Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Wednesday, January 19, 2000
2000 SEASON PREVIEW
HAWAII begins its 2000 campaign searching for the consistency that will allow it to build on the achievements of a year ago.
The 1999 'Bows qualified for the Western Athletic Conference playoffs, ending six years of frustration.
This year, the goal has to be set higher. There are no WAC playoffs. If the Rainbows are to participate in the NCAA tournament, they have to win the WAC or finish second. A third-place finish in the six-team conference would put them on the bubble, with overall number of wins and the power rating becoming determining factors.
Head coach Les Murakami has 20 returning players and 16 newcomers. They get a solid test tomorrow as they begin their season with a three-game series against No. 18 Florida.
The biggest question marks are pitching and filling the middle infield positions.
Now playing...
Catcher
Tired of training position players to play catcher, Murakami went after five catchers, hoping to sign two. He signed three freshmen, Jacob Flick, Brian Bock and Ryan Anderson. Flick will probably redshirt.Senior Kenn Wakakuwa is number one followed by Bock and sophomore Kramer Aoki.
"Kenn just has too much going for him. He calls a good game, blocks well and has a good release, but I'm not going to over use him," Murakami said.
Wakakuwa (.294, 36 RBIs a year ago) was physically beat at the end of last season, but relief is now available. Between Bock and Aoki, Bock hits better.
"Bock is probably the best prospect we've had behind the plate since (Collin) Tanabe and that's going some," Murakami said.
First base
Senior Jamie Aloy (.358, 39 RBIs) will start if not playing in the outfield. Wakakuwa is the best defensive first baseman. Bock also can play first and quarterback walk-on Kevin Gilbride will see action if his hitting comes around.
Second base
Sophomore Lane Nogawa (.302, 22 RBIs), senior Rory Pico (.333), junior college transfer Matthew Purtell and Wakakuwa are the candidates."They all can do a fairly good job," Murakami said.
Pico just wants to experience an injury-free season, something that has eluded him in his UH career.
Nogawa also can play shortstop and third base, something he did with success a year ago.
Shortstop
"We're tinkering here and using Patrick Scalabrini a lot because of his bat," Murakami said.Scalabrini transferred from Seminole State and has power. He had not played shortstop for three years before coming here.
"If he plays defense the way I want him to play defense, then he's in there. He can't give up more runs than he's going to score," Murakami said.
Third base
Danny Kimura, the Iolani graduate who transferred from Nebraska, gets the start. Scalabrini, Wakakuwa and Nogawa have experience at the position."They all can play. What they have to do is swing the bat consistently," said Murakami.
Left Field
Junior Scooter Martines (.355, 46 RBIs) returns to left field, but will be spelled, taking a game now and then as the designated hitter.Shane Chan, who had off-season arm surgery after trying to rehabilitate it during a redshirt season (1999), is available to DH, but probably won't see action in the field.
Center field
"We're kind of blessed with three guys, Darin Baker, Rah-Miel Mitchell and Nate Jackson. Of the three, Nate Jackson has the most upside (potential)," Murakami said."The reason why I say that is he has great instincts, but right now he is raw. He needs time, maybe a year. He won't hurt you defensively or on the base paths. Baker looks the best right now. He's improved, but I don't know how much."
Baker (.242, 11 RBIs) had difficulties hitting last season due to an injured left shoulder (nonthrowing side), but had corrective surgery in the off-season.
Mitchell hit .275 as a freshman in 1999. Jackson, a walk-on from the football team, has the best speed. Sophomore Derek Honma, who played sparingly last year, has the best arm.
Right field
It will be one of the center fielders if more than one hits consistently or Aloy."The problem with Aloy is he hasn't played that much there and his foot speed and instinct to cover quickly isn't the greatest," Murakami said.
Honma could get the nod, but he has to hit.
Pitching
"This is a very, very big question mark, not because we don't have the arms, but right now it's because of consistency," said Murakami.The potential starters are senior left-hander Randon Ho (6-3, 2.57 ERA), senior right-hander Rich Snider (6-6, 4.24), redshirt freshman right-hander Chad Giannetti, junior college left-hander Manuel Olivera, junior right-hander Gavin Garrick (0-0, 5.09) and sophomore left-hander Aaron Pribble (0-0, 5.79).
"Ho has the best stuff, but his mind has to be strong and the work ethic has to be there," Murakami said.
"Snider has to be more consistent in the strike zone and with his breaking pitch. Garrick has to be a pitcher, not a thrower.
"Olivera has the arm, the tools and is a hard worker. He needs consistency with his breaking pitch and has to keep the ball down.
"Giannetti maybe has the best upside on the staff. His body has filled out. He has the arm and the pitches, but just lacks experience. Pribble needs a better breaking pitch and must dominate."
Junior right-hander Ian Jones (2-0, 4.01), sophomore right-handers Sean Yamashita (0-0, 6.30) and Grant Sato (0-0, 10.80) and sophomore left-hander Ryan Yamamoto, a transfer from San Francisco who sat out last season, are the middle relievers.
Jones has to hit his spots to be effective. Yamashita pitched well during the summer, but is still a little tentative after arm surgery in the fall.
"Yamamoto might surprise if he does what we want him to do. He has a good breaking pitch," Murakami said.
"Aloy will start the season as the closer because he throws strikes, changes speeds and gives us a chance to get guys out. If he gets beat, it's because he gets hit."
Kimura, who pitched at Iolani but not at Nebraska, has a good breaking pitch and also may close.
Pitching coach Carl Furutani's staff cut the number of walks issued down by 78 last season over the 1998 season. It would help to have that trend continue as it played a major role in lowering the team earned run average from 5.35 (1998) to 4.02 (1999).
The Rainbow roster
No. Player Pos. B/T Ht. Wt. Cl. 1 Ian Jones P R/R 5-8 171 Jr. 2 Lane Nogawa IF R/R 5-8 149 So. 3 Matthew Purtell If R/R 5-9 180 Jr. 4 Rory Pico IF S/R 5-8 168 Sr. 5 Nate Jackson OF R/R 5-10 154 So. 6 Ryan Yamamoto P R/L 5-9 183 So. 7 Shane Chan IF R/R 5-8 162 So. 9 Patrick Scalabrini IF R/R 6-1 186 Jr. 10 Brian Bock C/1B R/R 6-0 190 Fr. 12 Darin Baker OF S/R 6-2 174 Sr. 13 Grant Sato P R/R 6-0 194 So. 14 Manuel Olivera P R/L 5-9 187 Jr. 15 Rich Snider P R/R 5-10 182 Sr. 17 Kenn Wakakuwa C/1B R/R 5-10 180 Sr. 18 Randon Ho P L/L 5-10 148 Sr. 19 Kevin Gilbride DH L/L 6-2 199 Fr. 20 Gavin Garrick P R/R 6-2 180 Jr. 21 Chad Giannetti P R/R 6-1 200 Fr. 22 Derek Honma OF S/R 5-10 167 So. 23 Kramer Aoki C R/R 5-9 166 So. 24 Sean Yamashita P R/R 5-8 177 So. 25 Jamie Aloy 1B/P L/L 6-3 195 Sr. 26 Bryan Lee 1B/P R/R 6-0 168 Fr. 27 Jacob Flick C R/R 5-11 202 Fr. 28 Trey Richards IF R/R 6-2 184 Fr. 30 Rah-Miel Mitchell OF S/R 5-11 170 So. 33 Danny Kimura IF R/R 5-9 203 Jr. 34 Chad Boudon OF R/R 6-0 201 Fr. 35 Sean Takamori OF R/R 5-9 184 Sr. 36 Wakon Childers P R/R 5-10 180 Sr. 37 Saul Ribellia IF R/R 5-10 185 So. 38 Duke Tomimoto P R/R 5-9 190 So. 40 Aaron Pribble P L/L 6-5 214 So. 41 Akaniao Kozeniewski IF R/R 5-8 186 Fr. 44 Scooter Martines OF/1B R/R 5-10 205 Jr. 46 Ryan Anderson C R/R 5-10 196 Fr. 48 Lon Tanigawa 1B R/R 6-3 203 So.Head coach: Les Murakami (11).
The coach's record
Les Murakami's record at Hawaii:
1971 0 4 0 .000 1972 1 3 0 .250 1973 1 7 0 .125 1974 6 11 0 .353 1975 25 13 0 .658 1976 29 12 0 .707 1977 43 13 0 .768 1978 38 14 1 .726 1979 69 15 0 .821 1980 60 18 0 .769 1981 50 16 0 .758 1982 59 17 0 .776 1983 47 20 0 .701 1984 48 22 1 .683 1985 56 31 0 .644 1986 43 24 0 .642 1987 45 19 0 .703 1988 40 21 1 .653 1989 40 27 0 .597 1990 37 24 1 .605 1991 51 18 0 .739 1992 49 14 0 .778 1993 34 25 0 .576 1994 28 28 0 .500 1995 30 24 0 .556 1996 29 26 0 .527 1997 22 34 0 .393 1998 34 22 0 .607 1999 37 20 0 .649 Totals 1,051 542 4 .659
