HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i baseball team opens up Big West Conference play with Long Beach State at Les Murakami Stadium Mar. 19-21. The series is the first series of the season for the Dirtbags and the fourth for the Rainbow Warriors. Due to state and county guidelines, fan attendance is prohibited at Les Murakami Stadium.
 

HAWAI'I (8-2, 0-0 Big West) vs Long Beach State (0-0, 0-0 Big West)
Date | Time				Friday, March 19 at 6:35 p.m. HT; Saturday (DH), March 20 at 1:05 p.m. HT; Sunday, March 21 at 1:05 p.m. HT
Location				Honolulu, O'ahu - Les Murakami Stadium
Television				Spectrum Sports
Live Stream				BigWest.tv
Radio				ESPN Honolulu (Friday), CBS 1500 (Saturday and Sunday) | Sideline Hawaii App
Live Stats				Hawaii Athletics
Game Notes				Hawai'i | Long Beach State
Social Media				@HawaiiBaseball  | #HawaiiBSB | @HawaiiBSB  | Facebook

 

PROBABLE ROTATION
HAWAI'I								LONG BEACH STATE
Name				Yr.		(Rec., ERA)	DAY	Name	Yr.		(Rec., ERA)
Aaron Davenport				So.	RHP	(1-0, 1.35)	Fri.	Alfredo Ruiz	So.	LHP	(0-0, 0.00)
Cade Halemanu				So.	RHP	(1-0, 3.55)	Sat. (1)	Luis Ramirez	Fr.	RHP	(0-0, 0.00)
Austin Teixeira				Fr.	LHP	(2-0, 0.00)	Sat. (2)	Jack Noble	So.	RHP	(0-0, 0.00)
Logan Pouelsen				Sr.	RHP	(1-0, 0.00)	Sun.	TBA			(0-0, 0.00)

HEAD COACH MIKE TRAPASSO
Overall record: 520-507 (20th season)
At Hawai'i: same

SERIES VS LONG BEACH STATE
Overall record: 20-8, Long Beach State
Under Trapasso: 19-7, Long Beach State
Streak: Long Beach State, 3

FIRST PITCH

• Hawai'i ranks 9th in the nation in batting average (.325) and leads the Big West following a series at ASU and two series' against DII teams.
• The Rainbow Warriors have turned the 12th most double plays per game in the country (1.00).
• Hawai'i has allowed the 8th fewest walks per nine innings in the country (2.45).
• Three Rainbow Warriors have hit streaks of eight games or longer (Best, 13gm; Fogel, 9gm; Kaler, 8gm).
• Scotty Scott ranks sixth in the country in hit by pitch per game (0.75) and ranks 17th in hit by pitch (6). Dallas Duarte ranks 38th with 5 HBP.
• Alex Baeza hit a home run in the sixth inning of the series finale with Hawaii Hilo and was replaced at first base by Safea Villaruz-Mauai who hit a home run in the following inning.
• Safea Villaruz-Mauai hit his first collegiate home run on Sunday, an opposite field home run to right field, considered to be extremely rare at LMS.
• Hawai'i has wond five straight home games for the first time since 2015 and is on their longest win streak (7) since 2017.
• Hawai'i won an away game at a ranked non-conference opponent for the second year in a row (Vanderbilt in 2020) when the Rainbow Warriors topped #15 Arizona State to open the 2021 season.
• Konnor Palmeira hit his first collegiate home run in his first collegiate at-bat (0-1 count) at Arizona State.
• Aaron Davenport was named a preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Davenport ranked 2nd in the country in wins (4-0) in 2020 and had a 2.15 ERA. 
• Hawai'i has 18 local players on its roster in 2021.

NCAA EXTENDS EXTRA YEAR TO SPRING SPORTS ATHLETES

All returning college players were granted an additional year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic that ended the 2020 season six weeks into the season. All NCAA athletes (D-I, D-II and D-III), and junior college athletes keep their athletic standing from the 2020 season. Thus a freshman in 2020 is a freshman in 2021. A redshirt junior in 2020 stays a redshirt junior in 2021. 

Hawai'i has decided to label all athletes as their athletic eligibility rather than advance their eligibility or add on additional confusing language such as "second-year freshman" or "sixth-year junior."

Incoming freshmen are as listed, freshmen. 

HOMEGROWN TALENT
Head coach Mike Trapasso has built a strong contingent of talent from the Hawaiian islands, and brought in some of the top names from the 2020 class, including the second-ranked recruit in the state. In total, 18 of the teams' 37 roster spots are Hawai'i high school graduates, 10 of which are from O'ahu.
 

NAME	HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL	YEAR	POS.
Bubba Akana	Honolulu, O'ahu (Saint Francis)	Fr.	INF
Tai Atkins	Kohala, Hawai'i (KS-Hawaii)	Fr.	LHP/OF
Naighel Calderon	Lanai City, Lanai (Lanai)	Fr.	OF
Matt Campos	Waipahu, O'ahu ('Iolani)	Jr.	INF
Nainoa Cardinez	Kapa'a, Kaua'i (Kapa'a)	Fr.	C/UTL
Dallas Duarte	Ke'eu, Hawai'i (KS-Hawai'i)	So.	C
Tyler Dyball	Honolulu, O'ahu (Kaiser)	Fr.	RHP
Cade Halemanu	Pearl City, O'ahu (Pearl City)	So.	RHP
Blake Hiraki	Honolulu, O'ahu ('Iolani)	Fr.	C
Trevor Ichimura	Honolulu, O'ahu ('Iolani)	Fr.	RHP
Jacob Igawa	Hilo, Hawai'i (Waiakea)	So.	UTL
Stone Miyao	Hilo, Hawai'i (Waiakea)	Fr.	INF
Konnor Palmeira	Kahalui, Maui (KS-Maui)	Fr.	C/UTL
Li'i Pontes	Honolulu, O'ahu (KS-Kapalama)	So.	RHP
Austin Teixeira	Waimanalo, O'ahu (Saint Louis)	Fr.	LHP/OF
Aaron Ujimori	Honolulu, O'ahu ('Iolani)	Fr.	INF
Safea Villaruz-Mauai	Hilo, Hawai'i (Waiakea)	Fr.	INF
Matt Wong	Honolulu, O'ahu (Saint Louis)	Jr.	OF

 





















DOLLARS FOR DOUBLES

• The University of Hawai'i Athletics and 'Ahahui Koa Ānuenue are inviting fans this year to make a "Dollars for Doubles" pledge for the 2021 baseball season.
• Although attendance at games is not possible due to COVID19 rules, this initiative provides an alternate way to cheer on the Rainbow Warriors from home while also supporting UH Athletics at the same time.
• Make your pledge here.

Complete game notes »