Friday, February 15, 2002
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Brent Cook and Scooter Martines started their college baseball careers elsewhere, but circumstances brought them together this season and their teammates elected them captains. Martines, Cook
captain UH shipBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comCook played two seasons for California before deciding he needed a change. Martines went to Texas Tech for a year after graduating from Punahou before returning to the islands.
Martines would have finished his collegiate career last season had he not severely injured his left shoulder attempting a sliding catch in left field against UCLA during the 2000 season. He had surgery at season's end and redshirted last year.
"In the first stage of my rehab, I thought I might never play again. The surgery wasn't cooperating with me as well as I wanted it to," Martines said. "I had a lot of great people helping with my rehab and ultimately they got me back on the field."
Cook was a player without a position at California and saw limited action in 29 games a year ago.
"I was in a situation where it didn't look like I was going to play as much as I liked to. It's a good program, but for me personally, I just needed a change," said Cook.
He considered transferring to schools in the Bay Area, but got to talking with Aaron Pribble and Chad Boudon when they played on the same team last summer and chose Hawaii.
"I kind of wanted a bigger change. I've been around my home all my life. This was a great opportunity," Cook said.
Both players were surprised, yet honored when it was announced they were the 2002 captains. Neither one is the rah-rah type.
"I've never been one to be a captain. I can only hope to be a good example and, if the younger guys have questions, I hope I can answer them," said Martines.
"I'm more of a guy who will go out there and not say too much and lead by example. I just play hard and do my job, but I'm definitely excited about it," said Cook.
UH coach Mike Trapasso is pleased with the choices and likes that Martines is a senior who has been with the program for several years and Cook is a junior who will have value next year.
"They are throwback-type players who could have played in any era. They are the kind of guys who are unselfish, who could care less what their individual performance is. They just want to win," said Trapasso.
"They absolutely hate losing. Cook hates losing in intrasquad, when we don't keep score. But he keeps score, and if his team isn't winning, he gets on them. Scooter is the type of guy who makes players around him play better.
"That's the thing you look for in leaders. It's all about wanting other guys to perform well so the team can win."
Martines says his shoulder is 100 percent healthy. He just wants to play hard and do whatever is necessary to win. He hopes the attitude rubs off on the younger players. The designated hitter the first six games, he was back in left field Sunday and won't hesitate to dive for a ball if it's called for.
Cook came here as an outfielder, but Trapasso saw him fielding ground balls early in fall practice, knew there was an opening at third base and that's where Cook landed. He had been a shortstop in high school, so the infield wasn't foreign territory.
"For the most part, the transition has been smooth. You don't get as much reaction time on the artificial turf, but I like it," Cook said. "This program gets a lot more attention than I was used to at Cal. The fan and community support is unbelievable. It's pretty special here."
Martines said the Cal State Sacramento series was a huge steppingstone for him.
"I felt a lot better batting. Coach (Josh) Sorge and I looked at some tapes and he made a couple of small adjustments that made a big difference. He got my stance a little more upright. We're very fortunate to have a good hitting coach like that to get me back on track."
This weekend, all the Rainbows will try to get back on track.
When: Today, 6:35 p.m.; Tomorrow, 12:05 p.m.; Sunday, 1:05 p.m. GAMEDAY
Where: Murakami Stadium
TV: All games live, KFVE, Channel 5
Radio: All games live, KCCN, 1420-AM
Internet: kccn1420am.com
Tickets: $6 Orange, Blue levels. $5 Red level. $4 seniors, children ages 4-18, UH students in the Red level.
Parking: $3
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Hawaii (2-5) W-L ERA K RHP Bryan Lee (Jr.) 1-0 2.30 8 LHP Aaron Pribble (Sr.) 1-0 2.70 13 RHP Ricky Bauer (Fr.) 0-2 7.27 11 UCLA (7-3) W-L ERA K RHP Chris Cordeiro (So.) 1-0 1.54 12 LHP Mike Kunes (Jr.) 2-0 2.25 3 RHP Casey Janssen (So.) 2-0 1.64 10 Notes: The Rainbows and Bruins have played 49 games, with UH holding a 26-23 edge. ... The scheduled starting pitchers for UCLA have accounted for five of the team's wins. ... The Bruins' 11-5 victory over Florida Atlantic last Sunday was the 900th win at UCLA for coach Gary Adams. His overall record is 1091-799-12. ... The Bruins' team batting average is .333, opponents are hitting .307.
UH Athletics