What’s the shelf life for buzz? It held up nine months for Quintin Torres-Costa. It was last May when he pitched one of the most spectacular games in Hawaii state high school tournament history.
He returned to the scene of that tour de force Saturday, this time not in a Waiakea uniform, but the green and white of the University of Hawaii. You could feel the electricity as dusk settled on Manoa and the fans filled up Les Murakami Stadium for a second-straight SRO sellout — the previous evening it was for opening night. For this second game, the prime attraction was the beginning of a transition from schoolboy legend to (hopefully for UH) college star.
Why wouldn’t there be excitement? All Torres-Costa did at this venue last time was pitch six hitless innings, striking out 13, in the biggest game of his life.
Could the young man they call Q be the answer as UH searches for a replacement for Jarrett Arakawa, out for the season? Arakawa was expected to be the rock of the rotation. Coach Mike Trapasso was confident enough to install Torres-Costa as the closer. Then when he lost his veteran starter, he moved Torres-Costa into the No. 2 spot in the rotation.
"He’s a bulldog and he throws three pitches," Trapasso said. "When he wants to, he can explode it."
But this wasn’t the Baldwin Bears. It wasn’t the team from China he dominated for three innings in an exhibition.
This was the Oregon Ducks, whom one poll has ranked as the No. 6 team in the country.
Torres-Costa pitched 42⁄3 innings and was charged with all the runs and tagged for the loss as the Rainbows battled to the last strike but fell 5-4.
YOU COULD SEE why Trapasso had him pegged as a closer … a 1-2-3 first inning. But then trouble, as Torres-Costa was often high with his fastball and too low with the breaking pitches.
He yielded a lot of fly balls, some deep ones. Let’s just say it’s good UH’s schedule doesn’t have as many games at altitude as it used to. But you could see the raw ability, and the poise. Torres-Costa mixes velocity and location like a much more experienced pitcher.
All in all, an outing you might expect from a freshman in his first college game.
A guy who knows about young lefties pitching for UH is excited for the future —the near future.
"Don’t worry," said Ron Nomura, who caught Derek Tatsuno, one of the greatest pitchers in college baseball history. "I thought (Torres-Costa) did a good job. He wasn’t getting hit hard and it’s not like he was walking the park. I like his mannerisms, he was under control and never looked flustered.
"Tats was in his own world as a talent, but they’re similar in confidence, the mental aspect."
I don’t think anyone expected the next Tatsuno. I don’t think anyone expects there will EVER be another Tatsuno.
But, at least on this night, another local lefty brought the buzz to Manoa.
"When Derek pitched, all of Aiea came out," said another Rainbow of that era, Dean Hall, as he surveyed the concourse. "Now it’s all of the Big Island here."
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783.
