University of Hawaii baseball team will welcome back family, friends

Book ’em, Rainbows.

Several family members and close friends of the University of Hawaii baseball team were making arrangements to attend this weekend’s series against UC San Diego at Les Murakami Stadium.

This will be the first UH-hosted sporting event of the 2020-21 academic year that spectators will be allowed to attend. Tickets will be limited to Major League Baseball scouts, and family and close friends of the players and coaches.

On Monday, Gov. David Ige and Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi made the joint announcement to lift COVID-19 restrictions prohibiting friends and family from attending sporting events held outdoors. After a Tuesday morning meeting, UH officials announced this final home series of the season would be open to a limited number of spectators.

“First and foremost, we’re about families,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said. “It allows the moms and dads — the forgotten folks in the success of these players in any program — to see our last home series. It’s great. I’m happy for them.”

The past two UH road trips, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge restricted attendance to only family members of their players and coaches. UH officials decided to offer tickets to families of the UCSD program.

“The reality is we discussed it and realized just because other schools (did not offer tickets) to us, it doesn’t mean we have to reciprocate (the omissions),” Trapasso said. “We’re better than that. (Giving UCSD) tickets is the right thing to do. I’m very appreciative of that.”

Soon after Trapasso announced the new policy, several mainland-reared players were calling their parents.

“They’re working on (travel plans) right now,” said pitcher Logan Pouelsen, who grew up in California. “If everything holds up, it’ll be special with the last game at the Les this year.”

Jose Baeza, whose son Alex Baeza is UH’s starting first baseman, traveled from Utah to Northridge to watch last week’s series — from outside Matador Field.

“That was frustrating because we were literally staring through the fence,” said Jose Baeza, who was “scrambling to figure out how to work (the travel) out” for this weekend.

At the end of Sunday’s series finale, Alex Baeza and six teammates will be honored as graduates expected to depart the program. Baeza is expected to start this weekend after sitting out the CSUN series because of a hamstring issue.

For home games this year, the parents of freshman pitcher Austin Teixeira watched games on a hill behind the wall in center field. “They made food, and ate between games (of Saturday doubleheaders), and had fun out there,” Teixeira said.

He said his family is looking forward to a new view. “That’s what they were waiting for the whole time, to come in and watch it in the stadium,” said Teixeira, who is scheduled to pitch on Saturday.