[ RAINBOW BASEBALL ]
Rainbows host
tourney early
The Citadel, Chicago State and Oregon State provide the opposition for the First Hawaii Title Rainbow Baseball Tournament tomorrow through Saturday at Murakami Stadium.
This is the 29th edition of the tournament that has been played every year since 1975 with the exception of 1982. The tournament is not being held during Hawaii's spring break for the first time.
"The primary reason is that it allows us to travel during spring break so we don't miss that much class time," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "This year we have the long trip (to Rice and Louisiana Tech) and only miss two class days. Last year, we missed eight.
Hawaii baseball
What: First Hawaii Title Rainbow Baseball TournamentWhen: Tomorrow through Saturday
Where: Murakami Stadium
TV: UH games tomorrow, Wednesday, Friday live, Channel 5
Radio: All UH games, though some will be joined in progress following UH men's volleyball, 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
Schedule:
>> Tomorrow, Citadel vs. Oregon State, 2 p.m.; Chicago State vs. Hawaii, 6:35 p.m.
>> Wednesday, Chicago State vs. Citadel, noon; Oregon State vs. Hawaii, 6:35 p.m.
>> Thursday, Oregon State vs. Chicago State, 2 p.m.; Citadel vs. Hawaii, 6:35 p.m.
>> Friday, Semifinal games at 2 and 6:35 p.m. UH plays the second game.
>> Saturday, Third place, 2 p.m.; Championship, 6:35 p.m.Notes: Hawaii has not played the Citadel or Chicago State. ... The Rainbows lead the series with Oregon State 13-4. The last time the teams met, the 'Bows took two of three from the Beavers in 2001. ... OSU participated in the 1994 and 1996 tournaments. ... The Rainbows have won 12 of the 28 tournament titles and are the defending champions.
"The second reason is, with the way things are going with conference realignment and conferences getting bigger, we're running into a problem scheduling teams from marquee leagues because they are in conference play (at the end of March)."
The first three tournament days have each team playing each other once in pool play. The semifinal games Friday pair the top seed vs. the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed meeting the No. 3 seed.
"This is not an ideal way to run a tournament, but we guarantee five games. Everyone still has a chance to win going into the semifinals," Trapasso said.
Last year, Western Illinois was 0-3 in pool play, but defeated Lewis-Clark State in the semifinals. The Leathernecks advanced to the championship game, losing to Rainbows.
Trapasso, an assistant at South Florida for three seasons and at Georgia Tech for seven, is familiar with the Citadel program. The Bulldogs, from Charleston, S.C., rarely make national headlines but "they are a solid club," said the UH coach. "They usually can run (12-for-13 in stolen bases) and they can pitch (2.25 earned run average).
Trapasso said Keahi Rawlins will start tomorrow and Ricky Bauer will pitch Thursday. Other than that, the starting assignments for the 'Bows are up in the air.
The Bulldogs, who play their first road games of the season here, are 2-4 after losing twice in their own tournament Saturday to No. 24 North Carolina State 3-1 and to the College of Charleston 5-4.
They have won five Southern Conference titles and been to five NCAA tournaments in the past eight years, reaching the College World Series in 1990.
The Chicago State Cougars, members of the Mid-Continent Conference, play their first 20 games on the road.
The Cougars, Hawaii's opponent tomorrow, opened the season with three losses at Eastern Kentucky -- 16-2, 14-4 and 19-3.
Oregon State got off to its best start in 42 years by winning its first seven games. The Beavers (8-1) were ranked 30th in last week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll.
They finished 2-1 in the Riverside (Calif.) Baseball Invitational this weekend, beating UC Riverside 16-3 before having Sacramento State end the winning streak 10-3 Saturday. Yesterday, OSU thumped Washington 13-8.
Notes: Coming in for the 2005 tournament are UC Davis, Louisiana-Lafayette, Sacramento State, South Florida and Wichita State. ... The tournament returns to a four-team format in 2006, Trapasso's preference, with Arkansas, Washington and San Francisco.