Another start, another masterpiece from Hawaii's Isaiah Magdaleno. The right-hander delivered yet another dominant performance, leading the Rainbow Warriors to a 4-1 victory over UC Davis at Dobbins Stadium.
Just a week after throwing a one-hit shutout with 16 strikeouts, Magdaleno was nearly untouchable again. He allowed just one run over eight innings, walking only one batter while fanning nine. The junior from Los Angeles improved to 6-4 and lowered his Big West ERA to an impressive 1.70, throwing strikes on 70 of his 100 pitches.
"Guts of a burglar, business as usual," Hawaii coach Rich Hill said with a grin. "Very stoic. Great to see."
Magdaleno was cruising until the eighth inning, when UC Davis finally broke through. After hitting Ryan Lee and allowing an infield single, a bad-hop grounder bounced past shortstop Taylor Takata, allowing Lee to score the first run off Magdaleno in 17 innings. But the pitcher stayed calm, inducing a pop-up to end the threat.
"I told him it was his game," Hill recalled. "I said, 'I'm not coming to get you. You're touching 91. Your stuff is great. They can't hit you. It's just a bad-hop single. You're OK.'"
Hill turned to reliever Tsubasa Tomii in the ninth, who earned his first save for Hawaii after some stellar defensive help from right fielder Gabe Wright, who chased down two long drives.
The Rainbow Warriors jumped ahead early, scoring two runs in the first inning on back-to-back RBI singles from Mana Lau Kong and Draven Nushida. Lau Kong's hit had an exit velocity of 112 mph, and he later crushed another ball at 114 mph. Nushida, returning from injury, went 3-for-5.
In the fourth, Jake Redding launched his first home run of the season over the left-field fence, a special moment witnessed by friends and family from his hometown of Lincoln, California, just 44 miles from Davis. Hawaii added an insurance run in the seventh to seal the 4-1 victory.
The win keeps Hawaii rolling in Big West play, powered by a pitching staff that's been nothing short of sensational.