Rainbows will play in top-notch tourney in Houston

Hawaii baseball coach Mike Trapasso hinted last season he might ease up on the Rainbow Warriors’ normally brutal nonconference schedule.

So much for that.

UH has agreed to participate in the Houston Classic at Minute Maid Park — home of the Houston Astros — during the fourth weekend of the 2015 season. The ‘Bows will join LSU, Texas A&M, Houston, Nebraska and Baylor in the six-team tournament in which Hawaii will play three games March 6-8 in Texas.

Of the other five teams, only Baylor failed to make the NCAA tournament in 2014.

UH opens next season hosting Oregon for the sixth consecutive season. After a home series against Hofstra, the ‘Bows hit the road for four games at Pepperdine, which fell one game short of advancing to the College World Series last month.

Hawaii will then head straight to Texas from Malibu, Calif., to play in the tournament before returning to Les Murakami Stadium to host Oklahoma before the start of Big West play.

Hawaii hasn’t played consecutive weekends on the road in nonconference play since 2011 against Loyola Marymount and Portland.

"The fact that our kids will be able to play that kind of competition in a major league stadium is just too good of an opportunity to pass up," Trapasso said. "It’s one of the premiere tournaments in the early season in all of college baseball and we’re fortunate to be invited."

Eleven of Hawaii’s first 15 games could potentially come against teams that were seeded first or second in an NCAA regional in 2014.

Trapasso is still seeking a team to fill its bye during conference play that comes in the final week of the season.

The ‘Bows will likely have to go on the road to fill the dates since most teams are participating in conference tournaments.

UH will open conference play on the road against UC Irvine, which advanced to the CWS.