'Bows overhaul baseball lineup

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

If the University of Hawai'i baseball team needs a fund-raiser next season, it has the perfect product: the scorecard.

Freshman pitcher Ricky Bauer is among the returnees Hawai'i coach Mike Trapasso will count on next season. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

The Rainbows, who ended the season with an eight-game losing streak, finished 16-40 overall and were last in the six-team Western Athletic Conference at 5-25 under first-year coach Mike Trapasso.

"We could be playing a lot of freshmen, which I don't mind at all," Trapasso said of next season. "But we definitely need to supplement those guys with some maturity. We are looking at getting some more JC guys in here."

Trapasso, 38, was hired nearly a year ago to succeed Les Murakami. With only three months to recruit before school started, he picked up 12 players to supplement the returnees. Only four wound up contributing regularly. One of them, freshman starting third baseman Danny Mocny, is among the seven players not returning. Because the majority of players were from Murakami's tenure, Trapasso said this was "a transition year, not a rebuilding year."

He said he wasn't that surprised at the team's record, but "it didn't make it any easier. I still feel we could have and should have had a better record."

Trapasso said the team pitched and fielded relatively well, despite a league-worst 5.77 earned run average and a .963 fielding percentage (the WAC average was .964).

He blamed the lack of offensive production for the team's poor record. Hawai'i was last in the WAC in runs scored, total bases, batting average (.253), on-base percentage (.336) and slugging average (.341). The Rainbows were the only WAC team with a slugging mark under .400.

"It's pretty anemic when you have metal bats and hit .250," Trapasso said.

But he accepted responsibility for the team's struggles.

"As a coach, I should've been able to do a little more," Trapasso said. "But that's what we had.

"There were some definite mistakes I've made over the year, things that I hope I learn from, things that I will do differently next year. I'm definitely a work in progress."

This was Trapasso's first year as a head coach. He left Georgia Tech as a rising assistant ready to take a head coaching job at a major program, according to Baseball America, a national biweekly newspaper. He was reputed to be a strong recruiter.

So with a full year to recruit, Trapasso landed 11 players during the early signing period in November. Nine of the 11 are graduating high school seniors, the other two are junior college pitchers. He also secured several junior college commitments in the past week, but can't announce them until he receives the letters of intent. He is still working on several more players.

From early reports, it appears the recruits have potential. Moloka'i High pitcher/first baseman Keahi Rawlins, Colorado prep catcher Drew Jackson and Poway (Calif.) corner infielder Tyler Wightman are among the top 250 nationally ranked seniors who are considered pro prospects. Catcher Steve Bell-Irving, a catcher who also can play the outfield and corner infield positions, is a highly regarded high school player in Canada. Also, Orange Coast JC pitcher Justin Azze is considered a pro prospect.

During the week of the Nevada series, Santa Cruz (Calif.) shortstop/pitcher Neil Walton was on a recruiting visit at UH. He is ranked 12th among Northern California prep players. He told The Advertiser at the time that he would not make a decision until next month. Because he is not signed, Trapasso cannot comment on Walton, who is expected to be drafted.

The recruits will fill gaps created by the departures of nine seniors and seven underclassmen who are not returning. Besides Mocny, also leaving the UH program are freshman shortstop Jason Carlson, junior catcher Grady Symonds, red-shirt freshman outfielder Craig Johnson, freshman first baseman Derek Snell, sophomore outfielder Chad Boudon and sophomore shortstop Cortland Wilson.

Trapasso said most of the players will transfer to junior colleges or programs near their hometowns. He said they decided to leave when told their playing time might be limited next season. Trapasso said Mocny wanted to be closer to home and Wilson chose to leave after being told he would have to compete for the starting shortstop position. Wilson began the season as the starter until he was lost because of shoulder problems.

Meanwhile, most of the returning players will hone their skills in summer leagues on the Mainland. Freshman pitcher Ricky Bauer and junior catcher Brian Bock will play for Santa Barbara; junior shortstop Julian Russell and junior outfielder Arthur Guillen will play for San Francisco; and freshman pitcher Jason Piepmeier will play for Salinas. All of the teams are in the California Coastal Collegiate League. Junior outfielder Kevin Gilbride and junior pitcher Chad Giannetti will play at Santa Maria (Calif.), while red-shirt sophomore infielder Schafer Magana will play in the Jayhawk League in Kansas.

Sophomore outfielder Tim Montgomery will play for Fairbanks, while junior pitcher Bryan Lee is tentatively scheduled to play for Kenai. Both are in the Alaska Baseball League. Junior pitcher William Quaglieri will play for Peninsula of the Coastal Plain League. Junior infielder Brent Cook also is tentatively scheduled, pending recovery from a groin injury, to play for Northern Ohio in the Great Lakes League.

Trapasso is trying to get junior pitcher Chris George into the prestigious Cape Cod League.

George and Lee also are candidates for the major league draft next week, Trapasso said.

Rawlins, Jackson and four other incoming freshmen — Kailua pitcher Kamaile Santos, St. Louis pitcher Guy McDowell, Mid-Pacific infielder Isaac Omura and MPI catcher Matthew Inouye — will play for the Hawai'i Island Movers, who will be coached by UH volunteer assistant Keith Komeiji. Because Komeiji is a UH coach, no present UH player can play for the Movers.

When the Movers travel to California, prep recruits Wightman and pitcher Rocky Russo will join the team. Woodbridge (Calif.) High pitcher Mike Peck, who is expected to join the Rainbows in the fall, is also listed on the Movers roster.

With promising recruits and returning players trying to improve for next season, Trapasso is expecting a better season.

"If we don't show drastic improvement, I'd be very disappointed," he said. "I've never had a year like this year and I sure don't want to have two years like this year."