RAINBOW BASEBALL PLAYBOOK
vs. Cal State
Sacramento Hornets
First pitch: Tomorrow, noon, Billy Hebert Field, Stockton, Calif.
Coaches: Hawaii, Les Murakami, 30th season (1,064-553-4, .658); Cal State Sacramento, John Smith, 22nd season (630-558, .530).
Season: Hawaii (13-11); Cal State Sacramento (5-11).
Series record: Hawaii leads the series, 28-11. The Rainbows won three games at Rainbow Stadium earlier this season by 9-3, 3-2 and 2-1 scores.
Probable starting pitcher: CS Sacramento, Chad Elliott, left-hander (0-2, 4.23) ... UH, Chad Giannetti, right-hander (0-2, 7.47) or Aaron Pribble, left-hander (0-1, 4.26) or Bryan Lee, right-hander (0-0, 18.00).
Top position players: CS Sacramento, Jimmy McFarland, center fielder (.365 batting average, 1 home run, 2 runs batted in); Carlos Morales, second baseman (.354, 7 RBIs); Ryan Brown, outfielder (.319, 2 HR, 7 RBIs), and Casey Martines, catcher (.317, 6 RBIs); ... UH, Kenn Wakakuwa, catcher/infielder (.375, 20 runs, 18 RBIs); Jamie Aloy, outfielder/first baseman (.358, 13 runs, 6 RBIs); Scooter Martines, outfielder (.339, 11 RBIs); Danny Kimura, designated hitter (.313, 23 RBIs); Patrick Scalabrini, third baseman (.314, 16 RBIs).
Interesting facts: Derek Honma, the Rainbows sophomore center fielder who was hit in the face with a pitch Friday night, is expected to miss four to six weeks. He suffered a broken jaw in two places ... The Hornets are 2-3 since leaving Hawaii and host UC Davis for a single game today ... The Rainbows requested a neutral site closer to Fresno than Sacramento for this nonconference game. They leave immediately after the game via van for Fresno to get ready for the big Western Athletic Conference series against the Bulldogs ... Billy Hebert Field is the second oldest minor league park in the country. It is home for the Mudville Nine, formerly the Stockton Ports, of the California League and where the University of the Pacific plays its home games ... The Rainbows have won 11 of the last 12 games vs. the Hornets.
Game keys: This will be the Rainbows first game on a natural grass field this season, a good experience to have before the Fresno State series ... The trip will be an indicator of how well the 'Bows travel. Some teams travel well, others don't ... The pitching for this game will be by committee. None of the starting pitchers for the FSU series will see action and none of the Rainbows hurlers used against the Hornets will work more than two innings
On the air: Tomorrow, live on KCCN radio (1420 AM).
RealAudio: Live 'Net broadcast Click Here
By Al Chase, Star-Bulletin
WAHINE SOFTBALL PLAYBOOK
@ Fullerton Kia Classic
First pitches: Tomorrow, 5 p.m. (HST), at Cal State Fullerton. Thursday, 5 p.m., vs. Louisiana-Monroe. Friday, 11 a.m., vs. Arizona. Bracket play Friday and Saturday.
Coaches: No. 21 Hawaii, Bob Coolen, 9th season (318-196-1, .618); No. 11 Cal State Fullerton, Michelle Gromacki, 1st season (22-2, .917); Louisiana-Monroe, Rosemary Holloway, 17th season (424-482, .468); No. 2 Arizona, Mike Candrea, 15th season (774-157, 831).
Season: UH (8-5); CS Fullerton (22-2); La-Monroe (10-10); Arizona (27-1).
Series records: Hawaii is 9-41 vs. Cal State Fullerton, 1-0 vs. Louisiana-Monroe, and 0-7 vs. Arizona.
Top pitchers: UH, Sheri Oronoz (4-1, 1.73), Janelle Gonzales (2-2, 2.81); CS Fullerton, Jodi Cox (9-0, 0.50), Christy Robataille (6-2, 1.64), Gina Oaks (7-0, 1.94) La-Monroe, Ashley Bellew (5-3, 1.34), Annie Van Oosbree (5-2, 2.08). Arizona, Jennie Finch (11-0, 0.46), Becky Lemke (14-1, 0.55).
Top hitters: UH, Dana Degen (.429, 3 HR), Tyree Woodruff (.395), SS Kate Judd (.389). ... CS Fullerton, Yasmin Mossadeghi (.403, 3 HR, 16 RBIs); Kristy Osborne (.394). ... La-Monroe, Katrina Emerick (.316), Casey Goodman (.302, 17 RBIs). ... Arizona, Nicole Giordano (.542), Allison Andrade (.455, 6 HR, 33 RBIs).
Wahine facts: All of the losses this season are against nationally ranked teams. ... Hawaii dropped to 21st in the nation after going 2-3 two weekends ago at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. ... Look for sophomore OF Kalai Castro to get more playing time. She has three hits in her last six at-bats. ... Back-up 2B Stacy Makahilahila is expected to redshirt because of a dislocated left (non-throwing) shoulder. She hurt the shoulder on the first day of spring practice and has undergone successful surgery. ... UH will try to bounce back from losing 6-0 to DePaul in its last game 10 days ago. That was the first time the Wahine were shutout this season. ... All but one of the 16 teams in the Kia Classic were either ranked or received votes in last week's USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll.
Coolen says: "We haven't played as many games as we usually do by this time of the season, so it's a matter of staying sharp. We have to play better against ranked opponents - we went into the Georgia tournament 2-2 and came out 2-5 against them. The whole thing revolves around our pitching.''
On the air: None.
By Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin
