Sports Update
Despite a team-leading 27 kills, Ring said he expected a lot more of himself.
"I don't think I played well," Ring said. "I made six errors I shouldn't have made. It's unacceptable. Stupid mistakes. I just thank God I hit .488."
Maybe his attitude was a sign that he and his Rainbow teammates have taken their expectations to a new level as they prepare to embark on a critical four-game road trip that might make or break their season.
The next seven days will tell that story.
The Rainbows improved to 14-7 overall after the nonconference match while Rutgers-Newark fell to 11-17 overall.
It was Hawaii's sixth win in a row and Ring wants to see that streak continue when the Rainbows go to Stanford for matches Tuesday and Wednesday with the leader of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation's Pacific Division.
The Cardinal are 9-3 in the Pacific Division; Hawaii is 7-6.
The 'Bows will then travel to Stockton, Calif., to play Pacific next Friday and Saturday before returning home for a two-match stand against USC on April 11-12.
The MPSF playoffs begin April 19.
Granted, Hawaii made enough mental errors in Friday night's 10-8 victory over the University of Nebraska to keep it interesting, but the fact the Rainbows didn't fold their tent in the face of adversity is not lost on Les Murakami.
"These kids are starting to believe they can win," the UH head coach said. "How many games have we lost in the eighth and ninth innings this year?
"Tonight, we won in the eighth after blowing a big lead. That's a good sign because nobody thought we would finish 3-2 this week and make it to the championship. But we did."
Hawaii is the No. 3 seed and faces No. 2 seed Washington in Saturday's 6:35 p.m. game at Rainbow Stadium. Top seed Wichita State plays No. 4 seed Nebraska in the 3 p.m. game. Cal State-Northridge and the University of New Mexico meet at 11 a.m. in the consolation bracket. The finals are set for Sunday.
"We're going to go with Andrew McNally tonight and Robby Robinson on Sunday," Murakami said. "I believe Washington and Wichita State are the best teams, but we have a good chance against Washington if Andrew pitches well."
Seating at the ceremony, which was scheduled for 7 p.m., was priced at $30 and $20. But Scaff said he has decided to reschedule the awards for the daytime. A new starting time for the ceremony is forthcoming.
"It's Mother's Day and there were not that many interested," said Scaff who vowed to make refunds to everyone who paid for seating.
He said that won't be difficult because the race didn't take in much money for the awards ceremony.
However Scaff said that other fees associated with the event will stand. Those include $20 for the carbo loading party at the Waikiki Shell on May 10 and the Windward Ho‘olaulea on May 9.
The entry fee for local residents is $39 and deadline is Monday.
Scaff said he believes there are about 15,000 entries for the H-3 race but he said only 12,000 are now in the computer. He said there is a backlog.