HONOLULU — On the night that the program celebrated its legends Les Murakami, Derek Tatsuno, the 1980 team, and Kolten Wong, the University of Hawai‘i baseball team put on a show for its sellout crowd at Les Murakami Stadium.

“The Mānoa magic was alive,” Hawai‘i coach Rich Hill said. “To come away with a victory tonight was special.”

Bronson Rivera’s two-run single in the bottom of the eighth inning was the difference Saturday night as Hawai‘i came back to win 5-4 over Cal State Fullerton. The freshman’s base hit capped what was a three-run eighth inning for Hawai‘i.

“I was just trying to keep my approach simple,” Rivera said. “Trying to find a good fastball and be on time for it. Fortunately, I got a good pitch to hit.”

Blaze Koali‘i Pontes pitched into the seventh inning for the Rainbow Warriors, allowing only one run on three hits and striking out six over 6+ innings. He received a no-decision after Cal State Fullerton’s four-run seventh inning where they were able to record five base hits off Dalton Renne and Tai Atkins with two outs.

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Hawai‘i, who was held without a hit until two outs into the fifth inning, scored first on Stone Miyao’s two-run home run to right-center field in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“Coach gave me the green light on 3-0 and I was sitting dead-red fastball,” Miyao said. “It came in, caught my barrel, and it went.”

Atkins (4-2) earned the win after pitching a 1-2-3 eighth inning for Hawai‘i. Buddie Pindel closed the door on Cal State Fullerton, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth inning and picking up his second save of the season.

Michael Weisberg (3-3) was charged with the loss for Cal State Fullerton after allowing all three runs to score in the eighth.

First pitch of Sunday’s finale is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. HT and will be broadcast on Spectrum Sports (TV) and ESPN Honolulu (radio). Pindel or Andy Archer (Hawai‘i) and Peyton Jones (Cal State Fullerton) are the projected starters for each side.