From this four-game California road trip, the Hawaii baseball team’s omiyage is a commitment from a top junior college pitcher.

Chris Allen, a left-handed sophomore from the Bay Area’s College of Marin, has pledged to sign with the Rainbow Warriors. This season, Allen is 11-0 with a 0.84 earned-run average. He is averaging 9.35 strikeouts per nine innings, and has a WHIP of 0.85. His fastball has been clocked at 90 mph.

Allen’s commitment is positive news for the ’Bows between a rocky start and a crucial three-game series on this six-day road trip. The ’Bows, who suffered a nonconference 4-3 loss to CSU Bakersfield on Wednesday, face Big West rival Cal State Fullerton beginning today at Goodwin Field.

The ’Bows (6-3) and Titans (4-2) are atop the Big West standings.

“There’s no question, any time you play Fullerton, it’s big,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said. “You don’t have to be worried about the guys being ready to go and fired up. We have to go and play our game.”

The Titans, who are 17-18 overall, have won NCAA titles in 1979, 1984, 1995 and 2004. They have appeared in the College World Series 18 times, and have qualified for the past 26 NCAA tournaments. Since joining NCAA Division I in 1975, the Titans have never had a losing season.

“They’re Fullerton,” Trapasso said. “Fullerton’s pitching is always capable of shutting you down. They play very well at home. They’re one of the premier programs in college baseball history. We have to play our best game to be able to play with Fullerton. We’re capable of doing that. When we play our best, we’re capable of playing with anybody. We just gotta do it.”

Third baseman Ethan Lopez is hitting .294 with two home runs since returning to the lineup after missing 14 games because of an injury to his left wrist. Lopez’s availability allowed Kekai Rios, who filled in at third, to move back to catcher. Rios is hitting .438 in the five games since Lopez’s return.

Outfielder Adam Fogel, who leads the ’Bows with 14 doubles and three homers, is hitless in his past 21 at-bats.

“Am I concerned about him?” Trapasso said. “Absolutely not. He’s gone (five) games without a hit, but every single game, he hit a couple right on the nose.”

During that span, Fogel hit eight flyouts.

Trapasso said the UH pitching rotation will be Jackson Rees tonight, Neil Uskali on Saturday, and Dominic DeMiero on Sunday. DeMiero overcame a rough stretch to pitch 8 1/3 scoreless innings against UC Riverside last weekend. Colton Eastman, who pitched a no-hitter this season, will open for the Titans tonight.

UH freshman Cade Smith and sophomore Logan Pouelsen will be available for long relief. Smith, who started against Bakersfield, has found success with a lower throwing angle. “He threw a couple good breaking balls we haven’t seen from him,” Trapasso said of Smith’s performance on Wednesday. “He’ll be fine.”

Trapasso said Brody Hagel-Pitt has emerged as another option for middle relief.

But Trapasso expressed concern with Jeremy Yelland, who is projected to be a weekend starter next year. In the four games since striking out 10 of the 15 Seton Hall batters he faced, Yelland has a 20.38 ERA and 3.21 WHIP.

“I don’t know if he’ll be able to turn this thing around by the end of our season,” Trapasso said. “Right now, I can’t put him in a close game anymore because he’s not throwing strikes. He absolutely hasn’t thrown well in three or four weeks. Part of it is mechanical. … But most of it is just him. He’s not executing pitches, and it’s getting in his head.”

If Yelland is held back, the other left-handed options are Kash Koltermann, Kyle Hatton and Matt Estes.