SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The University of Hawai'i Rainbow baseball team (14-11) closed its road trip with a win over the San Diego Toreros (14-12) 8-6 at Cunningham Stadium Monday. Zach Gallagher (1-1) got the win, allowing just three runs in 6.0 innings, while Matt Thompson (0-1) took the loss.

 

Christian Johnson led the way, going 2-for-3 with a grand slam. Kolten Wong went 2-for-4 with two runs, one RBI and a stolen base while Jeffrey Van Doornum was 2-for-5 with one RBI and a triple. Kevin Macdonald also tripled, going 1-for-3 with two runs.

 

Van Doornum got UH on the board first, hitting a RBI-triple in the top of the fourth to get Hawai'i the 1-0 lead. USD answered in the bottom of the inning, tying the game with a home run by Punahou graduate Zack Kometani.

 

Johnson then blasted his grand slam to right with two outs in the top of the sixth, pushing Hawai'i ahead 5-1. Freitas then drove in Wong to give UH an insurance run in the seventh before USD made a push. The Toreros got two runs after chasing Gallagher out of the game, pulling it back to 6-3.

 

Hawai'i later put up two runs in the top of the eighth to get it to 8-3. But San Diego made it interesting. After USD scored a run in the bottom of the eighth, Kometani blasted his second homer of the game, a two-run shot, to cut it back to 8-6. But reliever Lenny Linsky settle down after giving up his first runs of the season, retiring the final two batters of the game to preserve the victory.

 

The Rainbows will now return home to host Gonzaga for a three-game series from Friday, April 2, to Sunday, April 4, at Les Murakami Stadium.