Despite that fact, Rainbows head coach Les Murakami doesn't believe a string of controversial calls and two coaches' ejections are the results of being down one umpire.
"To me, the only bad call where having three umpires might have helped was Neal Honma's triple that Byl Leonard said was a ground-rule double," Murakami said during yesterday's practice.
"And even standing in the infield, he should have been able to hear whether the ball bounced off the top of the wall or the scoreboard. As I told them, we're getting homered at home. They're so afraid of being called homers that any close plays go to the other team."
Once Western Athletic Conference play begins, the Rainbows will use three umpires. It's a league rule. By only having two umpires in nonconference games, Hawaii is saving about $5,000.
"What can we do?" Murakami said. "We have to work within the budget numbers the athletic director gives us. To help make it work, we had to cut back. With only two umpires, we're saving $85 a game.
"But most of the calls that went against us weren't because there were only two umpires. It's because they missed the calls."
Southern California head coach Mike Gillespie might disagree with Murakami on that point. He was thrown out last Friday night because he didn't like Frank Tomaszewski's strike zone.
Honma benefited that time around. Instead of being rung up for the third out of the inning, he blasted an RBI triple on the next pitch that was instrumental in the Rainbows' 9-3 victory.
"As a coach, you'd rather see three umpires on the field because they can cover the infield and outfield better," Gillespie said. "In certain situations, it's difficult for two guys to be in the best position to see every play."
That appeared to be a problem in Sunday's game. USC's Greg Hanoian hit a perfect push bunt with a man on first.
The throw to Darren Masanda covering the bag appeared to beat Hanoian, but Leonard ruled him safe. According to Murakami, Leonard first said that Masanda's foot wasn't on the bag and then later said Hanoian beat the throw.
Because there were only two umpires, Leonard was stationed about 20 feet to the left and behind the pitcher's mound, not exactly an ideal position to make a close call at first.
"That may be, but I'm a 60-year-old man who could see from the dugout that Masanda had his foot on the bag," Murakami said
"If I can see it from where I am, then he certainly should be able to see it from where he is.
"He should have asked (home-plate umpire Guy Ogawa) to make the call if he wasn't sure. Look, I don't go out there to argue unless there's a reason. What's the point, right?
"But I wanted to let them know they missed the call and that if Byl wasn't sure, then he should have asked for Guy's help. I was more upset because Byl changed his mind and said first his foot wasn't on the bag, then the guy beat the throw. Both calls were wrong."
UH pitching coach Carl Furutani certainly thought so. He was tossed by Leonard for saying something under his breath as he walked off the field.
It's the second time in two years that Furutani has been tossed. Greg Poole threw him out for arguing a call involving pitcher Andrew McNally in 1995.
"That's when Poole told Andrew to get his scrawny ass back on the mound and pitch," Furutani said.
"I don't think I should have been ejected on Sunday. I just told him to call the bloody game right."
Murakami has never been ejected, and his cousin, Dave, denies reports that he was kicked out of a game in the late 1970s.
"Never happened," he said yesterday when asked whether he was ejected for arguing a call nearly 20 years ago.
"It doesn't do any good to get kicked out unless you're trying to fire up your team," Les Murakami said.
"But if you see me go out on the field, then you know I think they blew the call."
Last week, unheralded UC San Diego knocked off ranked teams Southern Cal and Long Beach State on consecutive nights. Pacific upset UC Santa Barbara Monday.
Brigham Young supplanted Penn State as the No. 1 team nationally in yesterday's coaches poll. The Cougars toppled then-No. 1 Stanford last week.
"It's going to be that kind of year," said Hawaii coach Mike Wilton. "It's a real opportune time for someone like us to get something going."
The Rainbows (5-4 overall, 3-3 MPSF) might take some frustration and rustiness out on winless San Diego State (0-9, 0-7) this week. Hawaii warms up for next week's three-matches-in-four-days road trip with tomorrow's 7 p.m. match and another at 9 p.m. Saturday.
When last seen two weeks ago, the Rainbows were picking - and kicking - themselves off the court after fading against UC Santa Barbara. Hawaii led, 14-10 in Game 4 and served for the match twice . . . only to have the Gauchos rally to win in five.
"Losing is one thing but it was how we lost," said Wilton. "That's what hurt the most about losing to Santa Barbara. When you're up 14-10, you expect you're going to win the match.
"Hopefully, we've put that behind us but also hope that it's been some food for thought. Looking back, I'm not sure we could have done any better. We were pretty beat up before seeing Santa Barbara."
The layoff has helped senior hitter Aaron Wilton get his legs back. He had been hampered with lower-leg muscle strains.
It also has allowed junior hitter Naveh Milo to come back after a pulled left quadriceps. And junior blocker Rick Tune has become more comfortable playing with the cast that encases his left thumb, broken in the loss at Pepperdine three weeks ago.
"We've had some spirited practices," said Mike Wilton. "Nearly halfway through the season, I'm feeling good about our chances. But only if we play the way I know we can play.
"My concerns lie on our half of the court. We need to take care of business and use these two matches as a springboard before we hit the road."
Next week, Hawaii will play at Long Beach State Wednesday, UCLA Friday and Loyola Marymount Saturday. The Rainbows beat the 49ers last month in conference play and lost to the Bruins in the Outrigger Hotels Invitational.
Tomorrow: San DiegoState (0-9, 0-7) at Hawaii (5-4, 3-3), 7 p.m.