[ RAINBOW BASEBALL ]
21 ’Bows will play
summer baseballA few teams have already started
in the amateur leagues that keep
players sharp
Twenty-one Hawaii Rainbows will spend considerable time on diamonds this summer playing for teams from coast to coast and in Alaska.
Eight 'Bows will participate in the Pacific International League that begins tomorrow and runs to Aug. 15.
Catcher Steve Bell-Irving will play for the Langley (British Columbia) Blaze. Pitcher Stephen Bryant, redshirt outfielder Derek Dupree and redshirt shortstop Troy Hanzawa will be with the Spokane (Wash.) Riverhawks.
Infielder Schafer Magana and redshirt pitcher Matthew Buck will join the Bellingham (Wash.) Bells and redshirt shortstop Jonathan Hee is on the Wenatchee (Wash.) AppleSox roster, while pitcher Colby Summer will continue his comeback from Tommy John surgery with the Aloha (Ore.) Knights.
The Northwoods League that started play yesterday and finishes Aug. 15 will have four Rainbows.
Ricky Bauer and Keahi Rawlins will pitch for the Madison (Wis.) Mallards. Right-hander Guy McDowell is with the LaCrosse (Wis.) Loggers, and third baseman Rocky Russo will play for the Duluth (Minn.) Huskies.
Matt Inouye travels to the other side of the country. The catcher/outfielder will play in the Cape Cod League for the Hyannis (Mass.) Mets. That league starts June 17 and concludes Aug. 8.
Outfielder Greg Kish and second baseman Isaac Omura will go north to Alaska and play for the Anchorage Bucs. Right-hander Steven Wright will pitch for the Peninsula Oilers, who are located in Kenai.
The Alaska Baseball League began play Tuesday and finishes Aug. 1.
Redshirt third baseman Mike Griffin will play for the Nanaimo (Vancouver, British Columbia) Pirates in the Premier League.
Left-hander Kaimi Mead is in Santa Barbara, Calif., to play for the Foresters in the California Collegiate League.
Infielder Andrew Castillo, redshirt left-hander Isaac Kamai and outfielder Nate Thurber may see action with the Hawaii Island Movers.
Right-hander Rich Olsen is going to take the summer off to recover from tendinitis in his right elbow. Center fielder Robbie Wilder will have two surgeries, one to repair his right shoulder and one to fix his broken nose. The time off also will allow Wilder to recover from hamstring pulls in both legs.
Six UH recruits also are set to experience more baseball at a higher level this summer.
Steve Bravlar, a first baseman who can also play the outfield and is from Westlake Village, Calif., Kanekoa Texeira, a right-hander from Kamehameha, and Mid-Pacific outfielder/first baseman Ryan Asato will play for the Movers.
Harrison Kuroda, a right-hander from Mid-Pacific, will join the Bellingham Bells, while Waiakea right-hander Ronnie Loeffler will pitch for the Wenatchee AppleSox.
Outfielder/first baseman Jonathan Combs, from Santa Barbara, will stay home and play for the Forresters.