HONOLULU (Interstat) — Griffin Naess delivered a dominant start and the Cal Poly Mustangs capitalized on early opportunities to defeat the Hawaii Warriors 6-2 in the opener of a three-game Big West Conference series Friday night at Neal S. Blaisdell Center.

The most important part of the game was Naess’s command on the mound, which stifled a potent Hawaii lineup and allowed Cal Poly to build an early lead it would not relinquish. The Mustangs’ right-hander carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning, ultimately pitching 6 1/3 innings, allowing no hits and two unearned runs. He walked two, hit two batters and struck out five. His performance directly contradicted pregame projections from Interstat, which gave Hawaii a 54.4% probability to win and projected a 7-4 Warriors victory.

Cal Poly (6-7, 1-0 Big West) provided Naess with immediate support against Hawaii starter Isaiah Magdaleno. In the top of the second inning, Ryan Murray Jr. tripled to right center and scored on Tate Tayman’s sacrifice fly to left field.

The Mustangs extended their lead to 2-0 in the third. Wyatt Castellon walked, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a two-out single to left field by Cam Hoiland.

Hawaii (8-3, 0-1) broke through against Naess in the fourth without a hit, capitalizing on defensive miscues. After a walk and a single, Dallas Nushida delivered an RBI single for Hawaii’s first run. Kamana Nahaku followed with another run-scoring single, plating another run that was charged to Naess but unearned due to an earlier error. That trimmed the Cal Poly lead to 2-1.

The Mustangs responded forcefully in the fifth. Tanner Downing led off with a double and, after an out, Alejandro Garza launched a two-run home run down the left field line to push the lead to 4-1. Hoiland followed with a double, but Magdaleno limited further damage.

Magdaleno took the loss, working five innings and allowing four earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts. Cal Poly’s bullpen, led by Nick Bonn who threw two perfect innings with a strikeout, sealed the win. Chris Downs recorded two outs in the seventh in relief of Naess.

Cal Poly added two insurance runs late. In the eighth, an error, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI single by Jake Spiridonoff made it 5-1. In the ninth, Hoiland punctuated his three-hit night with a solo home run to right field off reliever Ryan Inouye.

Hawaii’s offense was held to just three hits, all coming in the fourth inning. Warriors reliever Grant Garman provided a bright spot with 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, striking out four.

Hoiland finished 3 for 4 with a home run, a double, two RBIs and a walk for Cal Poly. Garza’s two-run homer accounted for his RBIs. For Hawaii, Nahaku drove in a run with one of the team’s three hits.

The victory improved Cal Poly to 6-7 overall, while Hawaii dropped to 8-3. The teams continue the series Saturday and Sunday at the same venue.