HONOLULU, Hawaii. – In a game filled with big plays and multiple lead changes, Hawaii squeaked past Longwood 5-4 on Friday with a big eighth inning. The Rainbow Warriors (4-5) squeezed in two runs to erase a Longwood's one-run lead and take the first game in the four-game series.

"I love our energy and effort tonight," said Longwood head coach Ryan Mau. "We did a lot of really good things but it still came down to a few mistakes that hurt our scoring opportunities."
 
Entering the eighth, the Lancers held a 4-3 lead thanks to a monstrous two-run home run by centerfielder Jawan McAllister in the fifth inning. The Rainbow Warriors paid off a leadoff walk when Jack Kennelly poked a two-out, RBI single through the left side that tied the score at four. A walk and interference on a pickoff to first put runners at second and third, and Dallas Duarte beat out an infield single as the go-ahead run crossed home plate for Hawaii.
 
For Longwood, McAllister was a force all night. He scored the team's first run of the game after jumpstarting a two-out rally in the first inning, and then he demolished a no-doubter home run over the left field wall in the fifth inning to give Longwood the lead again. The redshirt-senior has hit safely in four straight while going 2-3 at the plate for his second multi-hit game of the year. The homer was his second of the season.

"He is seeing the ball really well right now and putting great at-bats together," said Mau.
 
Once McAllister reached in the first inning, Nate Blakeney ripped a screaming RBI double down the left field line. Hunter Gilliam whacked Blakeney home with a single up the middle for a 2-0 Longwood lead.
 
Hawaii touched up Longwood starter Andrew Melnyk for a run on three singles in the second before taking the lead in the fourth on a two-run single from Travis Best.
 
Pedro Astacio, Jr. relieved Melnyk out of the bullpen in the fourth and forced a double play to keep the Lancers within one. The junior threw three scoreless innings in his longest outing of the season while giving up three hits without a walk.

"Pedro is doing a great job of challenging hitters and trusting his stuff," said Mau. "He had good command of his fastball and is attacking the zone with it."
 
John Gregory (1-1) came on in relief of Astacio in the seventh with one out and a runner on base. He took the tough loss for the Lancers after surrendering two runs on two hits and two walks, all in the eighth.
 
For Hawaii, Li'i Pontes (1-0) earned the win for throwing three innings of scoreless relief to close out the game.


Game two of the series is set for Saturday afternoon, March 2 at 6:05 p.m. (EST) at Les Murakami Stadium.

"This is a great environment to play in, and we get three more cracks at it," said Mau. "Let's come out with the same effort and energy we did tonight, handle the little things better and find a way to win a game tomorrow."
 
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