Wichita State turned to its ace to finally get back in the win column.

Cale Elam overcame a shaky start to toss eight innings of four-hit ball, and Johnny Coy went 4-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Shockers to a 6-2 win over Hawaii on Friday night.

Casey Gillaspie greeted a Les Murakami Stadium crowd of 2,245 with a mammoth home run in the first inning to help Wichita State (12-10) end its five-game losing streak.

Conner George and Kaeo Aliviado each singled and drove in a run for Hawaii (4-16), which had won its last three games.

"Where we are right now with our pitching, if a starter goes out early, we’re in big trouble," Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said.

Sophomore Scott Squier had given up only three runs in three home starts before taking the mound against the Shockers, who had lost seven of their last eight against the Rainbows.

Squier lasted only 32⁄3 innings before being pulled in his shortest outing at home since his Rainbows debut last year against Oregon.

He allowed seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts and also hit two batters to fall to 0-3 for the season.

"He threw a cookie to a great hitter who crushed it, and after that it was like he didn’t want to throw a strike again," Trapasso said. "He didn’t show up tonight after (the home run) and that’s not like Scott."

Squier struck out the first two batters of the game before Gillaspie connected on a 3-1 pitch that sailed over both fences in center.

Wichita State scored in each of the first three innings as Squier hit consecutive batters in the second to force in a run with the bases loaded.

Coy started the third with a leadoff double and scored on a single by Erik Harbutz that allowed the Shockers to retake the lead at 3-2.

Hawaii scored its first two runs in the bottom of the first on an RBI groundout by Aliviado and a single by George, who has seven RBIs in the series.

Squier’s day ended with two outs in the fourth as Wichita State again loaded the bases on a single and two walks.

Lefty Lawrence Chew got Dayne Parker to ground into a fielder’s choice at third as the Shockers left eight runners on base through the first four innings.

Hawaii used five different pitchers in the game, including senior Max Duval, who worked a perfect ninth inning in his first ever appearance on the mound.

"It was the first time I’ve thrown ever," Duval said. "I was pretty nervous. It was one of those things where I’d never been in that situation with all the eyes on me and I just tried to hit spots and get our team back in the dugout so we could score some runs."

After giving up two runs in the first, Elam settled in and allowed only two hits over the next seven innings.

After a throwing error by Harbutz allowed Austin Wobrock to take second with one out in the fifth, Elam retired the next nine in a row.

Elam allowed a single to Stephen Ventimilia and walked Aliviado with two outs before getting Marc Flores to fly out to left to end his night.

He finished with four walks and only one strikeout but got the job done.

"Most good pitchers, if you’re going to get them you’ll get them early before they settled in," Wichita State coach Gene Stephenson said. "He pitched out of that jam in the first and pitched awfully well."

Coy, a first-team preseason All-American by NCBWA and lifetime .305 hitter, was batting just .247 before his first four-hit game of the season.

He left the game for a pinch runner after a one-out single off Bryan Burgher in the eighth that scored Garrett Bayliff.

"He’s really been struggling badly against everybody and he puts so much pressure on himself to carry the team because he was our leading returning guy," Stephenson said. "It’s been tough for him — he’s even had to sit some games because he’s struggled so badly — but I think he decided finally to relax a little bit and put some good swings on some balls tonight."

Stephenson will start his first lefty in the series in Game 4 tonight at 6:35 as Kris Gardner (1-2, 4.00 ERA) will oppose Hawaii junior Matt Cooper (1-2, 1.95).