HONOLULU — With a flurry of strikes, fist pumps and yells, Japanese phenom Itsuki Takemoto introduced himself to the Hawaii baseball community.

After he got the Rainbow Warriors out of a bases-loaded jam in his college debut against Ole Miss on Saturday, the freshman from Wakayama pumped his fist and let out a yell toward catcher Dallas Duarte, then did the same at the UH dugout as he walked off the mound.

“Just throw strikes, that’s it,” Takemoto said of what he was thinking in his first collegiate appearance. “And then passion, too.”

He was not the only freshman pitcher to ingratiate himself to the Les Murakami Stadium faithful in Saturday’s doubleheader against Ole Miss, as Isaiah Magdaleno got the start in the second game and put the Rainbow Warriors in position for their first win of the season with one run allowed over four innings. Magdaleno and Takemoto combined on a three-hitter in UH’s 9-1 victory in seven innings, the team’s first win of 2024.

UH (1-2) will go for the series split with Ole Miss (2-1) at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.

A third first-year collegian was impactful on Saturday. Kamehameha graduate Elijah Ickes went 4-for-5 with two walks, an RBI and two runs scored as the team’s new starting shortstop.

Ickes said he froze up in his first and only at-bat against the SEC power in UH’s 5-4 loss in 13 innings on Friday night, but by the time Saturday arrived, the butterflies flitted away.

“All the older guys are helping me out, giving me tips here and there and really supporting me,” Ickes said. “And I’m really thankful for them.”

One of those veterans, Kyson Donahue, led UH offensively with a three-run blast in the fifth that blew the game open. It was UH's first homer of the season.

Takemoto, who had an entire cheering section in the Les stands, was the talk afterward, however, after he struck out six in three innings with just one hit and one walk allowed to pick up the save.

He mowed down the first man he saw, leadoff hitter Luke Hill, on three straight strikes.

After his one walk to Jackson Ross to load the bases with two men inherited from Magdaleno, Takemoto struck out Treyson Hughes on three pitches to get out of the jam.

Then he let out some raw emotion.

“It’s a very good moment. I love it. Thank you,” Takemoto said of it afterward.

Coach Rich Hill was all for it.

“I love that. I don’t want that to be taken away from baseball,” Hill said. “He was very excited, very emphatic about his strikeout, looking in our dugout. He was into it.”

Hill said he is still figuring out starting and relieving roles beyond Harrison Bodendorf as the first man up on Fridays. Saturday’s performance by both Magdaleno, who hails from North Hills, Calif., and Takemoto will give him something to think about.

Takemoto said he relied on his fastball, which he considers his best of his five pitches, and broke out his cutter, too.

His outing – and really, his entire time so far with the UH baseball team – has been documented by a film crew from his homeland.

“Yeah, he’s big-time,” Ickes said of Takemoto. “Just all the confidence in the world in him. Even Mags too. Both did a good job, so really congrats to them two.”

Takemoto, who has a sizable following back home, said the attention was something he was used to. Hill hopes there is more of it to come in the future; he sees the confident-yet-coachable Takemoto as the perfect prototype of a Japanese player to come play college baseball in the U.S.

“They’ve really done a good job because we haven’t noticed them, at all,” Hill said. “Extremely polite, respectful, humble. Really want to let us do our job and stay out of the way. When we want to do confidential meetings, they are very accommodating. But at the same time, we’re growing our brand. We want to grow our brand in Japan. This one really helps.”

Earlier Saturday, Ole Miss beat UH 5-2, limiting the ‘Bows to four hits and hanging all five runs on UH starter Randy Abshier. Andrew Fischer and Bo Gatlin accounted for four of the runs on two homers.

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