Thursday, March 12, 1998
Potent Owls no fly-by-night foe for 'Bows The crossover series is crucial to UH's West Division hopes
By Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinLes Murakami has no idea how his University of Hawaii baseball team will look after it emerges from its own version of March madness.
If the Rainbows are to contend for a West Division title, they must do well in this month's remaining two Western Athletic Conference series (Rice University and Fresno State).
Winning only one of three games against San Diego State last weekend wasn't exactly an auspicious start to the month. And yesterday, the Rainbows (18-7) landed in Houston to prepare for tomorrow's series opener with No. 10 Rice (17-7) at Cameron Field.
Losing two games to SDSU put a lot of pressure on UH to do well on the road in the crossover series against a team that advanced to the College World Series last year and is 9-0 in the South Division.
"We'll know a lot more about this team after these next few games are done," Murakami said.
Hawaii held a brief workout yesterday before Rice's home game with the University of Houston. Rice won, 10-2.
"The ball really carries well here," said Murakami, who needs two wins to reach 1,000. "Now I know why they have so many extra-base hits."
The Owls have at least one extra-base hit in each of their last 23 games. They have 39 homers, including 11 by infielder Damon Thames and six by outfielder Bubba Crosby. Thames leads the Owls in hitting with a .410 average.
It will be up to UH pitchers Troy Yoshimasu, Patrick McNair and Randon Ho to halt the hot Rice hitters. Yoshimasu, making his fifth start of the season, is 2-0 with a 4.55 ERA.
Yoshimasu is trying to rebound from a recent bout with vertigo.
The former Castle High standout is replacing Dusty Bergman in the three-man rotation. Bergman was recently suspended by Murakami for breaking team rules. He will be back for the Fresno State series, but won't necessarily be in the starting rotation.
McNair moves from third to second in the rotation. The talented freshman is coming off a 152-pitch win over San Diego State. He is 4-0 with a team-leading 1.89 ERA. Ho is scheduled for the third game.
Murakami is giving the sophomore another chance to remain in the starting rotation. Ho is 3-3 with a 4.81 ERA, but his 0-2 record and 9.39 ERA in the WAC have Murakami wondering if Ho is ready to start at the Division I level.
"I'm going to find out who has heart on this team this weekend," Murakami said. "We can't afford to fall too far back too soon. This is definitely the toughest part of our schedule. We have to win some games because we don't want to fall into too deep of a hole."
The 'Bows are off to another slow start in league play, something that has plagued them in recent years. They are tied for last in the West with the Aztecs at 2-4. Fresno State is first at 4-2 and will be in Hawaii to play UH on March 20-22.
"These next six games are really big for us," McNair said after surviving a late run by the Aztecs. "If we want to be contenders in the WAC, we have to do well in this stretch. I believe we're up for it. I know I am."
So is Jamie Aloy. The first baseman has a six-game hitting streak and is the leader among the team regulars with a .392 average. He also leads the team in doubles (seven), triples (four) and RBIs (28).
Aloy and the Rainbows will face a talented Rice pitching staff that includes starters Mario Ramos (4-1, 1.69 ERA), Stephen Bess (5-1, 2.51) and Jeff Nichols (3-3, 4.87). Bess has won his last four starts. In those games, the Owls averaged 14.5 runs.
Rainbow Men Baseball Schedule
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