In a mid-week game, the Hawaii baseball team was at full force in a 9-4 victory over Chaminade at Les Murakami Stadium.

In front of a crowd of 1,279, the Rainbow Warriors spotted the Silverswords four runs in the first inning before seizing control in this battle between Waialae Avenue opponents.

UH second baseman Shunsuke Sakaino went 3-for-4, including his first home run of the season. Left fielder Kamana Nahaku scored three runs. And eight relievers allowed two hits in 81⁄3 scoreless innings.

“It was good to see some of the younger pitchers at Les Murakami under the lights, with fans, the whole thing,” UH coach Rich Hill said. “Experience is a good thing. We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got a couple days of preparation for a nationally ranked team.”

The ’Bows improved to 12-4 in an outcome that counts in the standings but not the RPI rankings. The ’Bows play host to 15th-ranked UC Santa Barbara in a three-game Big West series beginning Friday night. The Silverswords fell to 8-13.

Last year, Hill received permission from the Big West to schedule mid-week home games against the local Division II schools.

“We’ve been fighting for this for a few years,” Hill said. “Chaminade’s a gritty team, and very well coached. And it’s much better for us to play a good team like that than an (intrasquad scrimmage) or to lift weights. I’m really happy the Big West allowed us to play these four (mid-week) games (this year). It’s good for the community to be at Les Murakami Stadium. The Chaminade fans were out in full force. It was a good thing.”

The Silverswords scored four runs in the first inning, with three coming home on Jackson Dorn’s bases-clearing double to right field.

But the ’Bows chipped into the deficit against Chaminade left-hander Brayden Wells, who entered with the unique pitching line of allowing six hits, eight walks and 16 runs — 14 of them earned — in 62⁄3 innings.

Sakaino hit a bases-empty homer to right with one out in the bottom of the first. “It’s pretty sick,” Sakaino said of his drive over the fence in right field. “I didn’t really feel much on the barrel, but it was cool.”

The left-swinging Sakaino said he attacked a 3-1 fastball from Wells. “It was a little up, but I got my hands through,” said Sakaino, who has worked extensively on hitting left-handed pitching. “Coach Rich has been making me do those lefty-lefty curveballs. I think it helped right there.”

Shortstop Elijah Ickes then tripled to right and came home on Ben Zeigler-Namoa’s sacrifice fly to left.

In the second inning, the ’Bows loaded the bases with no outs. Draven Nushida’s two-run single to center brought home Jared Quandt and Nahaku to tie it at 4 — and oust Wells. Sakaino’s run-scoring single and Ickes’ sacrifice fly gave the ’Bows a 6-4 lead. All six of those runs were charged to Wells.

The ’Bows then scored single runs in each of the next three innings to extend their lead to 9-4.

In the third inning, Nahaku reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second, then scored on Konnor Palmeira’s single to right field.

In the fourth, Matthew Miura drew a one-out walk, went to second on Sakaino’s third hit of the game, and scored on Ickes’ RBI single.

Nahaku scored his third run in the fifth after walking, sprinting to third on pinch hitter Will Bowen’s single and coming home on a wild pitch.

Following the itinerary of a “staff” game, the ’Bows used nine pitchers. Freshman Kaysen Raineri was rocked for four runs in two-thirds of an inning. But the ensuing eight UH hurlers combined on a two-hitter the rest of the way. Max Jones, Koen Barton, Ethan Thomas, Kyle Dobyns and Charlie Adamson retired the final 14 batters in order.