The Hawaii baseball team hopes to unveil a more effective pitching staff and speedier lineup for tonight’s season opener against UH Hilo.

First pitch is at 6:35 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.

During fall training, the UH hurlers were throwing strikes on 75% of their pitches. In preseason training, Logan Pouelsen and Aaron Davenport have been the most consistent. Pouelsen gets the start tonight, Davenport on Saturday.

It will be the first series-opening start in Pouelsen’s four seasons as a Rainbow Warriors. It also completes his comeback from an elbow injury that wiped out his senior season with Huntington Beach (Calif.) High in 2016. Pouelsen underwent Tommy John surgery at the famed Cedar-Sinai Kerland-Jobe Institute.

“I never thought I wouldn’t be able to do anything again,” Pouelsen recalled of his post-op optimism.

Pouelsen proved to be an effective two-way player in his first three UH seasons. In the fall, he retired his bat, and focused solely on pitching.

“Putting everything toward pitching and my craft, it’s a lot different,” Pouelsen said. “It’s nice.”

Head coach Mike Trapasso, who doubles as pitching coach, noted Pouelsen had three of the ’Bows’ top five outings last season. Pouelsen allowed an earned run in seven innings against Ohio State and Cal Poly, and pitched six scoreless innings against UC Santa Barbara.

“It showed that’s a role he can play well,” Trapasso said. “He picked up in the fall where he left off in the spring. He’s just mature. His stuff is always there now that he’s a few years post surgery.”

Before the injury, Pouelsen’s fastball was up to 95 mph. He has regained that velocity, hitting 94 mph consistently this year.

“Whatever the stuff is on any given day, there’s four-pitch command,” Trapasso said of Pouelsen’s repertoire of fastballs, curveballs, sliders and change-ups. “He’s very composed. He has a lot of poise. He’s a legit Friday-night guy as far as four-pitch command, all of which is good stuff.”

Pouelsen said he adheres to Trapasso’s edict. “Pound the zone,” Pouelsen said. “Try to get guys out. Have the defense behind me help me. As long as we do that, everything will go as planned and we’ll have a pretty good year.”

Trapasso said the other 14 pitchers will be available as relievers this weekend. The most intriguing is Jeremy Wu-Yelland, a junior left-hander whose fastball has been clocked at 97 mph. Not counting an inning in which he surrendered five runs, Wu-Yelland had a 1.49 ERA and averaged 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings in the 2019 Cape Cod Summer League.

The pitchers will be supported by a defense that is strong down the middle. Catcher Dallas Duarte is skilled in receiving, throwing and blocking. Shortstop Kole Kaler is a steady fielder. Aaron Ujimori and Stone Miyao have range at second. Center fielder Matt Wong has mastered the cross winds and wide alleys at Murakami Stadium.

“It should be a good defensive club,” Trapasso said.

Trapasso also said there is “speed up and down the lineup.”

He added: “We don’t have the type of speed to go out and steal 75 bases. We do have the type of speed that can be very aggressive on a (pitch) in the dirt, and can be very aggressive first to third. So that’s the type of speed we need to focus on.”