FIRST OF 3 PARTS

Ask any of Austin Wobrock’s teammates what he’s like and you’ll get basically the same response.

"He’s one of the goofiest guys around," senior Kalei Hanawahine said. "There’s never a dull moment with him."

"He’s super hyper," left fielder Marc Flores added. "He loves candy so he’s always on that sugar high bouncing off the walls, can’t stop talking."

The senior shortstop has brought a unique flair to a position he wasn’t even recruited for out of Orange Coast College two years ago.

Wobrock was a late signee before his junior year at UH, which desperately needed a third baseman at the time.

UH coach Mike Trapasso always spends the beginning of the fall evaluating players at different positions, so even though Wobrock played third in junior college, he got a chance to take reps at short.

The Rainbows already had senior Pi’ikea Kitamura slated for that shortstop spot, but it became apparent right away that Wobrock, not Kitamura, was the best fit to play the most dynamic position in the infield.

"It was a pleasant surprise for all of us," Trapasso said. "We saw right away this guy had tremendous tools to play shortstop."

Wobrock knew coming in that Kitamura was the team captain, which is why he immediately gravitated toward the four-year starter.

"That’s how you’ve got to approach everything," Wobrock said. "You see the best guy and you work with him, see how he does things, and you just have to put in the time and work and that’s pretty much all I did."

Wobrock went on to have one of the best seasons in UH history defensively, committing just one error in 229 chances for a .996 fielding percentage.

He was good for at least one SportsCenter highlight play every weekend.

"You know, to be honest, when I played junior college, everybody called me ‘robot’," Wobrock said. "Over and over again, I would take hundreds of ground balls every day and it’s all kind of accumulated into my own style."

Wobrock is looking forward to this season, and not back to last season’s disappointing 16-35 campaign.

"I’m only going to be here for so long playing baseball, so I might as well make it fun while it lasts," Wobrock said. "I’m moving forward, I’m ready to play ball again and I can’t wait to get the season started."

And when it does, Wobrock will be right there at shortstop, bouncing around, hair flowing out of the back of his cap, yapping at teammates, bringing his unique style to the field. A style he said he learned from his mom.

"She’s more hyper than me."