In the Hawaii baseball team’s bullpen, there is a string that is stretched across the plate, a foot high from the ground.
“It’s just the string that we put at the bottom of the (strike) zone to give some visual feedback,” UH coach Mike Trapasso said of a pitcher’s target level during warm-ups. “College players are visual learners due to our phones and computers and televisions. You want (the pitch) to be right there. Hit the string. That’s where you want every pitch to go.”
Despite lowering the bar, UH’s starting pitchers are missing their goal of a quality start: seven innings, three or fewer runs.
In the first eight games, no Rainbow Warrior starting hurler has lasted longer than 51⁄3 innings. They have a combined earned-run average of 5.51, and a WHIP of 1.57. They average 64.5 pitches and face 19.5 batters per start.
“The closest we’ve come (to a quality start) is JY on opening night,” Trapasso said of left-hander Jeremy Wu-Yelland, who allowed three runs in 51⁄3 innings in the season opener. “We’ll get there. It starts with what makes us successful, and that’s getting ahead of the count and being down in the zone.”
The inconsistency has led to Dylan Thomas being named the starting pitcher on Saturday, the second game of the four-game series against Longwood at Les Murakami Stadium. Thomas, who led the Big West with 14 saves last year, was announced as the season-opening pitcher before he was scratched because of a recurring blister on the middle finger of his right (pitching) hand. On Sunday, Thomas pitched five innings of relief, allowing one run and striking out nine.
Trapasso said it was “pretty apparent” Thomas needed to join the starting rotation. “We haven’t had a quality start in eight (games), and he’s our best strike thrower,” Trapasso said. “It’s not the ideal situation. If you’re getting quality starts and you’ve got a guy like Dylan, an All-American, in the bullpen to close things out, that’s the preference. But for right now, it’s apparent we need to have a mature presence and a strike thrower who can try and give us six innings, or 90 pitches that doesn’t end up being four innings.”
The ’Bows have had spurts of effective pitching. Last week, Wu-Yelland pitched five hitless and scoreless innings despite surrendering five walks. Li‘i Pontes pitched five shutout innings of relief. But except for Thomas, UH pitchers appear to struggle after facing batters the second or third time.
Opponents are hitting .200 against Aaron Davenport the first time, but .381 the second and third times. For Dominic DeMiero, the escalation is .125 and then .333. For Pontes, it is .058 and then .235.
“That’s the key,” Trapasso said. “If you want to be a starter, you’ve got to give us three times through the order. You have to give us 90 to 100 pitches strong. You can’t lose focus. It’s really a matter of focusing on technique when you get tired. Whenever you’re tired, whenever you’re fatigued, that’s when you have to lean on your technique. And lean on the trust of your training. We haven’t done that. I definitely think it’s a product of trying to do too much with our starters. We’ve been too quick on our delivery, and it’s getting us out of whack. We’re throwing too many pitches and walking too many guys. It’s really about breathing and focusing on technique.”
NCAA BASEBALL
>> Who: Longwood (3-5) vs. Hawaii (3-5)
>> When: 6:35 p.m. Friday, 1:05 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 6:35 p.m. Tuesday
>> Where: Les Murakami Stadium
>> TV: Spectrum Sports on Friday, Tuesday
>> Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM
PITCHING WITH PURPOSE
Batting averages through batting order
Pitcher First 2nd/3rd
>> Li‘i Pontes .058 .235
>> Dominic DeMiero .125 .333
>> Logan Pouelsen .125 .400
>> Jeremy Wu-Yelland .143 .174
>> Aaron Davenport .200 381
>> Dylan Thomas .250 .000
>> Kash Koltermann .375 .222
