Hawai'i's Inouye honored by WAC

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

For the second consecutive week, a University of Hawai'i baseball player has captured league honors.

Catcher/outfielder Matt Inouye was named Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week, the conference announced yesterday. It is the sophomore's first conference weekly honor. Last week, Ricky Bauer was the WAC Pitcher of the Week. Both players are Mid-Pacific Institute graduates.

Inouye's run started a week ago, when he batted 2 for 3 with three RBIs in a 10-2 win against Hawai'i Pacific. After catching the previous series against Florida International, Inouye started the HPU game in left field.

Then Inouye went 6 for 12 with a double, home run and six RBIS in helping the Rainbows (8-5), winners of seven in a row, to a three-game sweep of UH-Hilo over the weekend. He played catcher for the entire series.

Inouye said the team isn't any different from when it was 1-5 after the Texas and Cal State Northridge series.

"It's just everyone getting used to playing more games," he said. "We're more comfortable as a team and that's helping us a lot on the field."

Inouye leads the team with a .439 batting average. Of his 18 hits, eight are doubles and one is a home run. He leads the team with 16 RBIs and is 3 of 3 in base stealing. His eight walks and two hit batsmen also contribute to a team-leading .538 on-base percentage. He credits playing in the Alaska league over the summer for his success at the plate.

"I got to see good pitching up in Alaska, so that helped a little bit," he said.

Nominated for Pitcher of the Week honors was UH freshman Steven Wright, who pitched one-hit ball in five scoreless innings against HPU last Tuesday.

Next up for UH is San Francisco (2-6) on Friday.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8042.