Who’s on third? University of Hawaii baseball team running low on bodies

JAMM AQUINO/ MARCH 7
UH third baseman Matt Campos will likely need surgery on his hand. Campos was filling in for Dustin Demeter, who can hit but hasn’t taken the field yet.

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JAMM AQUINO/ MARCH 7

UH third baseman Matt Campos will likely need surgery on his hand. Campos was filling in for Dustin Demeter, who can hit but hasn’t taken the field yet.

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The University of Hawaii baseball team will convene a committee approach to cover the depleted situation at third base.

On Friday, third baseman Matt Campos suffered a hand injury that is likely to require surgery. Campos had been filling in for Dustin Demeter, who had missed 13 games because of a sprained toe and sprained foot. Against Cal State Bakersfield, Demeter returned as a pinch hitter on Friday and designated hitter the remaining three games of the series. Demeter went 7-for-15 with five RBIs.

UH coach Mike Trapasso said there is hope Demeter will be able to play the hot corner again this season. “I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility,” Trapasso said. “He’s just not there yet.”

Aaron Ujimori, who opened the season splitting time at second with Stone Miyao, has played several games at third. Konnor Palmeira started three games at third against CSUB. Catcher Nainoa Cardinez also can play third. Trapasso said Bubba Akana will be added to the 30-player active list for this weekend’s series against UC Davis at Les Murakami Stadium. Freshman Kenji Suzuki would have been the third-base option. But Suzuki underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a season-ending elbow injury in January.

Campos met with a hand specialist on Monday to evaluate the broken hamate bone.

“He was playing well,” Trapasso said of Campos. “He’s our second third baseman to go down. Obviously, that’s tough. I just feel bad for him. He’s a senior. You couldn’t ask for a better kid. You couldn’t ask for more from somebody who shows up every day with a smile on his face and works his tail off. For the first time in three years, he was playing regularly.”

Campos, a 2016 ‘Iolani School graduate, played two seasons for San Francisco before transferring to UH. He redshirted in 2019 in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. He played in eight games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Left-handed pitcher Brandon Ross also was to be extensively evaluated after re-injuring his pitching elbow in Sunday’s game. There is possibility Ross will not pitch the rest of this season.

Trapasso said center fielder Matt Wong also will not play this season. Wong suffered a torn ACL last year. There had been hope he would be able to play late this season. But now it appears Wong will focus on being fully healthy for the 2022 season.