In the third inning of a game on the third day of the third month of 2023, the Hawaii baseball team pulled off an incredibly rare feat.

UH’s triple play erased a bases-loaded, no-out jam to help starter Harry Gustin remain in the game and register the best start by a Rainbow Warrior pitcher this year. It came in a 3-2 win over Minnesota on Day 1 of the Cambria College Classic in Minneapolis, Minn., at U.S. Bank Stadium on Friday.

Center fielder Matt Wong hit a two-run homer in the first inning and Jared Quandt continued his torrid play to open the season, scoring Dallas Duarte on a single for what ended up being a very important insurance run in the seventh.

Quandt, who missed last season with an injury, played left field and went 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot Friday. That actually dropped his season average to .550.

Gustin allowed one run in five innings for the win and handed it off to Alex Giroux, who went 3 2/3. When the winless Golden Gophers (0-9) put the tying run on second in the bottom of the ninth, Connor Harrison came in to retire the final out and got the save.

But the highlight of the game was the triple play in the third, UH’s first since a game against Chicago State on March 18, 2016, at Les Murakami Stadium.

After the Gophens loaded the bases with no outs, UH third baseman Zach Storbakken knocked down a hard liner from Boston Merila. Storbakken stepped on the bag for a forceout for the first out, then caught Riley Swenson in a rundown between third and home. He tossed it to catcher Alton Gyselman, who got the start and applied the tag, and after some confusion, UH realized that Merila had left first base, apparently thinking his liner had been caught. Gustin tossed it to Jacob Igawa to complete the rare play.

The singular defensive play in the Minnesota Vikings' converted stadium might have belonged to Naighel Calderon, who entered as a pinch runner in the fourth and moved to right field. The Lanai native was needed in the bottom of the seventh.

UH (5-3) faces the second of three straight Big Ten opponents on Saturday in Nebraska (4-3-1) at 11 a.m. Hawaii time. The Cornhuskers earned a marquee win over No. 7 Vanderbilt on Friday.

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.