HONOLULU, Hawaii – UC Riverside (13-14, 3-3) heads to Hawaii (18-11, 4-2) this weekend as the Highlanders take on the Rainbow Warriors in their first road series of conference play. Friday and Saturday's games are set to begin at 9:00 p.m. PT at Les Murakami Stadium, with Sunday's finale scheduled for a 4:00 p.m. start.
 

Friday, Apr. 13 - 9:00 PM | RHP Trenton Toplikar Saturday, Apr. 14 - 9:00 PM | RHP Cole Percival Sunday, Apr. 15 - 4:00 PM | TBA Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
	UC Riverside	Hawaii
Stats	13-14, 3-3	18-11, 4-2
	Schedule	Schedule
	Roster	Roster
Last 5 Gms	L-W-L-L-L	W-L-W-W-L
Leaders
ERA	Cole Percival 2.27 ERA	Jackson Rees 2.76 ERA
B/avg	Colby Schultz .320	Adam Fogel .330
RBI	Connor Cannon 23 RBI	Adam Fogel 21 RBI
History
Record vs.		6-10
Streak		L1

THE PAST WEEK
After coming away with a 6-4 come-from-behind win over CSUN in last Friday's series-opener, the Highlanders stumbled a bit, dropping the final two games, 3-2 and 6-1. In the game they won, the Highlanders scored five of their six runs in the bottom of the eighth. Facing San Diego Tuesday in the last of ten straight games at home, UCR fell 11-2.

THAT'S ONE WAY TO START
On Friday, Mar. 29, UC Riverside opened its 2018 Big West campaign with its hottest start ever out of the conference gates. The Highlanders posted 16 runs, 20 hits and 14 RBI, shattering their previous records for runs (7 vs. UCSB in 2007), hits (15 vs. Cal Poly in 2003) and RBI (8, twice) in a conference season-opener since joining the Big West in 2002. It was also the Highlanders' first 20-hit performance in over three years.

Sophomore Connor Cannon led the way with three hits on a career-high tying five RBI, which were split between a three-run homer and a two-run double. Five different Highlanders notched three hits for the first time this season as UCR enjoyed its third six-run inning of the year in the bottom of the third.

WHAT A WEEKEND
UC Riverside ended the opening weekend of Big West play with the mosts runs (27), hits (41), RBI (25), batting average (.383) and slugging percentage (.607), all marks which also set Division I program records for a conference-opening weekend. Six different Highlanders batted over .400 with five hits in three games.

The strong start against UC Davis gave the Highlanders their third 2-0 start ever in Big West play. The only other times they started 2-0 were in 2016 – also against the Aggies – and in a 2013 sweep over UC Irvine.

BUILT LIKE A MOUNTAIN
Connor Cannon enters this weekend's series at Hawaii less than two weeks after receiving his first career Big West Field Player of the Week Award. From Mar. 27-31, the sophomore batted .467 (7-for-15) and put up a 1.200 slugging and .556 on base percentage to go along with six runs, 10 RBI and three walks. Cannon also launched a home run in three consecutive games. Prior to that week, he had never homered in back-to-back outings.

Already with two 5-RBI games this season, Cannon becomes the first Highlander with multiple 5-RBI performances since Tony Nix in 2010. His first 5-RBI game of the year came in the Highlanders' 8-1 season-opening win over WSU on Feb. 16, when he recorded his first ever grand slam in the bottom of the seventh. For the season, he leads UCR in home runs (6) and RBI (23), marks which rank second and fifth in the Big West, respectively. He also leads the conference with nine RBI and two homers during Big West play.

R' HOUSE
The Highlanders have gone 9-8 at home this season, already one win away from matching their 2017 win-total, when they went 10-15. Despite dropping their last three home contests, they have gone 8-5 at The Plex since Mar. 6.

THE HITS KEEP COMIN'
Despite a slow offensive start to the season, Head Coach Troy Percival warned that his team would be dangerous as time wore on. Evidently, he was right. After a seven-game stretch from Feb. 24-Mar. 4 in which the Highlanders averaged just 4.6 hits per game, they began to turn things around. Since Mar. 6 against Valparaiso, UCR has racked up 160 hits, averaging out to 10 per game.

ATOP THE PACK
The Highlanders have improved their offensive production significantly during Big West play, ranking in the top three in a number of statistical categories. Through six games, they lead the conference in slugging (.514) and extra-base hits (25), rank second in batting average (.333), and third in hits (70) and on base percentage (.382).

DOWN WITH THE DOUBLES
One of the main reasons UCR has gotten out to a fast start offensively to Big West play has been utility Nathan Webb. The freshman leads the conference with 12 hits and a .826 slugging percentage through six games, He also ranks second in batting average (.522) and doubles. Of his 21 hits this season, 11 of them have been doubles.

HOLDING DOWN THE MOUND
Right-handed pitcher Cole Percival (4-1) is another freshman out to a great start this season. He has pitched more innings (43.2) than any other Highlander, leading the way in wins (4) and opposing batting average (.200) and sitting second on the team in strikeouts (32). His team-leading 2.27 ERA also ranks fifth in the Big West.

Percival impressed many in his first career start on the mound, leading the Highlanders to an 8-1 victory over Nebraska in just under six innings pitched. He struck out eight batters, giving up just one hit, one run, and a meager .056 opposing batting average.

NO RUN ZONE
Right-handed pitcher Jared Morton has a 2-1 record and a very low 0.77 ERA in 23.1 innings pitched this year. The senior is also fourth in the Big West in saves (5). Now with nine saves in his career, he is tied for No. 8 all-time in the UCR record books.

The Highlanders have won seven of the last eight games Morton has appeared in, and are 10-3 this season when he has stepped onto the mound. In his first conference appearance on Mar. 30, he pitched a perfect three innings to close out the Aggies, retiring all nine batters he faced.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
UC Riverside hit .472 as a team against Valparaiso on Mar. 7, exploding for 14 runs and 17 hits. At the time, it was the most hits for the Highlanders since recording 18 against Long Beach State on Apr. 23, 2016.

Seven different Highlanders finished with multiple runs or RBI. Senior shortstop Colby Schultz finished 3-of-5 for 2 RBI, and had his second three-run game in his last five outings. Sophomore Connor Cannon finished with a team-high 3 RBI.

STREAKERS
The Highlanders won four straight games from Mar. 6 - Mar. 11 for their longest win streak so far this season. It was UCR's first four-game win streak since opening the 2017 season with a 4-0 record.

ONE MORE BEFORE THE ROAD
Following this weekend's series, UC Riverside will remain at home for a non-conference midweek game against San Diego on Tuesday, Apr. 10. The Highlanders will then take on Hawai'i from Apr. 13-15 in their first Big West road series of 2018.