It appears a baseball “business trip” also can be about fun and games (and study halls).
“It’s the time of these guys’ lives,” Hawaii head coach Rich Hill said of the Rainbow Warriors’ eight-game, 14-day road trip. “If you can imagine being on the road with your brothers, meal money, restaurants, lifting weights, playing baseball, playing cards, ‘Mafia’ (game) in the back of the bus. It’s a very good space in time these guys are in.”
Fresh off Tuesday’s 5-4 comeback victory over USC, the ’Bows face UC Irvine today in the opener of a key three-game series at Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark. Both head coaches prioritize own-the-zone pitching, opportunistic at bats, and the lessons of legendary coach Mike Gillespie. Gillespie, who won 1,156 games at USC and UC Irvine, served as mentor to Hill and UCI head coach Ben Orloff. Gillespie died at age 80 in 2020.
“Coach Gillespie is a very huge influence on my life, for sure, as a young coach,” said Hill, who knew Gillespie through coaching in the Southern California area.
Orloff is a former UCI player and associate coach who was promoted following Gillespie’s retirement in 2018.
“Coach Gillespie was the best in-game coach I’ve ever seen,” Hill said. “And Ben is right along with him. He’s an extremely talented coach. I joke with him all the time. I just want him to get another job in the SEC and become a millionaire and get out of the Big West. He laughs at that.”
When the ’Bows’ attempted steal of home triggered a game-winning balk against UC Davis, Hill recalled, “I got a text from (Orloff). He said ‘Coach Gillespie would have loved it.’”
Orloff said playing under and coaching with Gillespie “was the best MasterClass you could ever take on how to be a coach and how to see a game. His last locker name plate I keep next to my computer as a reminder of being a coach. In terms of stylistically how we play, that’s me through a lot of stuff learned from him.”
Orloff and batting coach JT Bloodworth have emphasized being able to “impact the ball.” Shortstop Colin Yeaman, who transferred from College of the Canyons in August, has a slash line of .421/.511/.786. Of his 61 hits, 27 have gone for extra bases, including 11 home runs.
“For 34 games, he’s been one of the best players in America,” Orloff said.
Center fielder Jacob McCombs is hitting .406 with eight home runs. “We played against him last year when he was at San Diego State,” Orloff said of McCombs, who also transferred to UCI in August. “We knew about him as a high-school guy. We didn’t recruit him nearly as hard as we should have. We we were fortunate when he went into the portal, and we got a second chance.”
First baseman Anthony Martinez has recovered from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the lineup for eight games. In three seasons, he averages 1.24 RBIs per game.
“He’s never come off the bench for us,” Orloff said of Martinez’s 140 career starts. “He’s a consistent RBI threat because Yeaman and (center fielder Frankie) Carney are on base over .500. He’s always coming up with guys on base. He doesn’t strike out. He can impact the ball. He can hit with two strikes. Those are all good recipes to drive in runs.”
Five weeks ago, Orloff and pitching coach Daniel Bibona rotated the pitching rotation. Riley Kelly is 4-0 with a 1.46 ERA in five starts as the new series-opening pitcher. At 6-5 and 230 pounds, Kelly has a 94-mph fastball and high-spin curve. “He’s our best pro prospect on the pitching side,” Orloff said.
Trevor Hansen moves up a day in the rotation to No. 2, and left-handed Ryder Brooks has mystified batters with a low-slot motion.
The ’Bows also have tweaked their three-man rotation. While Itsuki Takemoto will start the opener and Cooper Walls the finale, Sebastian Gonzalez replaces Liam O’Brien in Friday’s start. In the last four starts, O’Brien has allowed nine earned runs and 15 walks in 10 games. Against Cal Poly last weekend, he exited after throwing two strikes in 16 pitches. He walked the first three batters, exited after falling behind 2-1 in the count, and eventually was credited with four walks.
“Work in progress,” Hill said of O’Brien. “He’s got that electric arm. We’ll have to see with the flow of the weekend where he fits in.”
First baseman Ben Zeigler-Namoa has been on a tear, hitting safely in 16 of 17 games. On Tuesday, Zeigler-Namoa hit a solo homer in the third and then the go-ahead, two-run single in the ninth.
“He’s a Cape League all-star,” Hill said. “He gained a lot of confidence coming into this year. The ball’s coming off his bat differently. I think that’s a sign of physical maturity. He’s a late bloomer. He’s grown into his body. He’s gotten a lot stronger with Coach Tommy (Heffernan). He’s bought into the mental game big time. It’s been his time to shine. Just the natural progression of things.”
RAINBOW BASEBALL
At Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark
Hawaii (25-10, 10-8 Big West) vs. UC Irvine (25-9, 13-2 BW)
>> Schedule: 3 p.m. today, Friday; 10 a.m. Saturday
>> TV: None
>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
>> Streaming: ESPN+
