Rainbows take on
red-hot Wolf PackHawaii kicks off
its final homestand
with a WAC showdown
Hawaii begins a 10-game homestand tomorrow night against Nevada in the first of a three-game Western Athletic Conference showdown between the teams tied for second place with 8-7 records.
Both teams want to end up second in the conference and have a strong enough finish to record 35 or 36 overall wins, a number Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso figures is enough to warrant consideration from the NCAA Baseball Selection Committee. He says a team with that number of victories should at least be on the bubble.
When the homestand concludes May 15 against Fresno State, it will mark the end of the 'Bows' 2004 regular season at Murakami Stadium. WAC leader and No. 3-ranked Rice plays here May 7-9 and the 'Bows (24-15 overall) will make up a rained-out game against Hawaii Pacific on May 4.
The focus is on the Wolf Pack, a team Trapasso calls the hottest team in the conference.
Since being swept by Rice (April 2-4), Nevada has won nine of 12 games and has scored 10 or more runs in seven of those victories. However, the Wolf Pack did lose to visiting San Francisco 6-5 in 11 innings yesterday.
"That run production is not a surprise at all," Trapasso said. "This is a team that had a very good year last year and returned most of their position players who were outstanding.
"After a slow start they have picked it up and caught fire. It will be a great challenge for us because of the way they swing the bats."
What Nevada (23-20) coach Gary Powers had to do first was replace his starting pitching rotation of Mateo Miramontes (four wins over UH in two seasons), Justin Sherman and Eddie Bonine. He has done that with three right-handers in sophomore Travis Sutton, junior Adam Colton and freshman Ryan Rodriguez.
They benefited from their teammates' high-powered offense, something the Rainbow staff will try to slow down.
"That (offense) takes the pressure off their pitching," Trapasso said. "They are more relaxed and, as a result, they have been getting some good pitching performances of late."
Hawaii's starting rotation remains the same. Junior right-hander Ricky Bauer, back on the winning track after his victory at Fresno State, goes tomorrow, followed by junior right-hander Stephen Bryant on Friday and senior right-hander Clary Carlsen on Saturday.
The Rainbows most likely will not have their top hitter, Greg Kish (.383 average), in the lineup this weekend.
"We took X-rays and there is no break. The doctor says it is a grade two sprain," Trapasso said. "Our trainers think it will be a reach for Greg to play this weekend and are hopeful for Rice, but this is a wait-and-see situation."
With a second-degree sprain, there is usually a partial tear of the ligament or its attachments. The ligament may also be stretched, but it is not a complete tear. There can be some functional loss as well.
"We miss him in the lineup greatly, but you have to win games with the players on the field and this is an opportunity for someone to step up," Trapasso said.
UH's top available hitters are center fielder Matt Inouye (.338 with a team-leading 33 runs batted in), second baseman Isaac Omura (.333), third baseman Rocky Russo (.326), and shortstop Brian Finegan (.325).
Nevada has won 15 of 18 games against Hawaii since joining the conference and is 6-3 at Murakami Stadium.
