Hawaii turned to the long ball to clinch its second series win in the Big West Conference.
The Rainbows matched their season total of two home runs as Marc Flores and Pi‘ikea Kitamura went deep in a 4-3 win over Pacific on Saturday at Klein Family Field in Stockton, Calif.
After winning Friday for the first time in 26 games when trailing after the sixth inning, Hawaii (11-29, 6-11) scored four early runs Saturday and held off a late Pacific charge.
Corey MacDonald (5-5) allowed three runs in the seventh inning before giving way to the UH bullpen, which came up big again.
Scott Kuzminsky worked a scoreless eighth inning and Lawrence Chew went 1-2-3 in the ninth to pick up his first save.
"(Kuzminsky) was the key," Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. "Even after the game I called him out as one of our guys who was huge, because with our situation, you’ve got to have guys step up and he came in, made good pitches, gave us that hold and got us to Chew."
Chew threw 22 pitches in 21⁄3 innings on Friday to get the win and was dominant again, throwing a perfect ninth with one strikeout.
He’s now retired 18 of the last 19 batters he’s faced.
MacDonald held the Tigers (10-31, 3-14) scoreless over the first six innings and went at least seven for the fourth consecutive start.
Hawaii gave him an early lead with three runs and six hits off Pacific starter Jake Jenkins (0-7), who lasted 32⁄3 innings.
Flores hit a solo homer over the center-field wall in the second and UH added two more in the fourth.
Kalei Hanawahine, who had three of UH’s 11 hits, hit an RBI double to score Flores, who walked. Austin Wobrock reached on a two-out infield single to score Hanawahine, and took second on a wild pitch, ending Jenkins’ day.
Hawaii scored the decisive run in the fifth inning when Kitamura led off with a solo homer off sophomore Michael Hager, who didn’t give up another run in 51⁄3 innings.
"Both of them put good swings on it," Trapasso said of the home runs. "Those balls would have (gone) out anywhere except Les Murakami Stadium."
MacDonald retired the first seven batters of the game before running into trouble in the fourth. Pacific loaded the bases on two errors and a bunt single with nobody out when Gio Brusa flied out into a double play as Hanawahine threw out the lead runner at third.
Tyger Pederson then grounded into a fielder’s choice as MacDonald escaped without giving up a run.
Brusa homered to lead off the seventh and Taylor Murphy hit a two-out RBI triple to make it 4-2. Tyler Sullivan followed with a perfect bunt down the third-base line for a single to score Murphy to make it a one-run game.
