KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii first baseman Andrew Sansaver, a transfer from Delta Junior College, excels on defense and is known for his work ethic in the batting cage.
Andrew Sansaver joined the Hawaii Rainbow baseball team this year after two seasons playing for Delta Junior College in Stockton, Calif. Desire keeps Sansaver
WAC standings
in Division IBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comHe found himself in a battle with Nick Ponomarenko for the starting job at first base when the season began, but neither player found his batting eye early in the season. UH coach Mike Trapasso decided after the Wichita State series to go with the better defensive player, Sansaver, at first base and let Ponomarenko concentrate on pitching.
"Andrew is one of the best defensive first basemen I've ever seen," Trapasso said.
That decision was made 10 games into the season, when Sansaver was hitting .200. Playing everyday, he steadily increased his average to .302. The Tracy, Calif., resident has handled opposing pitching well, going 35 for 109 at the plate, a .321 clip.
"I'm seeing a lot of pitching. Our coaches are really good helping us get our mechanics down and giving us a lot of reps," said Sansaver.
"In junior college there are a lot of good pitchers. I think people kind of underestimate that because it's not Division I. It wasn't really an adjustment for me when I came here. It's just that ever since I got here, I've taken a lot more reps."
Sansaver says living in the dorms makes it very convenient to come down to Murakami Stadium and spend time in the batting cage. In junior college he had to drive to the baseball field and never knew if the batting cage would be open. He solved the last problem here, much to the surprise of the Rainbow coaches.
"One day we were all out of the office and when we came back we heard someone hitting in the batting cage," Trapasso said. "There was Andrew hitting, but the door to the cage is locked. We asked him how he got in and he told us there was a little hole under the fence he could squeeze through.
"That probably is the best way to describe Andrew. He is one of the most competitive guys I've been around and refuses to give in no matter what the situation or the count. It's almost a state of mind with him. He wills the ball off the bat.
"He doesn't have great bat speed, but he has desire. He's made a lot of changes to his swing and he has worked at it."
Sansaver says he is not a great hitter and realizing that over the past few years is the reason he worked so hard on his defense. In high school he played the outfield, shortstop and pitched, besides playing first base.
"I just want to play the whole game. I don't think I would be a good designated hitter because I want to be out there the whole game," said Sansaver. "I don't care where, and that's why I worked very hard on my defense."
Sansaver played a lot of soccer as a youngster, but switched to football at West High School in Tracy. He also played basketball and baseball, but the interest several California colleges showed his senior year revolved around football.
"I almost went and played football, but knew if I did that I wanted to also play baseball," said Sansaver.
He ended up at Delta Junior College and concentrated on baseball, but after two years the only interest came from schools back East and some NAIA schools. Then came the break that resulted in Sansaver becoming a Rainbow.
"We were playing American River in one of our last games and they were throwing a left-hander who was a top prospect," said Sansaver. "A UH coach (Josh Sorge) came to watch Jaziel Mendoza. We both tripled and singled off this lefty and Sorge had me fill out an information card after the game.
"I kind of got lucky that day. I wanted to keep playing baseball and playing Division I had been a dream. I don't think I'm going on to pro ball, so coming here was a chance of a lifetime."
Sansaver wants to be a firefighter because he cannot see himself sitting in an office working an 8-to-5 job.
"I never watched much TV. We were always playing street hockey or soccer or hitting tennis balls off the neighborhood houses," said Sansaver. "If we needed a goal, my father (Brian) built it. I even had a wagon with a bat rack on it."
His adjustment to Hawaii has been smooth. Sansaver loves plate lunches but admits he had never seen so much white rice in his life before joining the UH team.
Maybe when the season is over Sansaver's infield teammates will treat him to a chicken plate lunch he enjoys so much for all his error-saving glove work at first base.
Who: Fresno State at UH Gameday
When: Today and tomorrow, 6:35 p.m.; Sunday, 1:05 p.m.
Where: Murakami Stadium
TV: Today and Sunday live, KFVE, Channel 5
Radio: Today and Sunday live, KKEA, 1420-AM
Tickets: $6 Orange, Blue levels. $5 Red level. $4 Seniors, children age 4-18, UH students in the Red level.
Parking: $3
Fresno State (20-17, 7-5) Probable starting pitchers
W-L ERA K RHP Cody Smith (Fr.) 6-2 4.02 35 RHP Josh Glynn (Sr.) 2-5 4.39 28 RHP Matt Garza (Fr.) 1-5 11.15 18 Hawaii (20-19, 2-13)
W-L ERA K RHP Ricky Bauer (So.) 2-3 3.83 29 RHP Chris George (Sr.) 5-5 5.01 63 RHP Keahi Rawlins (Fr.) 3-2 2.72 26 Notes: The Rainbows and Bulldogs have played 80 games, with FSU holding a 49-31 edge. ... Earlier this year, the Bulldogs won the first and third games of the three-game series in Fresno, 6-3 and 5-4, with the 'Bows taking game two 13-8. ... UH freshman catcher Steve Bell-Irving and junior right-hander David Daniel will redshirt this year. ... "David came to us before the season started and suggested he redshirt. He has some work to do," said UH coach Mike Trapasso. "It's been a great situation for Steve. We decided to redshirt him just before the season started and for all the right reasons. The talent was there, but he needed more work in the weight room. He's gained 22 pounds and I think he will be a factor next year." ... American Savings Bank will pass out rally towels to the first 1,000 fans through the gates tomorrow.
BACK TO TOP |
Conference Overall WAC standings
W L Pct. GB W L Rice 14 1 .933 -- 35 5 Nevada 9 2 .818 3 20 16 Fresno St. 7 5 .583 5 1/2 21 17 San Jose St. 5 10 .333 9 19 20 LaTech* 5 11 .313 9 1/2 12 23 Hawaii 2 13 .133 12 20 19 *LaTech has one nonconference tie
Yesterday
San Jose State 7, Louisiana Tech 0
Today
Louisiana Tech at San Jose State
Nevada at Rice
Fresno State at Hawaii
