Anteaters are up next at Murakami Stadium

UC Irvine brings a three-game winning streak into its series with the Rainbows

Hawaii entertains UC Irvine this weekend, the second of four California teams coming to Les Murakami Stadium for nonconference baseball series this year.

The Anteaters (3-1) got off to a good start last weekend at home. They lost their opener to No. 25 California 6-2, then beat the Golden Bears 10-4 and 7-6. Tuesday night, the Anteaters defeated Loyola Marymount, UH's opponent next weekend, 6-4.

UC IRVINE AT HAWAII When: Tomorrow and Saturday, 6:35 p.m.; Sunday, 1:05 p.m. Where: Les Murakami Stadium TV: All games live, KFVE, Channel 5 Radio: All games live, KKEA, 1420-AM Tickets: $6 orange and blue sections; $5 red section; $4 seniors; $3 students ages 4-18 and UH students in the red section. Parking: $3.

"The UC Irvine pitching will be very good. They will throw strikes. And the Anteaters won't make five errors a game," said Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso. "This series will be a challenge, an opportunity for us."

The Rainbows benefited from the 16 errors committed by the San Diego State defense last week and the 28 walks and 11 hit batters the Aztec pitchers doled out.

The 'Bows trailed early in all four games against SDSU, but rallied to win the first three and gain a tie after six innings in Sunday's loss.

"There is no question we saw a consistent offense. We had a good approach. The evidence of that was all the walks we got. We put ourselves in that position," Trapasso said.

"When they (Aztec pitchers) did throw the ball in there, we swung the bat well. We had a lot of competitiveness and focus."

The Rainbows made eight errors, but weren't hurt by the miscues, with the exception of the first inning of game two and in game four.

There were positives from the pitching staff.

"Steven (Wright) and Darrell (Fisherbaugh) were good. Tyler (Davis) was good his second outing and Dean (Turner) gave us a good outing," Trapasso said.

Left-handers Ian Harrington and Mark Rodrigues, the starters in games two and three, made some good pitches, according to Trapasso, but need to do that more consistently.

One thing Trapasso wants to see from his relief pitchers is a zero on the scoreboard for the visitors in their first inning, especially when it follows an inning in which the Rainbows take the lead.

He would like to see the pitchers be more consistent from at-bat to at-bat.

"I have to give credit to San Diego State. I felt they were a good offensive club," Trapasso said.

The same could be true for the Anteaters.

"They swung the bat very well in the last two California games," Trapasso said.

When the Rainbow pitchers made a mistake, the Aztec batters took full advantage. They hit .284 for the series and pounded out 14 extra-base hits.

Right fielder Matt Inouye, who missed Sunday's game with a bruised right knee, is expected to be ready this weekend. Designated hitter Justin Frash, recovering from a bruised shoulder suffered in game two, may be ready. First baseman Kris Sanchez, who pulled a hamstring in game two, probably won't be available for the UCI series.

"It is sometimes hard to tell where you are after the first series. You have to separate emotion from intensity. You need a mode of being ready for every game as it comes," Trapasso said. "Good teams sustain the intensity we had last weekend. Very good teams sustain it for 50-plus games. We'll see where we fall as we continue to play.

"The one disappointment for me was I didn't get (freshman right-hander) Jayson Kramer an inning. He will be good for us and I want him to pitch."

Wright (1-0), the junior right-hander, starts tomorrow night, followed by Harrington (0-0) and Rodrigues (0-0).

Notes: The Rainbows and Anteaters have played 11 games, with UCI leading the series 8-3. ... In the last meeting -- May 21, 2003, at Irvine, Calif. -- the Anteaters prevailed 2-0.