Posted on: Saturday, August 10, 2002

Arkansas cancels series with UH

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Nationally ranked Arkansas has canceled its three-game series that would have been the season opener for the Hawai'i baseball team, Rainbows coach Mike Trapasso confirmed.

The Razorbacks, 25th in the final Baseball America rankings, were supposed to play UH the weekend of Jan. 24. Trapasso said new coach Dave Van Horn felt he would have inadequate time to prepare his team that early in the season. Van Horn left Nebraska to replace Norm DeBriyn, who retired after 33 seasons. The schedule was made by DeBriyn, whose Razorbacks were eliminated by Clemson in the Super Regionals.

"I understand where he's coming from," Trapasso said.

The cancelation means the Rainbows will open against UCLA the weekend of Feb. 7, making it the first time since 1991 the UH regular season will open in February.

Trapasso said he is looking to make up the three games, probably with single mid-week games later in the schedule. He is working on at least one game at Sacramento State before the Rainbows head for a Western Athletic Conference series at Nevada.

The annual Alumni game will be moved up to Feb. 1, Trapasso said. He added that Matsusaka of Japan will play an exhibition against UH for a mid-week game during the season.

Trapasso, in Los Angeles scouting the Area Code Games, said barring any last-minute moves, 2003 season recruits who were drafted in June are likely to enroll in the fall. Once the players attend classes on Aug. 26, they can no longer be signed by the teams that drafted them.

The players drafted were left-handed pitcher Justin Azze (Montreal, 10th round) and right-handed pitcher Nick Ponomarenko (Montreal, 38th), both junior college transfers, and incoming freshman right-handed pitcher Keahi Rawlins (Philadelphia, 36th) of Moloka'i.