Hawai'i takes on Louisiana Tech today
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
After facing the Western Athletic Conference favorite, Hawai'i gets to play the team picked to finish last: Louisiana Tech.
The Rainbows (1-2 WAC, 15-9 overall) begin a three-game series against the Bulldogs (1-2, 10-16) starting tonight at J.C. Love Field in Ruston, La.
"We're in no position to take anybody lightly," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "We've shown that in the early part of the season. We will have to play our best to win this series."
Louisiana Tech's record doesn't reflect the havoc it could cause. Four times this season the Bulldogs have won games after lopsided losses.
"They play with a lot of toughness and heart," Trapasso said. "They're scrappy and play hard. They've had a number of series earlier in the season where they've been totally blown out and then bounce back and win the next game."
The Rainbows will need a similar effort of pitching they had against the Owls. Despite taking only one game in the series, UH pitching posted a 2.88 earned run average.
Ricky Bauer (5-2) will start tonight. Stephen Bryant (2-2), who allowed three runs, none earned in a 3-0 loss to Rice, will pitch tomorrow. Clary Carlsen (4-3), who got UH's only win in the Rice series, is scheduled for Saturday.
The Bulldogs have adjusted their rotation for the series. Clayton Meyer (3-2, 3.11 ERA) will start tonight. Blake Burns (3-1) was moved from Saturday to tomorrow. Sunday's starter will be announced later. Brody Love (1-3) was slated for tomorrow, but he will return to relief duty, according to a Bulldogs' press release.
Louisiana Tech, which led the WAC with 86 stolen bases last year, is on pace to break that with a league-leading 45 entering tonight's game. The running game might be a problem for UH.
"That concerns me because we don't hold runners very well," Trapasso said. "Matt (Inouye, UH's catcher) does a good job of catching and throwing, but our staff is not that good at holding runners, so we focused on that (in practice last night)."
The chief base thief is lead-off hitter Brandon Haygood (13 of 17 steals), who has a .388 on-base percentage.
Health wise, the Rainbows are OK. Rocky Russo missed the second game of the Rice series after he was hit by a pitch on his left forearm. He played the third game and is "a hundred percent" now, Trapasso said.
However, UH's 25-man roster was reduced by one with the departure of left fielder Jaziel Mendoza, who returned to Honolulu after breaking a team rule during the Rice series, Trapasso said. Mendoza will be reinstated by the time UH returns for the San Jose State series, April 2-4, Trapasso said.
Josh Green will play right field with Greg Kish moving to left.
This weekend's games will be broadcast on KKEA 1420 AM. Tonight's and tomorrow's games are at 2 p.m. with Sunday's at 9 a.m. All times are Hawai'i.
Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8042.
