Even with David Freitas' home run against The Citadel on Saturday, the four-hole in Hawaii's lineup had been a graveyard for Rainbow bats.

Freitas' three-run shot, which helped the Rainbows earn a series split against the Bulldogs, was one of the few hits Hawaii has gotten from its cleanup spot this season.

In 12 games, UH is batting .103 (4-for-39) in that position in the order. Senior first baseman Kevin Macdonald was 2-for-27 before being moved down the lineup. Sophomore Collin Bennett moved into the four-spot for Friday's doubleheader and saw his hitting streak snapped at 10 games after batting 1-for-7.

“;I think the four-hole is cursed for us right now,”; Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said on Friday. “;We're moving guys around trying to get production out of that spot.”;

The switch paid off for Macdonald, who hit home runs in each of his first two games after moving down in the order.

“;We'll see if it keeps going,”; Macdonald said. “;My average still isn't too great, so we'll see.”;

Macdonald's hitting .154 (6-for-39) with as many home runs (three) as singles. He's still second on the team with nine RBIs and tied for the team lead with 10 walks.

Changes ahead?

The Rainbows have five days off before they begin a four-game set with Southern California on Friday. It's the longest break between games Hawaii has all season.

Trapasso hinted on Friday that he was eyeing this week as a possible chance to make some changes in the pitching rotation with the extra days of rest.

Josh Slaats (1-0, 0.52 ERA) has been nearly untouchable this season and could move up in the rotation without missing any days off.

The same holds true for junior Sam Spangler (1-2, 2.93), who Trapasso originally had in mind as the team's No. 1 starter before arm pain set his preseason schedule back.

Spangler bounced back from a poor outing against Oregon by tossing seven innings of one-run ball in Saturday's victory over The Citadel.

“;He really did a good job of staying in rhythm,”; Trapasso said. “;He'd have times where he'd start to fall out of rhythm, but he found it quickly.”;

Brackenridge breaks out

After two starts and nine plate appearances, true freshman Kalani Brackenridge finally broke through with the first hit of his collegiate career.

The Kapolei graduate pinch-hit for Sean Montplaisir in the seventh inning of Saturday's 13-1 win and bounced a 1-2 pitch through the left side of the infield for a base hit that scored Christian Johnson.

“;I've worked hard this whole time for it and it finally paid off,”; Brackenridge said. “;It was nice.”;

Poised for another run

A year after setting a school record with 64 home runs in a season, the Rainbows are pushing the pace to do it again.

Through 12 games, Hawaii has hit 13 home runs, led by Macdonald's three. Eight different Rainbows have gone yard, including freshmen Breland Almadova and Pi'ikea Kitamura.

If UH held the same pace throughout the season, it would finish with the same number of homers as last year, bettering the previous mark of 58 set in 1983.

The most surprising Rainbows without a home run? How about Kolten Wong, who leads the team with a .405 batting average.

Wong hit 11 homers last season as a freshman.