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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, January 21, 2007

Rainbows 'OK' in KO of Alumni squad, 13-1

UH alumni baseball photo gallery
 •  It's got 'tough' act to follow

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i performed just "OK" yesterday in a 13-1 romp of the Alumni in a preseason tuneup at Les Murakami Stadium.

A gathering of 412 took advantage of the free admission to get a peek at the 2007 Rainbows.

"Defensively, I thought we were very good," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "We made some nice plays. Offensively, we put some good swings together. But there's no question it was just OK. We need to be better next weekend."

Hawai'i's season opens Friday with a three-game series against Santa Clara.

The varsity pitchers were on a 75-pitch limit. Starter Matt Daly reached his early, lasting just three innings, allowing a run on two hits, but with four walks. He had six strikeouts. Ian Harrington added six scoreless innings of four-hit ball with four strikeouts, using 54 pitches.

"He got ahead and forced contact," Trapasso said of Harrington. "That's all we ask for."

The varsity used two separate lineups, employing the second one from the bottom of the fifth inning, getting a look at most of the players. The only starter missing was shortstop Eli Christensen, who was ill. Nate Young played the whole game, batting 2 for 5 with two RBIs.

Second baseman Jon Hee had four RBIs, three on a gift inside-the-park home run when Alumni right fielder Matt Inouye misplayed a liner that got by him.

The Alumni had only 12 players, 10 of them going the distance with none being a true middle infielder. Adam Roberts, a corner infielder during his two seasons at UH, played shortstop. Pitchers Clary Carlsen and Justin Costi played second base. While Carlsen looked like a pitcher out of position, Costi at least played the position during his lifetime. He made some nice plays, including a long run to haul in a foul pop behind first base.

"I used to play second base in high school," he said. "I wished I could've pitched better than I played the infield."

Costi started for the Alumni, giving up nine runs (eight earned) in three innings. Carlsen added four innings (four runs) and Paul Ah Yat pitched a scoreless eighth. Carlsen and Ah Yat are former pro pitchers.

Costi said he has been throwing on his own while attending classes at UH, where he plans to graduate after the summer session. He would then like to hook up with an independent team or sign with an affiliate as a free agent. He said he wanted to finish his degree while still on scholarship.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.