[ RAINBOW BASEBALL ]
Mendoza
ignites ’BowsThe senior looks to resume
his hot hitting as the UH baseball
team opens its season
Jaziel Mendoza wants to be a firefighter when his baseball days are over. Right now he would like to start the season on fire at the plate, the same way he finished 2003 after missing 21 games with a stress fracture in his lower right leg.
Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said it was no coincidence that the Rainbows were not as productive offensively when Mendoza was injured as when he was available.
During that 21-game span, Hawaii was 7-14. The 'Bows were 23-12 the rest of the year.
When the stress fracture become too much to tolerate and sidelined Mendoza, he was hitting .281. When the senior from Tracy, Calif., returned to the lineup, he was 24-for-66 (.364) and finished the season with a .337 batting average, second best on the team.
Mendoza started playing baseball when he was 8.
"One of my neighbors was playing and I thought I would like to try it," said Mendoza, who also played football for two years as a fullback and safety for West Valley High School despite never playing youth football.
But baseball was Mendoza's sport and he gave up football his senior year to concentrate on baseball.
"I didn't like football practice. Baseball was what I really loved to do and I like baseball practice," said Mendoza.
He and Andrew Sansaver were high school teammates. In a switch of their present roles, Mendoza played first base and Sansaver played center field, but that changed when both enrolled at Delta Junior College.
"When I got to college, the coaches said I was too fast to play first base," said Mendoza, who began his outfield experience in center. When Sansaver came to Delta a year later, he was a first baseman.
Mendoza credits his junior college coaches with helping him learn to play the outfield and take advantage of his speed.
"They really taught me how to read the ball coming off the bat and to watch the angle of the bat. Then there was a lot of practice," said Mendoza.
"You look at Jaziel and you see a big, strong guy who runs better than you think and is a very good outfielder. He has above-average instincts" Trapasso said.
When Mendoza came out of West Valley High, the only interest in his talents came from junior-college coaches in his area. Long Beach State and Hawaii were the only schools to make a scholarship offer following his JC career. He did not make an official visit to either school and waited until July 2002 to sign with UH.
"Hawaii offered a better scholarship and I wanted to play in warm weather," said Mendoza. "How can you not have a better experience than to live in Hawaii for two years. I didn't know the history of the program, but I knew there was a new coach.
"I like it here a lot. The fans here are great. The facility is great."
Mendoza is majoring in sociology. His career goal of being a firefighter has been with him since high school.
"You have to be in shape for that and it is kind of like being on a team. You have to be ready when the call comes," said Mendoza.
Texas at Hawaii
When: Today and tomorrow, 6:35 p.m.; Sunday, 4:35 p.m.Where: Murakami Stadium
TV: Tomorrow and Sunday, live, KFVE (Ch. 5)
Radio: Today and tomorrow, live; Sunday following the Super Bowl, KKEA (1420-AM)
Tickets: $6 adults in the Orange, Blue levels. $5 adults, $4 Seniors and $3 for UH students and youngsters 4-18 in the Red level.
Parking: $3
Probable starting pitchers with 2003 statistics
Notes: The Rainbows and Longhorns have played once, in the final of the 1980 Central Regional in Austin, Texas. UH won 7-3 to advance to the College World Series. ... Texas coach Augie Garrido is the all-time leader in wins for NCAA Division I coaches with 1,430 victories in 35 seasons. ... The Longhorns have appeared in 45 NCAA Tournaments, been to the College World Series 30 times and won five national titles. ... Texas assistant coach Tom Holliday was Mike Trapasso's pitching coach when Trap was playing for Oklahoma State (1983-85).
Hawaii (0-0) W-L ERA K RHP Ricky Bauer (Jr.) 3-5 3.12 47 RHP Rich Olsen (So.) 2-2 3.31 38 RHP Keahi Rawlins (So.) 5-5 4.27 45 TEXAS (0-0) W-L ERA K LHP J.P. Howell (Jr.) 10-2 2.52 58 RHP Sam LeCure (So.) 5-0 3.74 29 LHP Justin Simmons (Sr.) 5-6 4.29 105