The Hawaii baseball team did not have time for the pain.
Less than 48 hours after falling short against Long Beach State on Sunday, the Rainbow Warriors are set to open an eight-game road trip against Santa Clara today at Stephen Schott Stadium on the SCU campus.
During this two-week trip, the ’Bows will play three-game series against the Big West’s top two teams, beginning with Cal Poly on Friday and UC Irvine the following weekend. To remain fresh, the ’Bows were able to schedule midweek games against Santa Clara today and USC a week from now.
UH coach Rich Hill said it is “challenging” to schedule midweek games at Les Murakami Stadium. The ’Bows already have played three Tuesday games against local Division II schools. Big West teams regularly schedule midweek games against California Division I programs.
“Scheduling a Tuesday game (on Oahu) is virtually impossible,” Hill said. “We decided as long as we’re going to take a two-week trip, go a day early and play Santa Clara.”
The ’Bows are expected to go with a “staff” approach in which multiple pitchers will be used. Starting pitchers Itsuki Takemoto, Liam O’Brien and Cooper Walls probably will be held out until the Cal Poly series. The ’Bows will have at least 10 pitchers available to play today.
In their last Tuesday game a week ago, Hill went with most of the usual starting lineup. The intent, Hill said, was to keep the offense in “rhythm.”
Santa Clara coach Rusty Filter and Hill have known each other for several years.
“A lot of respect for him with what he did at the University of San Diego and what he’s currently doing with Hawaii,” Filter said. “Any chance we get to play teams outside of our area, especially midweek, is pretty rare. We’re excited for the opportunity to compete with them and see what happens on Tuesday.”
Santa Clara right-hander Josh Johnson has recovered from an undisclosed injury and will be making his first appearance this season. After transferring from College of Southern Nevada in August 2023, he appeared in 18 games for the Broncos last season, all in relief.
“He’ll be an opener,” Filter said of Johnson’s starting assignment. “Just kind of based on how things go, we usually throw guys a couple innings (in midweek games). It’s not like one guy per inning as some teams do. But it can go that route. That’s kind of an in-game decision. We’ve got a lot of guys available who have been waiting for opportunities, and that’s what Tuesdays are for.”
Filter said first baseman Dylan Joyce, shortstop Ben Cleary, third baseman Thomas Ferroggiaro, and left fielder Mateo Garcia “play every game, no matter what. And then we rotate the other four (positions) and the designated hitter.”
At 13-15 overall and 2-4 in the West Coast Conference, Filter said, “we’re trying to find our rhythm. The consistency is one thing we haven’t been able to do. … We’ve got a lot of new players to Division I baseball. We’ve got 17 new players. … I like my team. I like my players. I think we have the talent. We just haven’t been able to get acclimated to the Division I level as quickly as I would have liked.”
RAINBOW WARRIOR BASEBALL
At Stephen Schott Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
HAWAII (22-8) vs SANTA CLARA (13-15)
>> When: Today at 3 p.m.
>> TV: None
>> Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
>> Streaming: ESPN+
