Hawaii's Josh Slaats was named the Western Athletic Conference pitcher of the week yesterday.

The 6-foot-5 junior threw a seven-inning, two-hit shutout on Friday to lead Hawaii to a 9-0 victory over The Citadel.

Slaats struck out a career-high seven and walked one to help the Rainbows (6-6) snap a three-game losing streak. He was the second straight UH pitcher to win the award. Sophomore Lenny Linsky earned the honor last week with three saves against Oregon.

Hawaii's RPI jumped to No. 10 in the latest WarrenNolan.com rankings. It listed UH's strength of schedule as the second toughest in the nation.

A team's RPI is used to help determine at-large selections for the NCAA tournament.

The Rainbows return to the field Friday to open a four-game home series against Southern California.