The Hawaii baseball team scored early, often and creatively for a 16-7 rout of Wright State at Les Murakami Stadium.

A crowd of 1,662 saw the Rainbow Warriors continue to enjoy Sunday success under second-year head coach Rich Hill to win three of four in this season-opening series. Last year, the ’Bows were 11-2 on Sundays.

The ’Bows scored two runs on one hit in the first inning. The broke it open with an eight-run second in which they were plunked twice and had RBIs on two bunts.

“I would say it was a tough start, to put it lightly,” WSU coach Alex Sogard said. “The first inning we gave up one hit and they got two runs. In one point in the second inning, they only got a hit but scored four runs. We walked a couple guys and hit a few guys, and it just adds up, and then it got piled on.”

The ’Bows amassed 14 hits, drew six walks and were hit by pitches five times. Eight WSU pitchers combined to throw 195 pitches in eight innings.

“I thought we didn’t execute today,” Sogard said. “In baseball, especially against a really good team, they’re going to take advantage of it. They sure did that early.”

UH coach Rich Hill said: “It’s one of those things where we took advantage of what they gave us. I thought that (starting pitcher Alex Theis) had pretty good numbers last year. … He can run it up there. He has a good curveball. We got some breaks, some swinging-bunt type of things. We jumped on them pretty quick. They were forced to go to their ’pen in that fourth game and that’s where we opened it up.”

In a rare double duty, Ben Zeigler-Namoa was UH’s starting pitcher and in the batting lineup. After yielding a leadoff walk and then a single, he induced Sammy Sass to hit into a double play. Jay Luikart flied out to right to end the inning. Zeigler-Namoa pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one walk and striking out one, to earn the victory.

Zeigler-Namoa, a 2021 Baldwin High graduate who played at Yavapai College last year, was notified about Sunday’s role following Saturday’s doubleheader.

“I was excited,” he said. “I went to sleep, woke up, and treated it like another day, honestly. I just wanted to compete.”

Zeigler-Namoa said his left (pitching) arm felt strong, and he was helped with pitching coach Mathew Troupe’s in-game pep talk.

“I had to get a little talking,” Zeigler-Namoa said. “My heart rate went down a little bit. Talked to Troupe, and from there we just went.”

Zeigler said he had command of his slider and changeup. “I just had to throw everything in the zone,” he said. “I started throwing stuff in the zone and they started chasing stuff, and it went from there.”

Zeigler-Namoa, who went 3-for-3 and drove in five runs in Saturday’s second game, went 1-for-4 with two runs and an RBI on Sunday.

“It’s definitely taxing on your body, but I love it,” he said of double duty. “It keeps me locked in the whole time pitch-by-pitch because I’m pitching pitch-by-pitch. In the box, I’m loose, I’m having fun. I want to swing.”

Kyson Donahue, who started in left field and finished at shortstop, went 3-for-5, driving in five and smacking a homer to lead off the UH fourth. “It was pretty sweet,” Donahue said of smashing the fastball. “It was a good feeling.”

Donahue, who is 6 feet 3, gained 15 pounds in the offseason and now weighs 215. “I feel better and more comfortable within my body at that weight,” Donahue said.

He also has embraced an aggressive early-pitch approach. “Just trying to be aggressive at the plate, trying to get my swing off,” he said. “I’m best when I’m aggressive early in the count. You have to swing to put the ball in play. When you put the ball in play, good things happen.”

Jacob Igawa also was 3-for-5, scoring two runs and driving in another two. He also has shown expanded range at first base after beginning his career in the outfield. Igawa said graduate manager Freddy Smith and undergraduate assistant K.J. Harrison have been helpful in hitting grounders to him during workouts. “I just get a ton of reps throughout the week,” Igawa said.