Tyler Davis pitched out of an eighth-inning jam and then shut the door in the ninth as Hawai'i held off Pacific, 4-3, yesterday to extend its winning streak to four.

The Rainbows (6-2) nearly squandered a 4-0 lead in the eighth, when the Tigers (2-4) scored three and had the tying and go-ahead runners in scoring position with one out. But Davis struck out the next two batters and all three in the ninth for his second save before 884 at Les Murakami Stadium.

"Tyler does better in pressure situations," batterymate Landon Hernandez said. "He did a good job of bearing down and locking in and just throwing strikes."

Davis inherited the bases-loaded situation after Matt Daly gave up three successive singles to start the eighth. A sacrifice fly by Mike Walker, a flare RBI single by Zach Chamberlain and an RBI double by Brett Manning helped the Tigers close to 4-3 with runners at second and third and one out. Davis then struck out Clint Eastman and Noah St. Urbain.

"I knew I had to start striking guys out, especially in that one situation where there was the runner on third with one out," said Davis, who used a good running fastball and slider.

Hawai'i starter Mark Rodrigues (3-0) pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings of five-hit ball, striking out three. His pitch count was relatively low at 71, but he was tiring in the sixth, when he allowed two singles to start the inning before getting Justin Baum to fly out to right. Although two left-handed hitters were due up to face the left-hander Rodrigues, UH coach Mike Trapasso brought in Daly, who got the two outs to hold the shutout.

"I was kind of gassed," Rodrigues said. "I was willing to give Daly the ball. He throws pretty hard and I had confidence in giving him the ball."

Daly allowed two singles to start the seventh, but escaped unscathed. He wasn't as fortunate in the eighth.

While he was happy with the win, Trapasso was concerned by the way the team played.

"We showed a little lack of toughness there the last three innings," Trapasso said. "We're fortunate that Tyler did a nice job. But we have good kids that understand that a four-run lead in college baseball with three (innings) to go is far from over. We have to get better at staying intense."

Kris Sanchez continued his assault on left-handed pitching with a two-run home run to right off UOP starter Joey Centanni (0-2) in the third inning. It was the second home run in as many days for Sanchez.

The Rainbows added two in the sixth with the aid of two walks by Centanni (5 1/3 innings, four runs, three earned, seven hits and six walks), Centanni's throwing error on an attempted force at second and when he hit Brandon Haislet with the bases loaded.

Hawai'i managed 10 hits and eight walks, but stranded 15 runners, 10 in scoring position. Twice it failed to sacrifice with runners at first and second, both times not scoring.

"You can't let that happen and keep winning games," Trapasso said.

Hernandez batted 3 for 5 to lift his season average to .367. Sanchez was 2 for 5 and freshman Vinnie Catricala, the designated hitter, went 2 for 4.

Pacific coach Ed Sprague was ejected when he argued with home plate umpire Ryan Arasato in the sixth inning after Haislet was nicked by Centanni's pitch to force in a run.

The Rainbows will try for their first sweep of the season today. Game time is 1:05 p.m.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.