RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The UC Riverside Highlanders opened its final home series of the season Friday with a doubleheader against Hawai'i at Amy S. Harrison Field.
GAME ONE: Hawai'i 5, UC Riverside 1
UC Riverside battled through a tight game into the seventh inning before Hawai'i pulled away for a 5-1 win in the opener.
The Highlanders took an early lead in the second inning when Jackie Alday homered to center field to make it 1-0. UC Riverside added more pressure in the third as Aubrey Marx and Trendee Kahunahana recorded back-to-back singles, and Arianna Saldivar later doubled down the left-field line in the fifth. Kahunahana also doubled in the sixth to give the Highlanders six hits on the day.
Alday finished with the Highlanders' lone RBI, while Kahunahana went 2 for 3 with a double. Marx, Saldivar and Isabel McElroy also recorded hits.
Hawai'i scored twice in the fourth inning and added three runs in the seventh.
GAME TWO: Hawai'i 6, UC Riverside 1
In the second game, UC Riverside answered with steady contact at the plate, but Hawai'i used early scoring and strong defense to secure a 6-1 win.
Jackie Alday led the Highlanders with a 2-for-3 effort, and Arianna Saldivar went 2 for 2 with an RBI. UC Riverside broke through in the fifth inning when Alday singled up the middle and later scored on Saldivar's RBI single down the right-field line. Leilani Juan also added a hit in the seventh.
The Highlanders got a defensive highlight in the fourth inning when Amaree Arellano threw out a runner trying to steal second. UC Riverside also turned a double play in the seventh on a lineout to right field and relay to shortstop.
Hawai'i scored two runs in the first, added one in the third, two in the fifth and one in the sixth.
The Highlanders close out the 2026 season on Senior Day against Hawai'i on tomorrow, May 2nd, with first pitch set for noon.
