop hit to short left. Elijah Ickes then executed a sacrifice bunt that resulted in a throwing error to third base, allowing Watanabe to score the winning run.
Hawai’i scored first in the second inning when Kamana Nahaku came home on an error by Gonzaga. The Bulldogs tied it up in the fourth with an RBI groundout. In the fifth, Zeigler-Namoa grounded out to second base, bringing home Tate Shimao for a brief 2-1 lead for Hawai’i. Gonzaga responded in the eighth inning with a single up the middle that drove in another run, tying the game at two and sending it into extra innings.
Isaiah Magdaleno made his first start since his freshman year for Hawai’i and pitched six innings, striking out six batters while giving up one earned run over 102 pitches. Relief pitchers Tsubasa Tomii and John Alkire II combined for four innings out of the bullpen, surrendering just one run in total and keeping Gonzaga scoreless during extra frames.
Alkire II picked up his first win as a Rainbow Warrior after holding Gonzaga hitless over 2.1 innings.
Watanabe had an impressive debut for Hawai’i, going 3-for-4 with two singles and a double. Draven Nushida, who delivered last year’s opening night walk-off hit, went 2-for-3 with two singles through shortstop. Together, Watanabe and Nushida accounted for five of Hawai’i’s six hits on opening night.
Hawai’i will play again Saturday at 6:35 p.m., continuing their four-game series against Gonzaga.
