Now they wait.
The University of Hawaii baseball team completed its winningest season in 18 years with a 5-2 comeback win over Cal State-Fullerton on Saturday.
UH, one of the most popular teams in the country, finished with a series sweep over the Titans and wins in 18 of its last 20 games. Hawaii has won its last 11 home games. A crowd of 3,869, the largest of the season, attended Saturday’s send-off at Les Murakami Stadium.
But the Rainbow Warriors, despite finishing the season with a 37-16 overall record, finished third in the Big West with a 20-10 record. They are considered unlikely to advance to the NCAA Regionals.
Coach Rich Hill tried to remain optimistic that there will be good news for the ‘Bows on Monday when the NCAA announces its 64-team field at 6 a.m. on Keynote USA2.
“I don’t really know, but we have a lot of good points,” Hill said in his third season as UH head coach. “We are third in the country in effectiveness and we finished very strong.
“The committee likes teams that have a strong schedule, and we did that.”
After the first two hitters on Saturday, it seemed like all of that might be moot.
Fullerton started with home runs by Nico Regino and Jack Schardt off Hawaii starter Connor Harrison.
UH fought back with a run in the first and two in the second to take a 3-2 lead, and the Titans did not score again. They fell to 16-38 and 7-23 in the Big West. Austin Machado, Jared Quandt and Elijah Ickes provided key doubles.
Harrison calmed down and the Rainbow Warriors got some wonderful relief from Zacary Tenn and Itsuki Takemoto.
“When (the Titans’) first home run hit, I thought, ‘This is going to be a great (comeback) story,’ Hill said. “After the second one, I thought, ‘This is going to be a really cool story.'”
Hill said he was proud of how Harrison calmed down after the home runs and got out of more trouble in the inning with runners on first and third.
“I left a couple fastballs in the middle of the plate and they made me pay for it,” Harrison said of the home runs. “Then we got three without goals. (Tenn) did a great job, and then Itsuki lost the light. And our offense. He knew they would do whatever it took.”
Meanwhile, Tenn pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four with no walks to earn the win.
“I had six righty matchups in a row, so the slider was working,” Tenn said. “Then they prepared them for the straights.”
Takemoto pitched the final 2 2/3 innings, allowing no runners and striking out four of the eight batters he faced to earn a save.
“Zacary with a great job again,” Hill said. “And then Itsuki with the cut fastball.”
Combined, the Rainbows struck out nine with no walks or hit batters.
Also key was the ‘Bows coming back with at least a run in the bottom of the first, Hill said.
UH’s first-inning run came on a play driven by Machado’s opposite-field double down the left field line.
Matthew Miura led off the second with a single to center and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Quandt doubled off the right field wall, scoring Miura and tying the game at 2.
Schardt misplayed Ickes’ fly ball to left field into a scoring double, and Hawaii led 3-2.
It stayed that way until the fifth, when Jake Tsukada doubled Jordan Donahue, who had walked. Donahue then scored on Machado’s single to right field, making the score 5-2.
“There’s no panic at all,” Tsukada said of UH’s approach after Fullerton’s home runs in the first. “We don’t flinch, that’s been our motto.”
Said Ickes: “Coach Rich said don’t back down, we’ll hit back, get some runs and give Connor his trust back.”
After the game, UH seniors Randy Abshier, Tai Atkins, Naighel Ali’i Calderon, Nainoa Cardinez, Kyson Donahue, DallasJ Duarte, Tyler Dyball, Harrison, Blake Hiraki, Trevor Ichimura, Stone Miyao, Sean Rimmer, Tsukada and Aaron Ujimori were honored. .
“Right now it’s out of our control,” Tsukada said of a possible regional bid. “We put ourselves in the best position we could. There’s no reason to stress about it.”
Hill said UH athletic director Craig Angelos is pushing for the ‘Bows to become a regional.
“This team absolutely deserves it,” Hill said.
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