[ RAINBOW BASEBALL ]
RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Matt Inouye earned a chance to show his skills last year.
Pitchers can’t seem to
catch up with Inouye
Matt Inouye has started his sophomore season for the Hawaii Rainbows right where he left off at the end of his freshman campaign.
His first year at Manoa was solid and very productive, an experience most first-year players do not enjoy until their second or even third season in a Rainbow uniform.
Inouye led the Rainbows in hitting with a .339 average a year ago and tops the regulars through the first 10 games this year with a .414 average. He has seven doubles among his 12 hits and is second on the team with 10 RBIs.
Hawaii-Hilo at Hawaii-Manoa
When: Today and tomorrow, 6:35 p.m.; Sunday, 1:05 p.m.Where: Murakami Stadium
TV: Tonight and Sunday live, KFVE, Channel 5
Radio: Tonight 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
The Mid-Pacific Institute graduate sets some goals, not the long-range variety, but on a series-by-series basis.
"I think about getting one hit a game in the next series if I'm facing good pitching. I think about going 2-for-3 if the pitching is average," said Inouye.
However, when he has a bad game, he is no fun to be with.
"I'm a pretty bad sport when it comes to me not playing too good and losing. I tend to deal with it the wrong way sometimes, hitting things, throwing things, but I'm getting that under control," said Inouye. "As long as I play good defense catching, that's all I care about. That's the No. 1 priority."
Inouye is a fan of the midweek games. As a freshman he found it tough not playing that often, but that all changed by the end of the season.
"The midweek games helped me a lot. It allowed me to show what I could do," he said. "Last year was probably the best year I had in my baseball life."
That followed his final two seasons at MPI, when the Owls were in the state championship game both times and won the title in 2002.
Inouye has worked diligently with assistant coach Keith Komeiji to improve his skills behind the plate.
"I was terrible in high school getting strikes for my pitchers," said Inouye. "Coach Komeiji has taught me a lot about catching the ball, letting the umpire call it and not taking the ball out of the zone so it isn't a strike. I work on that every day."
Blessed with a strong arm, Inouye says the most rewarding part of catching is throwing out a runner attempting to steal a base.
"It's just seeing the ball, catching it and throwing down to second as hard as you can ... with accuracy," said Inouye who says he is just trying to fill the shoes of Brian Bock, last year's starting catcher.
"That's a big responsibility, just trying to keep us where we were last year with Brian. He was the best defensive catcher I've ever seen," said Inouye.
"Matt is receiving better this year and that is what we spend most of our time on. He is blocking better and we always knew he could throw," said UH coach Mike Trapasso.
"More so than anything else, he is starting to get into the flow of the game and work with the pitchers. Matt is starting to know tendencies, tendencies we don't see, and he relays them to us. He understands which pitchers need to be stroked and what pitchers need a kick in the rear end."
Drafted in 2002 by the Boston Red Sox in the 41st round, Inouye knew there was no money in that low of a selection. Other than a call from Hawaii Pacific, UH was the only school to recruit him. He grew up watching the Rainbows, yet, in high school, he thought about playing for a mainland school. Long Beach State sounded interesting to Inouye, who loves to surf, but the decision to stay home was easy.
When he signed with the Rainbows, Inouye said one reason was to prove he could be a Division I catcher.
"I feel like I've kind of proved that I can catch in D-I ball, but there are better catchers out there and there are things I still have to work on," Inouye said. "I want to get to the point where everything comes naturally and I don't have to think about everything all the time."
He definitely would like to be drafted again. If that doesn't happen, then he will consider a career as a firefighter.
Probable starting pitchers
Notes: The Rainbows and Vulcans have met 117 times, with UH holding a 98-19 edge. ... UH won the last meeting 12-4 on April 15, 2003, behind Keahi Rawlins. ... If Clary Carlsen throws fewer than 30 pitches in closing out a game either Friday or Saturday, he will still start Sunday. ... Early Western Athletic Conference leaders include UH's Nate Thurber with 11 runs batted in, Matt Inouye with seven doubles and Ricky Bauer with 15 strikeouts.
HAWAII-Hilo (4-11) W-L ERA K LHP John Matson (Jr.) 1-0 1.89 10 LHP Scott Siegfried (Jr.) 0-2 6.30 15 RHP Brian Ebbs (Sr.) 0-1 6.59 12 Hawaii (5-5) W-L ERA K RHP Ricky Bauer (Jr.) 2-1 1.96 15 RHP Stephen Bryant (Jr.) 0-0 1.88 12 RHP Clary Carlsen (Sr.) 1-2 3.44 5
