For the Hawaii baseball team, the second phase is more challenging than the first.
A week after splitting a four-games series against 2022 College World Series champion Ole Miss, the Rainbow Warriors play host to 13th-ranked North Carolina State for three games beginning tonight at Les Murakami Stadium.
“More physical,” UH coach Rich Hill said. “Front-line pitching is going to be a little more polished. It’s a tremendous test. Probably the biggest test of the year.”
In the season-opening series, the ’Bows received a spark from several freshmen. Elijah Ickes, who played shortstop and third, hit .556 with a .714 on-base percentage. He is 40th nationally with six runs scored. Right-hander Zacary Tenn, who redshirted last year after suffering an elbow injury, worked out of a bases-loaded jam. Isaiah Magdaleno took a no-hitter into the fifth inning of a seven-inning game. And Itsuki Takemoto struck out six in three scoreless innings.
“I think the story of (last) weekend was our freshmen, starting with Elijah Ickes,” Hill said. “He leads our team in hitting with really impressive ABs. A lot of two-strike hits. He really knew the strike zone. He played great defense. On the bases, played a couple different positions. It starts with him.”
The Wolfpack won two of three against Viriginia Commonwealth to open their season. Ryan Marohn, a highly regarded left-handed freshman, allowed two hits and struck out eight in five scoreless innings. There was little doubt Marohn would honor his commitment to NC State. But, just in case, the Cleveland Guardians used a pick in the 20th — and last — round of the MLB draft on Marohn. NC State coach Elliott Avent assigned Marohn jersey No. 20 for motivation.
Sam Highfill also pitched well in his start, allowing a hit and a run.
Avent acknowledged the Wolfpack are deep in pitching. “All are good with what they do,” Avent said. “We have to figure out a way to put them in a place to make them effective. That’s our puzzle right now that we’re looking at. We have a lot of guys who like to play and compete. It’s going to be fun to put this together.”
Avent has ties to the ’Bows’ program. As Team USA coaches in 2004, Avent and former UH head coach Mike Trapasso were roommates. Avent and Hill were on the Team USA staff in 2015. Former ’Bow Kenny Harrison’s son Kalae Harrison played for the Wolfpack last season. NC State played UH in the 2017 season-opening series.
“And our players just fell in love with the island,” Avent said. “They still tell stories of how much fun they had here.”
The Wolfpack arrived on Tuesday. The next morning, Avent said, “I woke up looking at Diamond Head and having a cup of Hawaiian coffee. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
And then it did. “I went downstairs and got some Portuguese sausage and POG juice,” he said. “This is a beautiful place.”
Last week, Avent earned his 1,000th career victory as NC State’s head coach. “I think we’ve had like a thousand players here when I count up the years,” he said. “What it makes you do is reflect on all the players and the coaches and staff and so many people that put a lot of hard work and commitment and time into this thing. It makes you do a lot of reflection, and that’s the nicest part.”
But of all the victories and titles, Avent’s best memory came during disappointment. In June 2021, the Wolfpack were disqualified from the College World Series because of COVID-19 protocols. It was a handful of vaccinated players and managers who experienced symptoms.
“The players were devastated,” Avent said. “We got told about 1 in the morning. We called the players down at 1:30 and told them. There wasn’t a dry eye or a smile for the next 24 hours as we gathered ourselves together.”
They traveled back to their campus at Raleigh, N.C.
“Unannounced and unbeknownst to us, there were like 2,000 people waiting for us at the stadium,” Avent said. “We got back pretty late. It was like 9, 9:30. They turned the lights on and the fans were in the stands applauding this teams as they walked off the bus and onto the field. That was probably the most memorable thing. It wasn’t a win or a game, but it was for all those players who were crushed about being sent home.”
NCAA BASEBALL
At Les Murakami Stadium
NORTH CAROLINA STATE (2-1) AT HAWAII (2-2)
>> When: 6:35 tonight and tomorrow night; 1:05 p.m. on Sunday
>> TV: Spectrum Sports tonight
>> Radio: 1500-AM Friday, Saturday; 1420-AM Sunday
