DallasJ Duarte was the leading man in Hawaii’s 9-4 baseball victory over California Baptist at Totman Stadium in Riverside, Calif.

In six plate appearances on Tuesday, Duarte belted two solo home runs and walked four times as the Rainbow Warriors won their fourth in a row to improve to 20-13. The Lancers fell to 21-20.

Center fielder Matt Wong’s two-run homer staked the ’Bows to a 2-0 lead in the first, first baseman Jacob Igawa smacked his fourth home run of the season, and third baseman Zach Storbakken hit a two-run single in the ninth.

“Storbakken had a clutch dagger,” Duarte said. “I thought that was huge.”

UH coach Rich Hill said Storbakken “gave us some breathing room. That was awesome. That was a two-strike hit. He’s really been coming through for us.”

But it was Duarte who has set the tone in his fourth consecutive game as the leadoff hitter. He is 5-for-11 with three home runs and six walks during that span.

“I believe it all comes from practice,” said Duarte, a catcher who was used as designated hitter on Tuesday. “I’ve been taking my (batting practice) a little more serious. I’ve been paying attention to details.”

Hill marveled at Duarte’s plate discipline. Asked about the most joyful part of the nonconference victory, Hill said, “Dallas Duarte reaching base six consecutive times. He put on an absolute clinic on strike-zone discipline — swinging at strikes, taking balls. That was great to see. That was at the top of our list with our offensive approach. He was amazing.”

Duarte’s game-opening walk preceded Wong’s fourth homer of the season.

Duarte’s second homer of the season sparked the ’Bows’ three-run third inning. His second homer of the game extended the advantage to 6-1 in the fourth.

“I’m speechless,” Duarte said of the homers. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity. I thought it was a great team win. (Catcher) Alton Gyselman was dealing with a lot of pitches. Matt Wong, Iggy, Storbakken, our whole lineup, one to nine, did a great job. They all made it easy for me to relax at the plate today.”

Hill said he decided to elevate the right-swinging Duarte to the top of the lineup when the ’Bows faced Long Beach State left-hander Graham Osman last Friday. Duarte hit a leadoff homer against Osman.

“He has just gone off in that spot,” Hill said. “He gives you everything you want — tough at-bats, fouling off pitches, not swinging at balls. He’s just been great.”

Connor Harrison pitched four scoreless innings to earn his seventh save. The initial plan was to summon Harrison in the later innings. But with runners on second and third with no outs in the sixth, Hill went to Harrison. Both runners scored on a sacrifice fly and then an RBI groundout to cut the Lancers’ deficit to 7-4.

In the eighth, the Lancers again had two runners in scoring position with no outs. This time, Harrison struck out Josh Paino, induced CJ Masciel to pop up to second baseman Stone Miyao, and then got Matthew Darr to ground out.

The ’Bows, who departed Honolulu on Monday morning, adjusted to the quick turnaround. “They were like, ‘This is no big deal at all,’” Hill said of his players’ approach. “In the big leagues, it’s the same thing as going from California to New York. It’s a three-hour (time) difference, about a five-hour flight, so the guys had no problem with it. We had plenty of time to chill out and rest.”

The ’Bows’ two-week road trip continues with Friday’s game against UC Riverside to open a three-game Big West series.