Not only sharing a noted poet’s name, University of Hawaii baseball pitcher Dylan Thomas also uses rhythm, style and form in his craft.

Thomas was poetry in motion the past two weeks, allowing no earned runs in three appearances to seize the closer role. While the UH relievers have sought more work (2.27 innings per game) and collective success (4.85 ERA and 1.43 WHIP), Thomas has been steady, amassing a team-high three saves and averaging 10.24 strikeouts per nine innings. After surrendering two homers in an opening-series game, he has relinquished one earned run the past six appearances.

“I think he established himself this weekend as a guy we can go to in save situations with that slider of his,” said coach Mike Trapasso, whose ’Bows open Big West play with a three-game road series against Cal Poly on Friday. “When you have a guy who’s a closer, you need an out pitch. Dylan has that swing-and-miss slider. That’s a true out pitch.”

Thomas was 4 when he first played baseball, 6 when he began pitching, and a recent 2015 Valencia (Calif.) High graduate when he honed his slider. A pitching coach used the Mr. Miyagi method of getting Thomas to train without appearing to train. From 40 feet away, Thomas would try to bounce a baseball into a net. A slider’s movement originates from the top-sided grip of the index and middle fingers on two seams.

“I’d skip it, bounce it, just making sure to get on top of it, because that’s how you really want to throw that pitch to get movement on it,” Thomas said.

As he progressed, he would take a step backward, until he was throwing from the mound and to a catcher. He joined the ’Bows in August 2015 with a fastball and hard slider thrown with identical motions.

“That’s why I think (the slider is) an effective pitch,” Thomas said. “It looks like a fastball out of the hand, and it has some late run to it. … It was a difficult pitch to learn. It wasn’t always this good.”

Thomas redshirted in 2016, which helped him further develop a rubber arm and steel composure. With two days’ rest in between, he had two two-inning appearances against Nevada last weekend. In those four innings, he faced 15 batters and threw 56 pitches.

“In high school, I was a starter, so my arm has the strength to go multiple innings,” Thomas said.

He also embraces white-knuckle situations. “It’s a good role for me with my mentality of going out there and just pounding the zone as hard as I can for a couple innings,” Thomas said.

For this six-game trip, Thomas is bringing a brighter approach. He recently bleached his hair.

“Ever since my freshman year of high school, I’ve been doing some fun stuff every year,” Thomas said. “Mohawks. Dyeing it a different color. Going into conference this year, it’s kind of a mentality thing. If you feel you’re confident, you go out there and pitch a lot better than if you have a negative attitude.”

Pitcher Brendan Hornung said of Thomas’ new look: “You probably can see your reflection in it. I’ll probably have to put some sunglasses on looking at him. It might burn my eyes a little bit. But I think it’s awesome. I love stuff like that.”