These 'Bows never get too high ... or low

The UH baseball team is filled with seniors who know keeping emotions in check is key in a long season

Ian Harrington learned a long time ago that you'll look the fool if you lose your cool.

When he was a sophomore in high school, Harrington punched a wall in frustration and broke his left hand -- the hand with which he pitches a baseball. He missed the rest of the season.

The Hawaii senior can laugh now when someone suggests he use his right hand next time he wants to take a shot at a wall.

"Yeah, or punch a pillow instead. It's embarrassing and I'm not proud of it, but I learned a good lesson from it," Harrington said. "I missed out on a lot of fun because of it."

Rainbows start WAC schedule Mike Trapasso isn't a big fan of roller coasters. Drastic ups and downs don't go well with a college baseball season that can span across six months and more than 60 games. So even when Hawaii (19-8) starts its conference season tomorrow against Nevada (14-12) at Les Murakami Stadium and the stakes are elevated, the Rainbows coach will continue to preach the even keel. "You've got to separate emotion from intensity. It doesn't mean you're not intense and fired up," Trapasso said. "You have to realize if you ride that emotional roller coaster, you're going to crash and burn around game 35 (of a 56-game regular season)." Ian Harrington, UH's starting pitcher tomorrow, agrees that keeping emotions in check is important for the long haul. But he's not beyond stirring things up now and then in the dugout with teammates if he thinks they're losing focus. Of course, the senior left-hander knows it will only work if he does his part on the mound. "If you come out and give up seven runs in an inning on Friday, people probably don't want to hear what you have to say on Saturday and Sunday," Harrington said. Harrington (4-4, 3.04) matches up with right-hander Ryan Rodriguez (3-3, 2.52) tomorrow. On Saturday, another lefty, Mark Rodrigues (6-1, 2.78), goes up against Nevada righty Rod Scurry (0-4, 7.55), son of the former big leaguer of the same name. The Sunday starters are both right-handers, UH's Josh Schneider (2-1, 2.28) and Kyle Howe (1-2, 4.07) for the Wolf Pack. COLLEGE BASEBALL Who: Nevada (14-12) at Hawaii (19-8) When: Tomorrow (6:35 p.m.), Saturday (6:35 p.m.), Sunday (1:05 p.m.) Where: Les Murakami Stadium TV: Sunday, KFVE, Ch. 5 Radio: All three games, KKEA, 1420-AM

Harrington starts for UH tomorrow against Nevada in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

Competitive by nature but not blessed with overpowering velocity, Harrington depends on mixing pitches, locating precisely and not making rash decisions.

And a lot of guts, tempered by trust in the other eight guys on the field.

"Every night you come out, especially when you're pitching, you try to bring all you have to the field. At some point you have to realize you can only control what you're doing on the mound and your teammates are going to control the rest of it," Harrington said.

"You just have to have the wisdom to see what you can control."

Control is the key word in more ways than one for him. Harrington (4-4) has 40 strikeouts and just 10 walks in a team-leading 47.1 innings pitched.

UH coach Mike Trapasso said Harrington is a good example of the Rainbows' maturity, and why Hawaii is 19-8 and hasn't lost more than three games in a row.

"The last couple years we really stressed that. We have enough guys back from last year where we're able to stay on that even keel and understand that it's a marathon and not a sprint," Trapasso said. "There's always going to be times when someone has to step up and tell someone to get going. But we don't have that a lot here this year because we've got for the most part a veteran club."

Seven of the Rainbows' regular starting position players are juniors and seniors, as are four of the five pitchers who have accounted for 43 of 66 appearances. Only three regulars were not on the 2006 team that went 45-17 and advanced to the NCAA Regionals.

"We see teams come in here and act like it's the World Series, jumping around for every little thing," first baseman Kris Sanchez said. "That's just not something that we like to do. We feel like we'll let our actions on the field do our talking for us, and that's really how we approach the game."

Harrington said he doesn't mind providing a figurative hot-foot now and then to shake things up when needed.

"Every once in a while you have to show a little bit of emotion, get some fire started in the dugout if you feel like the team isn't competing to their potential, you know, fire everybody up a little bit," Harrington said. "Little bit of a verbal thing. You try to lead on the field by getting people out. Sometimes you do it in the dugout, too."

Harrington is good at picking the right spots, Sanchez said.

"For the most part it's a pretty mellow team. Matty (Inouye) obviously was a real fiery guy last year. There are times when guys can get fiery -- Ian can get going pretty good at times. When the situation does warrant it, there are guys who can get after it, for sure."

Nevada (14-12) also puts an experienced lineup on the field. Freshman first baseman Shaun Kort (.366, 20 RBIs) is the only non-upperclassman among the regulars.

"They look like a typically solid Gary Powers veteran team," Trapasso said, referring to the Wolf Pack's 25th-year head coach.

Harrington, the WAC's Preseason Pitcher of the Year and two-time WAC Pitcher of the Week this season, goes up tomorrow against Nevada's Ryan Rodriguez, the current Pitcher of the Week.

Rodriguez (3-3, 2.52) pitched a seven-hit shutout with no walks against Utah Valley State last week. Nevada's 11-0 victory was the Wolf Pack's first of their current four-game winning streak. UH has won its last four and 10 of its last 12.

Nevada is batting .300 as a team with a 4.61 ERA. Hawaii's numbers are .307 and 2.61.

"A good offensive club. They swing the bats well," Trapasso said. "They're big and strong and physical like they usually are. I know Rodriguez has very good numbers. Ian Harrington's going to have to pitch well on Friday to keep their runs down because it may not be a deal where we score that many runs off Rodriguez."

UH won three of four meetings with Nevada last year, including a split in the WAC Tournament.