UH baseball team to visit Hilo for 4 games

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

The baseball battle in the University of Hawai'i system gets under way this weekend when Manoa's Rainbows play Hilo's Vulcans.

For the first time in his 26 seasons, UHH coach Joey Estrella will exchange lineup cards with an unfamiliar face: UH coach Mike Trapasso.

"It's going to be a little different," said Estrella, an ex-Rainbow and former graduate assistant to Les Murakami at Manoa. "But we're still playing the Rainbows. It's still exciting because most of our guys are from Hawai'i. It's always a fun series. We hope it will be a very competitive series. We've played well the last couple of weeks."

Even though the Rainbows hold a 93-15 advantage, the games have usually been competitive. The Rainbows (7-12) swept six games last year; two wins at Hilo were by two runs. Also, the Rainbows had to rally for seven runs in the bottom of the ninth in a 9-8 win at last year's season finale at Rainbow Stadium on Les Murakami Night.

In 2000, the Vulcans won 1 of 6 from the Rainbows, but that one victory denied Manoa a winning season.

The Rainbows (7-12) seek to end a three-game losing streak after being swept by No. 4 Rice last weekend. The Vulcans (4-25-1) also have a three-game losing streak, but three of their four wins have come in their past two series against Pepperdine and Santa Clara.

The Rainbows will open the series with Bryan Lee (2-1, 4.66 ERA) tomorrow and Chris George (0-1, 7.36) Saturday. Tentatively scheduled to start Sunday's doubleheader are William Quaglieri (2-2, 2.81) in the seven-inning opener and Ricky Bauer (0-2, 7.65) in the nine-inning second game. Trapasso said they are tentative because if either is needed in relief the previous days, Aaron Pribble, Sean Yamashita or Matt Le Ducq are the alternatives starters. Quaglieri, used only in long relief this season, is third on the team in innings pitched.

"It's a good weekend for us to get out there on the road and play on grass," Trapasso said. "We have to do that in conference, so it's a good situation for us to prepare for when we have to go on the road for league games."

The Vulcans will start Jason Castro (2-3, 5.60) and Robert Shimabuku (0-5, 9.09) in the first two games, and Jeremiah Wolske (0-5, 8.59) and Daniel Lockett (1-1, 3.54) in the doubleheader.

The Vulcans are led by center fielder Kaliko Oligo (.353 batting average) and designated hitter Keola Park (.323).

While the Rainbows are a third of the way through their schedule, the Vulcans are nearly done. The series is their home finale. They play in the Rainbow Easter Tournament March 25-31, then conclude their season April 13-20 on the West Coast.

Completing their eligibility for UHH are Darren Chu, Park, Chad Agustin and Shaun Suzuki. Pitcher Zeb Watts will likely redshirt because of an elbow injury, Estrella said.