Familiar first pitch

Mike Trapasso challenges himself every year to put together one of the nation’s toughest schedules.

One thing the Hawaii head coach won’t have to worry about for the forseeable future is finding a tough season opener.

The Rainbows kick off the 2012 season tonight by hosting the Oregon Ducks for the third straight year at Les Murakami Stadium.

The last two series have been season openers, and the two teams have agreed to start every year here through the 2015 season. Oregon coach George Horton said Thursday he hopes to continue that for as long as he and Trapasso are coaching at these schools.

"I respect the heck out of the way they coach," said Horton, who will begin his fourth season as the Ducks’ head coach. "Going back to my Fullerton days, I’ve always wanted to pick out a respectable team that I want to compete against right out of the gate and Coach Trap always has that."

UH is 6-3 against the Ducks since Horton was hired to rebuild an Oregon program that hadn’t fielded a team since 1981. In his second year, he guided the Ducks to an NCAA tournament appearance. Last year Oregon opened the season here ranked No. 9 in the country.

The Ducks struggled to live up to their expectations, finishing eighth in the Pac-10 and missing out on a second straight tournament berth. They were 5-12 in one-run games and 0-14 when trailing after six innings.

"It was a step back," Horton said. "We started losing close games and we panicked and started doubting ourselves a little bit."

Oregon lost eight players to the 2011 draft and was dealt another blow when left-hander Christian Jones, rated the No. 28 draft prospect by Perfect Game, was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his elbow that requires Tommy John surgery.

Senior Alex Keudell, who struck out nine in five innings against UH last year, will start tonight opposite UH senior Matt Sisto. Freshman right-hander Jake Reed, a 40th-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox, is expected to go Saturday.

Despite the inexperience on the mound, the Ducks are ranked as high as No. 27 by Collegiate Baseball.

"They’re always going to be ultra-talented and they’re always going to come in and play the game the way it’s supposed to be," Trapasso said. "Coach Horton is such a good coach because immediately after the first weekend, there’s an opportunity to see some weaknesses you need to work on … and he’ll expose those."

The Rainbows have won eight of their past 11 openers, including 4-3 over the Ducks last season.

Senior Zack Swasey feasted on Duck pitching in his first series with the Rainbows, hitting .455 (5-for-11) with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs.

UH likely will start two freshmen — left fielder Kaeo Aliviado and second baseman Stephen Ventimilia.

Sisto will pitch against the Ducks for the fourth time in as many years.

He’s gone at least six innings in each of his three starts, posting a 2-0 record, allowing just three earned runs in 19 1/3 innings.

"All we ask out of our guys is to pitch ahead in the count and force contact," Trapasso said. "For the most part, (Sisto) has been able to do that and it’s why he’s been so successful for us."