A whole new ballgame

Make no mistake, one person by himself isn’t going to replace former Hawaii All-American Kolten Wong.

Wong’s storied three-year career with the Rainbows ended as the No. 22 overall pick in last year’s MLB First-Year Player Draft, the highest of any UH player since pitcher Mark Johnson (No. 19 overall) in 1996.

Collectively, however, the 2012 UH Rainbow baseball team has a chance to be better than last year’s co-regular season Western Athletic Conference champions.

“You’re not going to replace somebody like Kolten, but you don’t try to,” Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso said. “What you hope for is if the overall production one through nine can exceed last year’s overall production.

“You’re not going to know until we start playing but in our scrimmages in both the fall and spring we’ve seen the potential of that happening.”

At times in 2011, UH struggled to get production from the bottom half of its lineup, and the defense, especially up the middle, was shaky at best.

With as many as four potential new starters and two returnees trying out different positions full time, the team that takes the field against the Oregon Ducks on Friday night is ready to move on and usher in a new era.

“Hitting-wise, I feel this team is stronger than last year,” junior outfielder Breland Almadova said. “You can’t necessarily replace certain guys, but as a team, it’s all about work ethic and making the right choices and hopefully we can go beyond what we did last year, win some more games (and) have some fun.”

UH’s success offensively begins at the top with Almadova in the leadoff spot, looking to build off a solid sophomore season.

After struggling making the transition from ‘Iolani as a freshman, Almadova came alive at the end of the year, hitting safely in 14 of his final 16 games.

He finished the season hitting .298 with 16 doubles and was tops on the team with 23 stolen bases and 54 runs scored.

“Last year is last year and the year before that is the year before that,” he said. “I’m just focused on improving all aspects of my game because each aspect is just as important as the other.”

Almadova will patrol the middle of the outfield as one of two returning outfielders — for now.

Senior Zack Swasey will get his turn in the field after hitting .320 with 44 RBIs primarily as a designated hitter last year.

Collin Bennett ended the season in right field but will move to third as UH tries to find the best combination of defensive and offensive players to put in the same lineup.

How long UH goes with Bennett at third depends not just on his defensive ability but the production of freshman Kaeo Aliviado in left field.

Almadova, who also started as a true freshman, struggled out of the gate and knows exactly the kind of pressure Aliviado, another home-grown product, is facing.

“He’s got a lot of talent so I’m excited to see him play and see how he deals with all the fans and the whole college atmosphere,” Almadova said of the Saint Louis School product. “I’ve noticed he’s doing better than I did my freshman year so I’m kind of just letting him go and whenever he needs help I’ll step in and help him.”

The right side of the infield will be completely new as speedy freshman Stephen Ventimilia is expected to man second base while junior-college transfer Max Duval takes over at first.

Duval hit .315 with a team-leading six home runs in 124 at-bats last year at Cuesta Community College.

What the numbers don’t show is the potential to improve on a defense that committed 88 errors and finished with a .961 fielding percentage, the lowest among Trapasso’s first 10 seasons as head coach.

“Initially, that’s going to be the most noticeable area of improvement,” Trapasso said. “I really do feel this club has the potential to be above average defensively.”

Unlike last year, UH finally has some depth at the catcher position. Senior Garrett Champion and freshmen Cody Clark and Trevor Podratz could all see playing time.

Last season, UH used Wong and Pi‘ikea Kitamura behind the plate after starter David Peterson struggled with injuries. The Rainbows eventually settled on Champion, their fourth-stringer to begin the year, who started 39 of the final 42 games and hit .242 with 25 runs scored.