On a weekend of big mixed-martial-arts bouts, Hawaii and West Virginia are waging a pretty good prizefight of their own on a baseball field.

A back-and-forth series swung in Hawaii’s favor Saturday night with one swing from sophomore Eric Ramirez, whose two-run homer in the third inning highlighted a 6-2 victory over the Mountaineers to give UH the series lead.

Johnny Weeks had the first three-hit game of his career and Jacob Sheldon-Collins extended his hitting streak to 11 games, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

A Les Murakami Stadium crowd of 2,298 saw Hawaii (6-6) put itself in position to deliver the knockout blow and win the series in today’s finale at 1:05 p.m.

Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said he’s leaning toward starting senior right-hander Josh Pigg but would sleep on it. Whoever gets the start will have a tough act to follow on a pitching staff that has put together six consecutive quality starts of at least six innings and three earned runs or less.

“It’s been the key for us right now to settle into games and be in every one,” Trapasso said. “On Game 4, you’re not necessarily looking for a quality start of seven innings, but you sure need a good five.”

Hawaii is in as good of shape as it could expect, with senior Cody Culp the only reliever unavailable to pitch.

Senior left-hander Alex Hatch (1-1) earned his first win as a Rainbow Warrior, allowing one run on five hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out a season-high seven and was the second straight UH starter not to walk a batter.

Hawaii has walked only one batter in the series.

“I thought it was one of my better starts,” Hatch said. “Honestly, it’s the bats. As long as they are going, I’m going and it makes everything a lot easier.”

Weeks reached base in all four plate appearances and Alex Fitchett drove in two runs and scored another without getting a hit.

Hawaii scored in each of the first three innings, with the big blow coming from Ramirez.

West Virginia starter BJ Myers (2-1), who didn’t give up an earned run in either of his first two starts, served up a 1-0 offering to Ramirez, who sent it over the wall in right field for his first dinger in 233 career at-bats.

“It felt good, especially since I’ve been struggling,” said Ramirez, who is hitting .280. “I’ve been seeing the ball well, but I’ve been getting myself out. I didn’t feel like I got it fully extended, but I got enough of it to get it out.”

Ramirez also drew two of the six walks given up by West Virginia pitching.

Myers was tagged for seven hits in six innings with five runs allowed and five strikeouts. He only walked one, but the bullpen gave up four free passes in the seventh inning alone, including one to Fitchett to force in a run to make it 6-1.

Hatch, who has worked into the seventh inning in back-to-back starts, gave up a double to Kyle Davis on the first pitch of the game.

West Virginia looked ready to continue its early-count approach at the plate against UH, but Hatch struck out the final two of the first inning to strand Davis.

He retired 16 of the next 17 batters he faced until Davis led off the sixth with a solo homer to left.

Hatch gave up a leadoff double again in the seventh and exited with Davis up again with two outs.

Culp, who got the save in Thursday’s win, induced Davis to fly out to right to strand another runner.

“Hatch was really good early and really fatigued late, but yet he battled his way into a huge strikeout on the last batter he faced,” Trapasso said.

Culp gave up WVU’s second run on Jackson Cramer’s one-out single in the eighth inning to score Darius Hill, who smoked a leadoff double.

Culp had runners on first and second with one out and got a nine-pitch strikeout of Caleb Potter and a flyout by Ray Guerrini.

Culp gave up two more singles in the ninth and was relieved by Matt Valencia, who struck out Hill on three pitches and got Andrew Zitel to fly out to right to end it.

HAWAII 6, WEST VIRGINIA 2

E–Weeks, Guerrini. DP-2. LOB–West Virginia 10, Hawaii 5. 2B–Davis, Hill, Guerrini, Sawelson. 3B–none. HBP–Fitchett. SH–Rojas, Rios. SF–none. CS-none.

HBP–by Myers (Fitchett). Umpires–(Plate): Eric Petersen. (First): Scott Higgins. (Third): Rob Hansen. T–2:37. A–2,298.