[ UH BASEBALL ]

’Bows finish
up-and-down season

The UH baseball team takes
third in the WAC but ends up
with a 28-27 overall record

By Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.com

The Hawaii Rainbows experienced a 2005 season of highs and lows that fueled interest from the fans yet was marked by periods of frustration for the players and coaches.

The third-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference is the best since UH won the title in 1992. The 15-14 league record is the first winning mark 1999. But, more was anticipated from the 'Bows who finished 28-27 overall.

Twenty new players, many junior college transfers, joined the team for fall practice. With more than 40 players in camp, it was the largest contingent of hopefuls in recent years battling for starting berths.

UH coach Mike Trapasso likes to use the words "fire" and "energy" and "passion" to describe the collective emotional level of his team.

After fall practice he was concerned about that emotional level.

"The players worked hard, went through the drills, performed OK, but something wasn't quite there," said Trapasso.

In his fourth year as head coach, Trapasso took a step he considered necessary and spoke openly of the expectations -- contend for the Western Athletic Conference title and earn an NCAA tournament berth -- he had for the Rainbows.

"Those were expectations I placed on us. I did it to publicly challenge the players," said Trapasso. "I did it because there were question marks on a couple of things coming out of fall practice. The coaches felt something was missing, but we also felt if we were on the top of our game we could beat anyone.

"No one could predict the split personality of this club, the ups and downs, the inconsistency. I knew I was taking a chance."

The 'Bows began the season with a four-game series against Alabama, Pacific and Washington State, went 7-5, then lost to Sacramento State and UC Davis in the first two games of the First Hawaii Title Rainbow Tournament.

Three of the first seven defeats were by one run as the offense struggled.

"Those early games were an indicator of our inconsistency. There was some satisfaction, but there were games we should not have lost," said Trapasso. "Against Washington State we didn't play well and were lucky to come out with a split. My concerns were justified in that it was a sign of things to come."

The Rainbows rebounded and seemed to be on the right track by playing well in the final three tournament games, finishing with a 12-1 rout of No. 21 Louisiana-Lafayette.

The following weekend they swept No. 17 Florida State. The pitching and defense remained solid and the offense began to perk as had been expected for the start of the season.

But, the 'Bows then dropped a pair of midweek games to Winthrop, a team that has dominated its conference but is not well know nationally. The 15-inning loss in the opener put a strain on the pitching staff heading into WAC play against Louisiana Tech.

"We played a very good club in Winthrop after an emotionally charged weekend against Florida State. But, it was the Sunday game we blew the next weekend against Louisiana Tech that changed things. For quite a while we were not the same," said Trapasso.

Hawaii was on the verge of winning the opening WAC series when the Bulldogs took advantage of three consecutive hit batters to start the ninth inning and rallied for six runs and a 9-6 victory in the Sunday finale.

"That was part of what we dealt with on this team. We would hit true adversity and we had a hard time letting it go, forgetting it the next day. We struggled with this all year," said Trapasso.

Starting with Winthrop, Hawaii would go 3-12 over the next four weeks, a stretch that would see the 'Bows drop into last place in the league standings.

A three-game winning streak ended when Rice won the last two games of the series at Les Murakami Stadium. Then there was the 11-0 blowout by the California Bears to start the third road trip of the year.

Suddenly, things changed when Steve Bryant and Steven Wright combined to beat host San Jose State 1-0. Hawaii would win seven consecutive games and climb back into the title race.

However, losses to Fresno State in the final two home games made reaching that goal near impossible. Rice ended those hopes in the second game of the series in Houston.

"We were 10-4 over the final 14 games, a heck of a finish. There is no question we were a better team than last year. We had quality wins (6-4) over ranked teams and we finished better in the league," said Trapasso.

"Those are positives. There were just too many games we blew where we didn't get it done. We had a hard time keeping things on an even keel which is hard in baseball because you play so many games.

"That was the strange nature of how this year went. The ups and downs were frustrating. If we had played the way we did the last month in the middle stretch we would be talking now about where we were going to play next week."

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UH Athletics
www.hawaiiathletics.com