The same season Derek Tatsuno was shattering Hawaii pitching records, 31-year-old John Smith was in his first year as head coach of the Sacramento State baseball team.

Thirty-two seasons and more than 870 wins later, Smith will coach against the Rainbows for the final time after deciding to call it a career at the end of the 2010 season.

Barring a game in the Western Athletic Conference tournament, Smith, who first coached against Hawaii in the 1986 Rainbow Easter Tournament, will say bon voyage to the 'Bows on Sunday as the longest tenured coach in the WAC goes through one final conference run.

The Hornets (11-17-1, 0-0) begin their WAC season a week late against Hawaii (17-15, 1-3) today in the first of a four-game set at Hornet Field.

“;I just felt like it was time for a new era and time to let the younger guys take over,”; said Smith, who will hand the reins to associate head coach Reggae Christiansen after the season ends. “;I've always felt like Hawaii is my second home and when we lost to them on Sunday over there last year, I kind of had a feeling we might not make the WAC tournament there and that it'd be my last game coaching at (Les Murakami) Stadium.

“;It made for a pretty emotional day for me.”;

Smith's history with Hawaii goes back to the mid-1970s when he first brought summer league teams from California to play here. In trying to set up games, he called then-Hawaii coach Les Murakami for help and the two developed a friendship that continued after Smith was put in charge at Cal State Sacramento, which was a Division II program at the time.

Hawaii didn't schedule Division II teams back then, but eventually invited the Hornets to compete in the Rainbow Easter Tournament in 1986.

Sacramento State began the first of two different stints in the WAC in 1993 and the Hornets quickly became a permanent fixture on the UH schedule.

“;One year we were on the schedule to be the first team to play in Aloha Stadium, but they had gotten behind in finishing the stadium so we had to play at Castle High School and we played out at Waipahu,”; Smith said. “;We played at like three different places, but it was still a great trip and it just got to the point where we were going over there every year after that.”;

Sac State left for the Big West in 1997 and returned to the WAC in 2006. UH has played the Hornets in all nine seasons Mike Trapasso has been the head coach.

“;I'm in awe that he has been able to do this for 30 years and be successful in doing it,”; Trapasso said. “;It's bittersweet seeing him go because there's not a better person in this business than John.”;

Smith's final season hasn't taken shape the way he had hoped. He lost three of his four expected weekend starters to injury and in a span of seven days, he lost his starting catcher, shortstop and third baseman to various injuries.

“;I really thought we had a chance to be pretty competitive when we started this year,”; Smith said. “;We're beat up and patched up like a beach ball with Band-Aids all over it, but we're still plugging away.

“;These are good kids that work hard and part of the reason I'm stepping away now is because I feel like I have good kids to keep the program going strong.”;

Senior Robert Butler (1-0, 4.40 ERA), who associate coach Christiansen brought with him from South Dakota State a year ago, is expected to start today's game opposite Hawaii's Josh Slaats (3-2, 1.77).

The Rainbows can ill afford to have a repeat of the last time they visited Hornet Field, where they were swept in 2008.

“;The last time we were here they hammered us,”; Trapasso said. “;We know they are capable of going out there and beating us.”;