Players not surprised by Trapasso's honor

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

The big surprise of the Western Athletic Conference's baseball honors wasn't that Hawai'i coach Mike Trapasso was named Coach of the Year, according to the players who were chosen to the all-conference teams.

Mike Trapasso was probably tempted to take a few cuts for his team as the "crazy injuries" began to take their toll. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Junior pitcher Ricky Bauer and junior outfielder Greg Kish were named to the first team. Senior first baseman Andrew Sansaver, sophomore second baseman Isaac Omura, junior pitcher Stephen Bryant and freshman pitcher Darrell Fisherbaugh were named to the second team.

"I was?" Sansaver said when told of his selection.

"I had no idea," Bryant said. "It's awesome to find out about it. I'm happy about it."

They weren't the only ones to learn from parties outside of UH. Bauer learned from a phone call from Omura, who said he found out from his mother, who was surfing the Internet. Kish said he was "just messing around on the Internet" when he saw the list. Fisherbaugh learned from his father, who also was looking up statistics on the Internet.

But none was surprised by Trapasso's honor, the first for the third-year coach.

"He deserves it," said Kish.

"That's a good sign for the program," said Bauer, Trapasso's first recruit. "We want to bring in more people (recruits), so anything good for the school is all right with me."

"I think it's a good sign for our program," Omura said. "We did improve a lot this year. He deserves a lot of credit for keeping us together for the whole season."

Trapasso wasn't surprised by the players who were honored, but had hoped relief pitcher Guy McDowell and shortstop Brian Finegan would get some recognition. Trapasso said he realized the shortstops picked in front of Finegan — Rice's Paul Janish and Fresno State's Chris Patrick — had outstanding seasons.

Sansaver, who batted .311 and was second on the team with 35 RBIs, said he was humbled by the selection.

"It's a great honor just to be among those players in our league," said Sansaver, who is from Tracy, Calif., and will return next month for a summer school class.

Kish, a transfer from Oklahoma who led the team with a .358 batting average, said he was honored, but also that it was "bittersweet."

"It would've been nice to be in a regional, playing for a College World Series appearance," said Kish, who heads for Anchorage on Sunday for the Alaska Summer League.

Bauer, who was 8-4 with a 3.60 earned run average, said he was "honored, but I wasn't expecting it."

Bauer leaves for Madison, Wis., on Tuesday to play in the Northwoods League, but that might change because he is eligible for the draft, which runs June 7 and 8.

Omura finished the season with a .313 batting average after an ankle injury slowed his start.

"It feels good, considering the kind of start I got off to," said Omura, who also will play in Anchorage. "I'm pleased with how I finished the season."

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