Because the rain, rain probably won’t go away, Hawaii and UC Davis will open a three-game series today at Dobbins Field at Davis, Calif.
The Big West series was supposed to open on Friday. But both teams agreed to start a day earlier in anticipation of an approaching weekend storm. Today’s first pitch is set for 11:30 a.m. Hawaii time.
UH coach Mike Trapasso said right-hander Jackson Rees will be the starting pitcher on a full week’s rest. Rees threw 96 pitches over five innings in last Thursday’s 4-3 victory over UC Irvine, the first game in this seven-game, 15-day road trip.
“It’s perfect for him,” Trapasso said of the spacing between Rees’ starts.
Trapasso said Neil Uskali will start the second game, whenever that will be played. “It looks like we’ll have Friday off,” Trapasso said of the stormy forecast, “and maybe Friday and Saturday. We have to gear everything up for Thursday, and see what happens.”
If the forecasts hold true, the likelihood is UH and UC Davis will play a doubleheader on Sunday.
BIG WEST BASEBALL
>> Hawaii (16-10, 2-1 BWC) at UC Davis (8-15, 1-2)
>> When: Today, 11:30 a.m. HT
>> Where: Davis, Calif.
>> Radio: 1420-AM
The ’Bows are coming off polar outcomes. On Saturday, the ’Bows set school marks for most runs (14) and widest victory margin (12 runs) for a Big West road game. Two days later on Monday, they used eight pitchers in a 10-1 nonconference loss to Pacific.
“On Saturday, we were great, and on Monday, we sucked,” Trapasso said. “We’ve got to play more consistently than the way we went from Saturday to Monday.”
Trapasso said he assesses his team’s temperature on more than a one-game sample.
“Baseball coaches take things more in 10-game cycles,” Trapasso said, adding the approach contrasts to football’s “mentality of, oh, my, you’re only as good as your last game.”
In winning six of their past 10, the ’Bows hit .292 and averaged 5.7 runs per game. But they also have accumulated a 4.65 earned-run average and 1.30 WHIP. During that span, they averaged 1.5 errors per game, committing at least one error in each of the 10 games.
The Aggies have pitched well recently and, when the winds are calm, receive help from a home park in which the batted balls do not carry.
“The reality is, it’s not about (the Aggies),” Trapasso said. “It’s about us. We’ve got to play our game.”
It is unlikely UH third baseman Ethan Lopez will be available. He has missed the past 12 games because of a wrist injury suffered nearly four weeks ago. There is a possibility Lopez will undergo further medical tests when the ’Bows return to Honolulu on Tuesday.
