honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Saturday, April 2, 2005

Baseball Rainbows rained out

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Last night's Western Athletic Conference baseball game between San Jose State and Hawai'i at Les Murakami Stadium was postponed because of rain.

WHO: San Jose State (15-9-1, 5-1 WAC) vs. Hawai'i (13-16, 1-5 WAC)

WHEN/WHERE: 1:05 p.m. today (doubleheader); 1:05 p.m. tomorrow / Les Murakami Stadium

RADIO: KKEA (1420 AM) will broadcast all games live.

TV: KFVE (channel 5) will televise only tomorrow's game live

TICKETS: $6 for blue and orange sections; $5 adults in red section; $4 for 65 and older in red section; $3 for UH students with IDs and students ages 4 to 18.

PARKING: $3

The game was called shortly after the 6:35 p.m. start. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. today.

For seating purposes, tickets for today's game will have precedence for the first game. Ticket stubs from last night's game will have rights to the seat for the second game, which is considered the make-up.

Rain throughout the day left the dirt areas around the bases, home plate and pitcher's mound muddied. The areas were covered by tarpaulins that fit those areas, but water still managed to seep into those areas.

At the time of the postponement's announcement, it was not raining. But it began to rain about 15 minutes later. Rainbows coach Mike Trapasso said since the field still needed to be dried, the start was going to be pushed to 7:30 p.m. But he said the National Weather Service told him more rain was expected at that time.

Both coaches said they agreed that they did not want to play under poor field conditions and neither wanted to risk facing a situation where play would stop and start throughout the night.

Trapasso said the baseball program will get a single-piece tarpaulin that covers the entire infield by next season.

This is the second postponement at home for the Rainbows. The second game of the opening series against Alabama on Feb. 11 also was made up with a doubleheader the next day. Hawai'i split that doubleheader.

The Rainbows also saw a single game postponed because of rain last week at Pacific. The game was made up the next day.

Should there be further delays or postponements today or tomorrow, San Jose State coach Sam Piraro said because his team doesn't leave until about 9:30 p.m. tomorrow, it could play to as late as 7 p.m.

Both coaches said their starting rotations would remain the same with UH starting Stephen Bryant and SJSU starting Brandon Hennessey in the first game. Colby Summer is scheduled to pitch the second game for UH against Brandon Dewing.

The Rainbows (13-16 overall, 1-5 WAC) will try to snap a six-game losing streak and pick up ground in the standings. The Spartans (15-9-1, 5-1) have won 11 of their last 13 games.

With Rice's 8-2 win against Fresno State last night, the Spartans moved into the top spot of the conference by record and winning percentage for the first time this week. The loss was the first in conference for the Bulldogs, who were listed at the top by winning percentage, but trailed SJSU by win/loss record.

In another WAC game, Nevada beat Louisiana Tech, 7-5.

The Rainbows go on the road with a single game Wednesday at San Francisco and a three-game series at Nevada from Friday.

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