RAINBOW BASEBALL PLAYBOOK
vs. Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans
First pitch: Tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, 6:35 p.m., Rainbow Stadium.
Coaches: Hawaii, Les Murakami, 30th season (1,077-569-4, .654); Hawaii-Hilo, Joey Estrella, 24th season (499-531-3, .485).
Season: Hawaii (13-14 Western Athletic Conference, 26-27 overall); Hawaii-Hilo (6-12, 16-32).
Series record: Hawaii leads the series, 85-14.
Probable starting pitchers: Hawaii-Hilo, Kaholo Rickard, senior right-hander (won 4, lost 6, 3.70 earned run average); Luke Holscher, freshman right-hander (2-7, 6.20), and Thomas Ford, senior left-hander (4-6, 2.88) ... Hawaii, Jamie Aloy, senior left-hander (7-5, 4.35); Randon Ho, senior left-hander (7-7, 4.41), and Rich Snider, senior right-hander (6-8, 3.98).
Top position players: Hawaii-Hilo, Brian Rooke, junior center infielder (.287, 11 RBIs, 23 stolen bases); Mike Hobbs, junior third baseman (.286, 8 RBIs); Jacob Ryan, junior second baseman, (.279, 17 RBIs), and Ryan Petersen, junior right fielder (.274, 17 RBIs, 15 SB) ... Hawaii, Jamie Aloy, senior first baseman (.341, 16 RBIs); Kenn Wakakuwa, senior catcher/second baseman (.338, 2 HR, 36 RBIs); Rah-Miel Mitchell, sophomore right fielder (.333, 13 RBIs) and Sean Takamori, senior right fielder (.295, 10 RBIs, 20 SB).
Series keys: Tomorrow is the 100th game between the teams ... Vulcans head coach Joey Estrella is still looking for career win No. 500 ... The Rainbows need to sweep the three-game series to finish with a winning record. If they do, that would give UH head coach Les Murakami 1,080 career victories ... In the three-game series on the Big Island last week, pitching dominated with the exception of the last two innings of the first game of the series. It is quite possible that will be the theme again this weekend with the difference between winning and losing being execution, both in the short game and on defense.
Interesting facts: Rainbow student assistant coaches Michael Dartt, Todd Koishigawa and Troy Yoshimasu graduate Sunday. Dartt will earn a degree in math education, Koishigawa in sports psychology and Yoshimasu in psychology. Dartt, who has enjoyed the year coaching, wants to continue in the field while pursuing a master's degree. He has applied to 11 mainland schools and hopes to land a graduate assistant post. Koishigawa plans to work with his father in establishing A&W franchises here. Yoshimasu is considering staying in school and working toward a master's degree.
On the air: All three games live on KCCN (1420 AM) and KFVE (Channel 5);
RealAudio: 'Net broadcast Click Here
Tickets: $6 orange and blue sections, $5 red section. $4 senior citizens (65 and over),students 4-18 and UH students with valid ID. Available at the Stan Sheriff Center, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by telephone, 944-2697 ($1 fee assessed per ticket). Telephone orders available until noon on game days. Only Mastercard and Visa accepted. The Rainbow Stadium box office opens one hour prior to all games. $3 parking charge.
By Al Chase, Star-Bulletin
