TEMPE, Ariz. » Jeff Van Doornum's home run in the eighth inning landed just left of Barry Bonds' No. 24 that hangs above the right-field fence at Packard Stadium.

Like Major League Baseball's home run king, the Hawaii Rainbows are using the long ball as their biggest weapon.

David Freitas and Van Doornum went deep off San Diego ace Kyle Blair, and Pi'ikea Kitamura was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the ninth inning to help give Hawaii a 4-3 victory over the Toreros yesterday in the opening game of the Tempe regional in the NCAA tournament.

Hawaii (34-26) won the first game of an NCAA regional for just the second time in its last seven tries, setting up a showdown with the tournament's overall No. 1 seed, Arizona State (48-8), today at 4 p.m. Hawaii time. The Sun Devils beat Wisconsin-Milwaukee 6-2.

“;It was a well-played game,”; Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. “;We had a hard time figuring (Blair) out ... Once Freitas hit the home run, our kids loosened up, and from that point on, it was just battling.”;

A day after being named a third-team Louisville Slugger All-American, Blair looked poised to breeze through the Rainbows lineup.

An error helped Kolten Wong get to third base with one out in the first inning, but Van Doornum and Freitas both struck out swinging.

In the third, Kevin Macdonald led off with a double and reached third with one out, but again, Blair got out of it, striking out Wong and getting Kitamura to ground out.

The momentum shifted in Hawaii's favor in the sixth when a two-out error by Chris Engell allowed Van Doornum to reach base. With UH down 2-0, Freitas stepped to the plate and worked a 3-2 count before crushing a pitch over the hitters' eye in center that went an estimated 460 feet to tie it, 2-2.

Freitas became the 25th player to clear the wall in center in the 36-year history of the stadium, joining the likes of former Arizona State players Ike Davis, Brett Wallace, Mike Kelly and Bonds.

“;I was up there and had a 3-2 count and he was throwing a lot of sliders well for strikes,”; Freitas said. “;I sat fastball and told myself to adjust for that slider, fouled off a few and got a pitch to hit.”;

UH took its first lead of the game in the eighth at 3-2 when Van Doornum took Blair's 114th pitch of the game over the fence for a solo homer.

It was his 13th of the season, pushing him into fourth place on the school's single-season home run list.

“;My original goal was to get on base, but it was an offspeed pitch up and I just hit it,”; Van Doornum said.

Not only did it give UH the lead, it allowed Trapasso to turn to closer Lenny Linsky, who blew a save but got the win.

After allowing a two-run homer to Mike Ferraro in the second inning, Matt Sisto settled down and lasted seven innings, needing just 88 pitches.

Somewhat of a surprise starter over ace Josh Slaats, who will pitch today, Sisto allowed the two runs on eight hits with no walks and four strikeouts.

“;He's becoming a big-game pitcher for us,”; Trapasso said. “;Matt was really the key, particularly early, in keeping us in (the game).”;

Sisto missed out on the win after a two-out error by Wong allowed the Toreros to tie the game. Linsky (4-0) hit two batters in the inning, including Kevin Muno, who scored when Zach Walters hit a two-out chopper to second that Wong tried to charge to make the play. He couldn't reach the ball before it bounced in front of him, allowing it to scoot away and the run to score.

The Rainbows were unfazed by the mistake. Sean Montplaisir ripped a one-out double down the right-field line off of Toreros reliever Matt Thomson in the ninth. Macdonald was hit by a pitch and pinch hitter Christian Johnson grounded out to first in his first at-bat since dislocating his shoulder April 17 at Sacramento State.

Wong, who was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts at that point, was intentionally walked, setting the stage for Kitamura, who took a 1-2 pitch off his ear that brought in the winning run.

“;I'm pretty much used to it,”; Kitamura said about the intentional walk to Wong. “;It's happened three or four times already in the WAC tournament, so I just tried to stay aggressive ... take what they were giving to me.”;

Punahou graduate Zach Kometani put a scare into Hawaii in the ninth, hitting a fly ball to the base of the fence in right field. Chase Koissian, who took Matt Roquemore's spot in the outfield after Johnson pinch-hit, battled the sun to make the catch.