’Bows jump in NCAA’s RPI after string of wins
BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii pitcher Dylan Thomas relieved pitcher Kyle Hatton in the eighth inning, Saturday, against Illinois State, at Les Murakami Stadium. The University of Hawaii baseball team has jumped 51 spots to No. 46 in the NCAA’s recently released Division I ratings percentage index (RPI).
The University of Hawaii baseball team has jumped 51 spots to No. 46 in the NCAA’s recently released Division I ratings percentage index (RPI).
The RPI is a measurement that considers such factors as victories, strength of schedule and road performances.
“It’s a good place to be now,” coach Mike Trapasso said of the ’Bows’ 85.6 percentile of the 297 Division I baseball teams. “We’ve got a long way to go.”
The ’Bows (12-6) received a boost from a challenging non-conference schedule. The ’Bows’ first five series were against Illinois State (No. 26 in RPI), Loyola Marymount (42), Brigham Young (51), Louisiana State (56) and Air Force (90). The past weekend, the ’Bows swept a four-game series over ISU, which entered ranked No. 10 in the RPI.
“If you’re playing a pretty good schedule and you win more than you lose, you hope the RPI favors you,” Trapasso said.
In crafting the 2018 schedule, Trapasso said: “I knew BYU and Loyola were defending (West Coast Conference) champs. LSU is a perennial national-championship contender. To be honest, I did not foresee Illinois State being as good a club as they are. They will win a lot of games because of that offense.”
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Last year, the ’Bows won seven of eight games against San Jose State and Nevada. “We lost one game, and dropped 30 spots,” Trapasso said. “That’s ridiculous. … You try to avoid that scenario by playing teams that are doing well. Now the key is to root for all the teams we just played in the non-conference to go off and win a lot of games.”
