Fueled by a menu of quality pitches and his mother’s cooking, left-hander Austin Teixeira pitched the Hawaii baseball team to Saturday’s 10-2 victory over Hawaii Pacific at Les Murakami Stadium.

The Rainbow Warriors have outscored the Sharks, 36-6, in winning the first three of this four-game series. Today’s finale begins at 1:05 p.m.

“We played well for the turnaround game,” said UH coach Mike Trapasso, referencing Friday night’s lengthy game ahead of Saturday’s matinee. “Sometimes after a long evening game, coming back on the quick turnaround, sometimes you have a letdown. Austin took care of that one. He went out there and threw really well with three pitches. He was really good.”

Teixeira spaced seven hits in seven innings while walking one and striking out eight to improve to 2-0. Both HPU runs were unearned. It was the first UH start for the 2020 Saint Louis School graduate. He pitched two scoreless innings against Arizona State in last week’s season opener.

Teixeira did not experience nervousness on Saturday morning. “My mom made me eggs and rice and sent me to the field,” Teixeira said. “That was it. Eggs and rice and ketchup.”

Teixeira’s plan was to follow catcher Dallas Duarte’s guidance and tempo setting, and reaffirm Trapasso’s faith. “Trap put his trust in me,” Teixeira said, “and I wanted to do good.”

Teixeira mixed a fastball that averaged in the mid-80s but touched 89 mph, a changeup, and slider. “Of their seven hits, they didn’t have a lot of hard contacts at all,” said Trapasso, who doubles as the pitching coach.

Teixeira said: “All the pitches were working. In the ’pen (during warm-ups), it felt great. Great catcher. (Duarte) kept me in check, reminding me I needed to follow through, and throw to the glove. The catcher got me through that.”

Teixeira allowed only three hits in his final four innings.

Teixeira pitched sparingly in his final two years at Saint Louis because of an arm ailment as a junior and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. But Teixeira excelled in tournaments in Arizona and at camps, and Trapasso said it was a “no-brainer” to make an offer.

“He’s a loose lefty from a three-quarter-angle (motion) who has athleticism and feel and can throw different pitches for strikes,” Trapasso said. “He’s a tremendous kid, and he’s got tremendous poise. None of these situations the last two weekends have affected him in any way. That’s why we put him out there on opening night on the road at Arizona State in the eighth inning of a tight game. We knew it wouldn’t rattle him at all.”

The ’Bows also received a boost from the bottom third of the order. Duarte, designated hitter Safea Villaluz-Mauai and second baseman Aaron Ujimori wemt a combined 9-for-13 with three runs and five RBIs.

Duarte, a junior, has regained the quick bat speed he displayed as a freshman. Villaluz-Mauai, a 6-1, 240-pound freshman from Hawaii island, went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs.

“We expect great things from him in his career here,” Trapasso said of Villaluz- Mauai.

Ujimori went 4-for-5 and provided hermetically sealed defense on the right side.

“I think Uji continues to impress in everything he does,” Trapasso said. “The way he goes about his business, the way he plays defense, just squares the ball up, he’s really fun to watch. He’s come into his own.”