It has rained every weekend this University of Hawaii baseball season.

Tonight, the Rainbow Warriors face a perfect storm when they play Cal Poly in the opener of a three-game Big West series at Les Murakami Stadium.

The ’Bows will be without three ailing pitchers who have combined for 24 starts — Neil Uskali, Dominic DeMiero and Logan Pouelsen — while facing the Big West’s top offense (.289 batting average, .372 on-base percentage).

“To be down-staffed with what might be the best offensive team coming in, we couldn’t have picked better timing,” UH coach Mike Trapasso mused. “Hey, it is what it is.”

Jackson Rees (4-1, 2.84 earned-run average) will start for the ’Bows with instructions to pitch effectively and economically.

“When you’re short-staffed, you can’t have, say, Jackson throw 100 pitches in five innings,” Trapasso said. “They’ve got to maximize their pitch count and try to get early-count outs. That’s going to be the focus. Because if you’re short-staffed, and guys are going deep into counts, and they’re throwing too many pitches, you have to go to your next guy too soon. That’ll affect us.”

Cade Smith, a freshman who has made four starts, is the presumed candidate to open on Saturday or Sunday — maybe. “We’re going to do everything we can to win each game as it comes,” Trapasso said. “If we have an opportunity to win a Game 1, and we need Cade or whoever it will be to win that game, we’ll do it, and then we’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. It’s all going to be worrying about one game at a time. We’re not going to sacrifice a game because we’re worried about saving somebody for the next game.”

Smith said he is preparing for multiple situations. On Saturday, Smith was alerted 10 minutes before the first pitch that he would start in place of Uskali, who had tenderness in his pitching arm. “It was a whirlwind last time,” Smith said. “But I’m excited about this weekend. I’m going to go out and compete.”

Alex Baeza is prepared to make his fifth consecutive start at first base. Eric Ramirez, a senior who has started 27 games, and Pouelsen, who is used mostly as a designated hitter, had split time at first.

But Trapasso said Baeza has “earned the job. He has been the (first baseman) for the past couple weeks. He’s just gotten the job done. We’re excited about him. Eric’s been struggling, but that doesn’t mean Eric’s done. But Baeza has gone out, and he’s gotten his opportunity, and he’s made the most of it.”

Since taking over at first, Baeza is hitting .385 (five-for-13). Of the 10 times the left-swinging Baeza made contact the past four games, four balls have been hit to the left side, and three each to the middle or right.

“I feel my swing is at its best when I’m not trying to pull a lot of pitches,” said Baeza, a second-year freshman. “That’s when I seem to get into trouble, trying to get a little pull happy.”

Assistant coaches Jerry Kleman and Carl Fraticelli have worked on targeting left-center, a goal that allows Baeza full arm extension on his swings. At Les Murakami Stadium, the cross winds lessen the impact of towering drives.

“Not a lot of balls are going to leave this yard,” Baeza said, “so I try to pound the gaps.”

Left fielder Johnny Weeks is excelling in the short game. Weeks is the national leader with 19 sacrifice bunts. He also has three sacrifice flies.

“For the bunts, it’s all about placement,” Weeks said. “I try to push it to first base to make him make the play, and hope either Logan (Pouelsen) or (Adam) Fogel behind me will drive the run in.”