For the University of Hawai'i baseball team, the 6th annual Coca-Cola Classic in Surprise, Ariz., will be a good proving ground.

The Rainbows will play two nationally ranked teams and another coming off an emotional event. Hawai'i's part of the tournament will be in the big-league atmosphere at the spring training facilities of the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers. Also in the tournament are Arizona State (3-0), ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 6 by Baseball America), No. 8 Michigan (3-0), Portland (3-2) and late entry Northern Illinois (0-0).

"It's good for us to get on the road," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "It's good for us to play a couple of ranked teams and good for all our young guys, our first-year guys, to see what we're wanting to compete against and the level that we want to be at."

Action begins at 1 p.m., Hawai'i time, today when the Rainbows (4-3) play Northern Illinois at Surprise Stadium.

The Huskies were picked to finish second in the Western Division of the Mid-American Conference. Northern Illinois recently returned to athletic competition following a 10-day suspension of activities after the Feb. 14 fatal shooting on its campus. The Huskies canceled their season-opening series last weekend at Texas Tech.

Trapasso spoke with NIU coach Ed Mathey after yesterday's practice.

"He said they're in that healing phase now and the most important thing now is to just play games," Trapasso said. "It's like an escape for them, so it's good that they were able to get out here and that the tournament was able to accommodate them even if it's just for the two games, with us and Portland."

Trapasso said it was Arizona State coach Pat Murphy's idea to accommodate the Huskies. According to an ASU press release, title sponsor Coca-Cola, the City of Surprise (host of the tournament), the Rangers and Royals, and ASU, Portland and UH all agreed to help NIU make up its missed games from the previous week. Apparently, only Michigan wanted the tournament schedule status quo, so the Huskies will only play two games of the tournament in a doubleheader today. NIU will play Portland before it plays UH. It will be a quick turnaround for the Huskies, who will play a scheduled three-game series at Southern Illinois starting tomorrow.

The Huskies were 34-24 last season. They are scheduled to start left-hander Matt Jernstad (0-0), while UH will start right-hander Matt Daly (1-0). This is the first meeting between the two programs.

At 1 p.m., HST, tomorrow, the Rainbows will play Arizona State at Surprise Stadium. The Sun Devils were picked to finish second in the Pac-10 by the league's coaches. They swept through last weekend's DeMarini Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., by beating Miami (Ohio), 8-0, No. 3 Vanderbilt, 18-6, and No. 7 Oregon State, 11-0.

The Rainbows will send JC transfer and right-hander Jared Alexander (2-0) against the Sun Devils, who have to announced their probables. The Sun Devils lead the series, 25-18; they beat UH last season in Tempe, 9-2.

Arizona State is loaded with potential high draft picks in third baseman Brett Wallace, first baseman Ike Davis and catcher Petey Paramore. Wallace, who went 5 for 12 with three homers and nine RBIs last weekend, was the the Pac-10 Player of the Year last season after a triple crown season (.404, 16 HRs, 78 RBIs).

The Rainbows will play their second doubleheader in as many weeks Saturday. They open the day against Michigan (3-0) at the Texas Rangers minor league field, 9 a.m., HST. The Wolverines are coming off a three-game sweep of Villanova at a neutral site, Port St. Lucie, Fla. The Wolverines also played the New York Mets to a 4-4 standoff Tuesday in a exhibition at the same site.

The Wolverines, two-time defending Big Ten champions, are favored to win their league for the third consecutive year. They are led by in first baseman/right-handed pitcher Zach Putnam, who was 6 for 11 with eight RBIs in the sweep of Villanova, and outfielder Derek VanBuskirk, who was 5 for 13 in the Villanova series.

This is the second meeting between the programs. The first came in 1929, with Michigan winning 11-5.

Hawai'i then moves over to the Royals minor league field for a 1 p.m., HST game against Portland. The Pilots are picked to finish seventh in the eight-team West Coast Conference.

They took two of three from Brigham Young over the weekend, lost to George Fox on Sunday and beat Concordia on Tuesday. Outfielder Dan Meier has swung the bat well of late, batting .294 with two home runs and seven RBIs.

Trapasso said freshmen right-handers Alex Capaul (0-2) and Josh Slaats (0-0) are the starters for the doubleheader. For now, Capaul will start the opener, but that could change, Trapasso said.

"It's a great venue, a phenomenal facility," Trapasso said of the tournament setting. "It will be good for our kids to play in."

ESPN 1420 AM will broadcast today's and tomorrow's games live. But because of logistical issues, only periodic live updates will be provided for Saturday's doubleheader.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.