HONOLULU – Behind another great pitching performance by Josh Slaats, the University of Hawai'i Rainbow baseball team (15-11) beat the Gonzaga Bulldogs (10-14) 3-1 in front of a crowd of 3,186 at Les Murakami Stadium Friday. Slaats (3-1) got the win, allowing just one hit in 7.0 innings, tying a career high with 10 strikeouts. Cody Martin (2-3) took the loss for Gonzaga while Lenny Linsky picked up his sixth save for UH.

Collin Bennett led the way for the 'Bows offensively, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Greg Garcia and David Freitas both were 1-for-3 with a run.

Slaats carried a no-hitter through 4.2 innings to start the game, keeping the game scoreless early. UH then got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, as Bennett smacked a two-run single to right. Hawai'i had an opportunity to do more damage in the inning, but left the bases loaded to end the threat.

The Rainbows added another run in the bottom of the seventh as Freitas scored on a wild pitch, making it 3-0.

Linsky then came in to close it out in the eighth and ninth innings, but not before the Zags put up a fight. Three infield singles gave them a bases-loaded opportunity in the eighth that Linsky was able to escaped unscathed. But Gonzaga did get a run in the ninth on a high bounding single to the pitched, getting it to 3-1. With the bases still loaded, Linsky then got the Bulldogs to line out to second to finish the game.

The series continues tomorrow with a 6:35 p.m. game at Les Murakami Stadium, with the finale to be played on Sunday, Apr. 4, at 1:05 p.m.

-UH-