Posted on: Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Seeking hallowed grounds
| • | New batting coach was on deck |
| • | Trapasso's five-year contract unprecedented |
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist
Fifteen minutes before the University of Hawai'i baseball team held its first practice of the season yesterday at Les Murakami Stadium, coach Mike Trapasso was giving instruction to some of his players in the finer points of...
Raking the dirt around first base?
When a school hasn't been to an NCAA regional in the past 11 seasons, you apparently start from the ground up, literally.
And, make no mistake about it, getting to a regional, any regional, is Job One for the Rainbows this year.
When Trapasso signed on late in the game for 2002, the announced plan was to get the 'Bows back up and running to the way things once were. The first and surest step in that direction being a return to an NCAA regional.
In its heyday under Murakami, the program was an NCAA perennial, appearing in 11 regionals in the 17 seasons from 1977 to 1993, including the 1980 College World Series. But, then, the program fell on lean times and has not made the 64-team field since.
Enter Trapasso and a blueprint calling for being NCAA-worthy in 4 to 5 years. For a while, it appeared the Rainbows might even beat their timetable and get to the NCAAs a year early last season. That would have been a remarkable achievement considering the 16-40 campaign of just two years earlier. In 2004, the Rainbows split six games with defending national champion Rice and were rolling along in a way not seen in years.
But those hopes, like the Rainbows, faded down the stretch when they lost eight of the final 10 games and the bid for an at-large invitation expired in a 31-24 finish.
Now, it is Year Four, which began taking shape yesterday in preparation for the Feb. 10 opener with Alabama.
The team UH will put on the field will be Trapasso's to a man — all 42 of them. The schedule will be all his and, so, too, will be the heightened expectations that come with having 22 returnees from the best team, record-wise, in five years. Baseball America rates UH 42nd in Division I and second in the WAC.
Not that the Rainbows are shrinking from them. Even if they could. "This is our team and we feel like this is the year," Trapasso said. "We've got three full recruiting classes, 3› if you count the late start, we've got pitching depth and we've improved offensively."
Indeed, UH returns three of its top four starting pitchers — Ricky Bauer (8-4), Stephen Bryant (8-4) and Steven Wright (2-1) — along with the cream of its bullpen — Guy McDowell (4-1, 3 saves), Darrell Fisherbaugh (0-4, 6 saves) and Rich Olsen (1-0, 2 saves) — which should be the team's strength. It welcomes back seven starting position players and has a bus-full of new recruits.
When Trapasso served as the pitching coach for USA Baseball last summer, he wasn't just a teacher. He said he also learned something. "I saw that the players we had weren't really all that different from here (UH). I think we can be a good club this year."
After 11 seasons without an NCAA postseason, you hope that holds true.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
