University of Hawaii calls on Tyler Dyball and Cameron Hagan to close season

There are 16 regular-season games remaining, but the University of Hawaii baseball team’s end game is evident.

UH head coach Mike Trapasso, who coordinates the ’Bows’ pitching, has anointed Tyler Dyball and Cameron Hagan as closers.

Dyball, a third-year freshman, is on a roll of saves in three consecutive appearances. Hagan, who transferred from Chemeketa College in August, tops the ’Bows with 11 relief appearances, including a seven-out closeout against UC Davis on Sunday.

Trapasso said Dyball’s ascension to late-inning work “is a really good story.”

As a Kaiser High senior, Dyball’s fastball clocked in the mid-to-high 80s. But with a 6-foot-2 frame and a cross-fire motion, Dyball showed promise — and an unpredictable future. He redshirted in 2019, and struggled in the final game of the abbreviated 2020 season. “He looked a little nervous and in awe of Oregon,” Trapasso said.

During the offseason, Dyball gained confidence in his two-seam fastball — and the ’Bows, in turn, gained confidence in Dyball. Dyball, a right-hander, throws a two-seamer that breaks and then sinks toward a right-handed batter and away from a lefty. It is a pitch that mirrors the path of a left-handed pitcher’s hard slider. At up to 91 mph, his fastball sets up his secondary pitches. This season, Dyball is holding left-handed batters to a .222 average and righties to .194.

Five of Dyball’s nine appearances have come in relief of ace Aaron Davenport. By design or not, Dyball’s menu contrasts to Davenport’s four-seam fastball and high-spin curve. “I play off of Davenport,” Dyball said.

“If you told me a year ago I’d be throwing this kid into games with a two-run lead in a Friday game, I don’t think I’d believe you,” Trapasso said. “It’s a tribute to him. … It reminds you that kids grow and mature, not just physically but emotionally.”

Dyball has had only one shaky appearance this year, giving up three runs in an inning against UC Irvine on March 28. But he has not relinquished an earned run in four subsequent appearances. Trapasso marveled at Dyball’s poise and forward thinking.

“If you watch ‘Ted Lasso,’ my favorite show, he said the shortest memory is the goldfish,” Trapasso said in a Zoom call with reporters. “You need your closer to be a goldfish. Tyler is that way. … You’ve got to forget your past performance, good or bad.”

Hagan, a 6-foot-5 right-hander, also throws a two-seam fastball that befuddles left-handed hitters. “Hagan’s (fastball) is a power sinker,” Trapasso said. “Same thing (as Dyball’s). They both have had success against lefties because that two-seamer is running away, which (lefties) don’t like.”

There also appears to be a heaviness to Hagan’s pitches, especially when he targets the lower part of the zone. He is inducing an average of 1.4 ground outs per inning. His WHIP is 0.93.

“I think Cam has a really bright future,” Trapasso said, “His upside is almost scary. I’m excited about what we’re going to see out of him the next couple years.”