Hawaii pitches a gem to shut out UC Riverside with 16 strikeouts
Quenching an appetite for destruction, Isaiah Magdaleno pitched a one-hitter, striking out a career-high 16, in the Hawaii baseball team’s 1-0 victory over UC Riverside at Les Murakami Stadium. A crowd of 2,380 saw Magdaleno take a no-hitter into the ninth inning. But with one out, UCR’s David Whittle hit a chopper that bounced over third baseman Tate Shimao’s outstretched reach.
Shortstop Taylor Takata fielded the ball, but his long throw was too late to get Whittle at first base. After a mound visit from head coach Rich Hill, Magdaleno got the final two outs — punctuated by an aloha-ball strikeout of Andrew Rivas — for the second complete game by a Rainbow Warrior in Hill’s 251 games at UH. Of Hill’s mound visit, Magdaleno said, “He told me to calm down and reset.
The no-hitter was gone, but I still had a job to do. ” It was a much-needed outcome for the ’Bows, who entered the stretch that Hill billed as “winning time. ” The 22-19 ’Bows improved to 11-11 in the Big West, remaining in fifth place.
The top five teams qualify for the Big West Tournament. A week earlier, Hill and pitching coaching Keith Zuniga placed a 60-pitch limit on Magdaleno against sixth-ranked Oregon State. Magdaleno exited in the third inning after relinquishing six runs.
“It turned out to be a blessing in disguise,” Hill said of the early exit. Zuniga said that abbreviated outing kept Magdaleno well rested for the opener of the three-game series against UCR. “Because this is what matters,” Zuniga said.