Rainbow Playbook
vs. Fresno State Bulldogs
Coaches: FSU, Bob Bennett (31st season, 1,169-670-2). UH, Les Murakami (29th season, 1,029-531-4).
Season: FSU, 12-15 (1-5 WAC). UH, 15-9 (2-7 WAC).
Probable starting pitchers: FSU, right-hander Tom Graham (3-3, 3.61), right-hander Casey Rowe (2-4, 5.46), right-hander Nick Moran (2-2, 6.96). UH, left-hander Jamie Aloy (4-4, 4.01), left-hander Troy Yoshimasu (4-0, 3.07), left-hander Dusty Bergman (0-2, 4.05) or left-hander Randon Ho (4-2, 1.41).
Top players: Outfielder Anthony Acevedo leads Bulldogs in batting (.419), hits (39) and RBIs (26). Was WAC Player of the Week last week after hitting .458 in FSU's Pepsi-Johnny Quik tourney; outfielder Tony Guzman (.373); designated hitter Tom Creighton (.333, 10 RBIs); first baseman Brandon Gemoll (.304, 18 RBIs).
Interesting facts: The Bulldogs lead the series, 33-21 overall, 23-12 WAC, 19-16 in Hawaii ... UH's Sean Takamori still leads the WAC in stolen bases (14 of 18) and Rich Snider is tops in appearances (16) and saves (6) ... In the WAC, the Rainbows are 7th in batting (.294), Bulldogs 10th (.265); UH is 3rd in pitching (3.49), FSU is fourth (5.32); Bulldogs are 2nd in defense (.968), 'Bows third (.967) ... 14 Rainbows battled the flu bug earlier this week. Yesterday's practice was the first time the whole squad was present. Not everyone is feeling 100 percent yet.
Series keys: With 21 conference games remaining, the Bulldogs and Rainbows are on the verge of playing themselves out of contention for a WAC tourney berth ... This series and the WAC series each team plays (UH hosts UNLV and FSU travels to New Mexico) after the Easter Tournament are crucial ... Bulldogs benefit from the return of Casey Rowe who pitched 2° innings of perfect relief last week to hand North Carolina its first loss ... 'Bows need to have some regulars who are struggling at the plate find themselves quickly ... Bulldogs started to play the way Bennett expected during the FS tourney last week, but have yet to win a WAC road game this season ... 'Bows must forget the disappointments of last road trip, but not the fact they played hard.
First pitch: Today, 6:36 p.m.; tomorrow, 1:05 p.m.; Sunday, 3:05 p.m.
On the air: Today, live on KCCN radio (1420 AM); Tomorrow and Sunday, live on KHNL TV (Channel 5) and KCCN radio (1420 AM).
Rainbow Playbook
vs. Rutgers-NewarkScarlet Raiders
Coaches: R-N: Ron Larsen (6th season, 93-75). UH: Mike Wilton (7th season, 130-58).
Season: R-N: 11-11 (6-0 EIVA). UH: 11-6 (6-5 MPSF).
Ranking_R-N: No 17. UH: No. 7.
Series: UH leads Rutgers-Newark, 8-0. Last season, the Rainbows took both matches in straight sets. In the eight meetings, the teams have played to five games twice (1991 and '92).
Top players: R-N: Jason Hamerick (6-5 Jr. MH) 6.13 kpg, .368, 0.94 bpg, 24 aces; Brian Kressler (6-4 Sr. SW) 4.19 kpg, 1.15 bpg, 1.67 dpg; Christos Tsamadias (6-3 Jr. SW) 4.31 kpg, .400), Jeremy Hoff (6-4 Fr. OH) 2.87 kpg, 1.30 bpg, 26 aces; Andy Murtha (6-3 Sr. S) 17.46 apg, 1.53 dpg; Kevin Anderson (6-1 Sr. SW) 1.37 kpg, 21 aces.
About the Scarlet Raiders: Rutgers-Newark has been on the road since Feb. 28, going 3-3. The team opened its trip with two league wins to stay perfect in the EIVA but has gone 1-3 as it headed west. The Raiders defeated CSU Northridge in four on Saturday then lost in four at LaVerne Monday and UC Santa Barbara Tuesday ... Jason Hamerick had 31 kills in the loss to LaVerne ... Tuesday's match with the Gauchos saw Christos Tsamadias lead the team with 19 kills while hitting .433. The Raiders had five service aces to run their season total to 121 ... At this point last season, Tsamadias had 63 aces. He has 11 currently.
About the Rainbows: It's deja vu for Hawaii against Rutgers-Newark. Last year, the Rainbows were also on a two-match losing slide when they hosted the Raiders in mid-March. Hawaii won both matches in straight sets ... The Rainbows continued their road woes last week, losing at No. 3 Long Beach State in four and No. 2 Pepperdine in three. Against the 49ers, sophomore Clay Stanley had a career-high 32 kills. Hawaii is now 1-5 in away games, all conference matches ... The Rainbows are in second place in the MPSF's Pacific Division by a few percentage points over Southern Cal. The first two teams in each of the divisions will host a first-round playoff match ... Hawaii continues to struggle with its passing and consistency on attack. It has led Mike Wilton to throw open all positions saying, "We have no starters. We'll battle all week and when the smoke clears, we'll have a lineup."
End quote: "Passing is to volleyball as breathing is to life. if you don't pass well, you're going to struggle," said Wilton.
First serve: Tonight and tomorrow at 7 p.m.
On the air: Tomorrow's match only on KFVE TV (Channel 5) live. Replay at 10:30 p.m.
