University of Hawaii 2013 Baseball Preview

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UNIV

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HAWAII

2013PREVIEW

Hanging out before school onemorning, Piikea Kitamura de-cided to call Hawaii coach MikeTrapasso with some good news.

I was getting ready to go toclass (at Kamehameha) and Icalled him and committed, Kita-mura recalled. He laughed andsaid, If it wasnt 8 in the morn-ing, Id pop a beer right now.

Trapasso knew right away se-curing a commitment from thetwo-time All-InterscholasticLeague of Honolulu infielderwas worth celebrating.

One conversation was all ittook for the coach to see thepotential.

From Day 1, all you had to dowas meet Piikea, Trapasso said.The very first time I sat downand talked with him you couldsee that character, you could seethat toughness, you could seethat desire to succeed.

All of that was tested after Ki-tamuras sophomore year.

Despite the team winning aWestern Athletic Conferencetournament title and a regular-season title in his first twoyears, Kitamura wasnt happy.

The Rainbows failed to earn arepeat bid to the NCAA tourna-ment in 2011 and only a run ofnine hits in his final 16 at-batskept him from finishing the sea-son hitting below .200.

When the teams season

ended in the WAC tournamentin Mesa, Ariz., he decided totake the summer off and returnhome, where he rediscoveredhimself as a baseball player.

That was probably the mostfailure Id ever experienced on abaseball field, Kitamura said. Istepped away from it, clearedmy head, cleared my thoughts,

and tried to take all the thinkingout of it.

Knowing hed move to short-stop for his junior year, he alsodropped 20 pounds, dedicatinghimself to both conditioningand the weight room.

As a result, he became a fix-ture last season as the teams No.3 hitter and was one of only twoBows to finish the year hittingover .300, raising his average 103points to a career-best .311.

While UHs offense sputtereddown the stretch, Kitamura didall he could to keep UH afloat.He ended the season on a nine-game hitting streak in which hereached base 16 times in 40plate appearances.

Hes been a special player,Trapasso said. Hes reached apoint where hes not just ourleader from an inspirational andmotivational standpoint, but heleads by example because no-body outworks him, and whenyou put in that kind of workethic and youre performing likehe has, the leadership reallycarries value.

One of two players remainingfrom the 2010 team that went tothe NCAA regional final inTempe, Ariz., Kitamura is draw-ing upon those experiences toeducate the new group of Rain-bows.

The stories I can tell about

guys like Kolten (Wong), Greg(Garcia) and Sam (Spangler) tothese young guys I think reallyhelps, Kitamura said.

And like Wong, Garcia andSpangler before him, Kitamurasstory will one day serve to in-spire a future group of Rain-bows.

If it doesnt already.

WEDNESDAY

2 /13 /13

KITAMURA

CAREER

NUM

BERS

YEAR

AVG.

GP-

GS

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

2010

.241

62-

61

216

27

52

4

2

1

28

2011

.208

58-

57

192

37

40

9

1

1

33

2012

.311

55-

55

206

30

64

9

1

0

29

TOTAL

.254

175-1

73

614

94

156

22

4

2

90

PIIKEA

3BSENIOR

FIRST OF 3 PARTS

By Billy [email protected]


2/6


When asked what his starting lineup would beto begin the season, Hawaii coach Mike Tra-passo has a different answer this year.

Depends on the starting pitcher, he said.The 2013 Hawaii baseball team, especially on

the infield, could field two completely differentlineups depending on righty-lefty matchups asthe season gets under way Friday against No. 6Oregon at Les Murakami Stadium.

In 2012, four different positions, includingshortstop and second base, had the same playerstart all 55 games in that spot.

Throw in third base, where Collin Bennett

played all but once, and UHs starting lineuprarely fluctuated.

We knew we needed more depth and moreleft-handed hitters because we didnt have it lastyear, Trapasso said. We wore down by the endof the year.

Expect that to change this season, as UH is ca-pable of playing as many as three different guysat different spots.

Senior Piikea Kitamura, who moves back tothird base to start the year, is the one playerfirmly entrenched as a starter at either thirdor short.

Outside of that, Trapasso is capable of playingany number of combinations, with up to 11 play-ers in differentspots.

At leastearly in theseason, wehave the depth togo with a different lineupagainst a left-handed pitcherthan a right-handed pitcher and thenthose spots will play itself out, Trapasso said.

Sophomore Stephen Ventimilia started everygame at second in 2012 and hit .293, leading theteam with 42 runs, 34 walks and 17 stolen bases.

But even his spot could change, as freshman An-dre Real provides a potent bat from the right side.

Ventimilia, who played summer ball for theWenatchee AppleSox in the West Coast League,had his offseason stunted by a lower back issuethat began last summer.

There are aspects where I may be a little be-

hind and Im going to have to make the adjust-ment but theres no excuses anymore, Ventimiliasaid. The season is here and its time to step up.

UH could potentially go three deep at catcher,where Trevor Podratz is the only returnee tohave started a game behind the plate.

Punahou graduate Tyler Young transferredfrom Cal State Monterey Bay, where he started70 games and hit .286 as a sophomore. Redshirtfreshman Alan Baldwin, a Kailua alumnus whocan also play outfield, is also available to catch.

UH struggled to get offensive production outof the first base spot last year. Trapasso hopeshe addressed that with the additions of junior-college transfers Marc Flores and Jerry Kleman.

Returnee Max Duval has had a strong showing

in the fall and spring and is also a valuable assetdefensively, where he committed just two errorsand posted a .995 fielding percentage as a junior.

Junior Austin Wobrock is a plus defender atshortstop and freshman LJ Brewster is anotherguy making it tough to figure out how to get allthe deserving players opportunities, Trapassosaid. The hardest job I might have is finding aplace for LJ Brewster because hes a freshmanwere very high on, Trapasso said. Getting himsome playingtime is some-thing Illhave towork at.

JUGGLING ACT

1Home run hit by a UH firstbaseman last season. Fourdifferent players com-bined to hit .188 (31-for-165) in that spot in 2012.

37Walks drawn by second basemanStephen Ventimilia, which ranked99th in the country. Ventimilia wassecond on the team as a freshmanwith a .399 on-base percentage.

9Piikea Kitamuras hitting streakheading into the season. Kitamurahit .351 (13-for-37) in the final ninegames after going 0-for-3 on May 5against New Mexico State.

STRENGTH

Hawaii lost seven of its final ninegames last year. Added depthacross the board should help keepthe Bows healthier and morerested come May.

WEAKNESS

Catcher and first base are two un-knowns heading into the year. CanPodratz stay healthy? Do they havea first baseman who can produceoffensively? Time will tell.

INF.257Hawaiis batting av-erage as a team in2012, which ranked247th out of 291teams.

2Returning starts at catcher forUH. Sophomore Trevor Podratzstarted twice behind the platelast year and spent the rest ofhis time as a designated hitter.

CATCHERS

NO. NAME B/T CL. HT. WT. HOMETOWN

39 Trevor Podratz .... ......R/R So. 5-11 235 Temecula, Calif.

26 Tyler Young. ...............R/R Jr. 5-10 180 Aiea6 Alan Baldwin ..............R/R Fr. 6-1 175 Kailua14 Greg Chavez..... ..........R/R Fr 6-1 175 Mission Viejo, Calif.

FIRST BASE

19 Marc Flores....... ..........L/R Jr. 6-4 225 King City, Calif.29 Max Duval...................R/R Sr. 6-5 235 San Luis Obispo, Calif.8 Jerry Kleman..............R/R Jr. 5-11 185 Mesa, Ariz.

SECOND BASE

5 Stephen Ventimilia ....L/R So. 5-8 170 Monterey, Calif.7 Andre Real........ ..........R/R Fr. 5-7 185 Villa Park, Calif.

SHORTSTOP

18 Austin Wobrock.... .....L/R Jr. 5-10 175 Costa Mesa, Calif.9 Piikea Kitamura ........R/R Sr. 6-0 195 Kaneohe8 Jerry Kleman..............R/R Jr. 5-11 185 Mesa, Ariz.

THIRD BASE

9 Piikea Kitamura ........R/R Sr. 6-0 195 Kaneohe22 LJ Brewster.................R/R Fr. 6-1 185 Huntington Beach, Calif.8 Jerry Kleman..............R/R Jr. 5-11 185 Mesa, Ariz.

BY T H E N U M B E R S

PHOTOS BY BRUCE ASATO / DESIGN BY BRYANT FUKUTOMI / STAR-ADVERTISER

Trevor

Podratz

Austin

Wobrock

Stephen

Ventimilia

Now AvailableIn Hawaii

Have a great season!Whether Its Baseball Or Beer, Hard Work + Passion = Success


3/6




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2013PREVIEW


Three years ago, KaleiHanawahine trotted off the fieldfor the final time as a freshman.

While Hawaii celebrated keep-ing its season alive, Hanawahinesyear was done after San Diegowas eliminated by the Rainbowsin an NCAA regional in Tempe,Ariz.

At that time, wearing UHsgreen and white colors seemedblasphemy. Hanawahine was hop-ing for another crack at the teamhe grew up watching.

I was still committed fully toUSD, Hanawahine said. I still feltthat extra motivation when yougo out there and play the home-town team.

Hanawahine was in left fieldwhen Piikea Kitamura was hit inthe ear with a pitch, forcing in aninth-inning run that gave UH itsfirst of two victories over theToreros in that regional.

The two were teammates atKamehameha on both the inter-mediate and varsity squads.

We played them once in theregular season at our place and Iremember watching the NCAA se-lection show waiting to see wherewe would end up, Hanawahinesaid. When we ended up withPiikea and the Bows it was prettyfun to experience my first post-season playing against UH.

While Hawaii went on to winthe WAC regular-season champi-onship the following year,

Hanawahines Toreros started off4-17.

His playing time diminished,and combined with the financialcosts at a school that is now$40,000 for out-of-state tuition,Hanawahine decided to make aphone call.

He contacted us that hewanted to come home and wewere happy to accommodatehim, Hawaii coach Mike Tra-passo said. We knew from play-ing against him three times hewas a good player.

Hanawahine tried to get awaiver from the NCAA to play lastyear but was denied a month be-fore the start of the season.

In practice, he was out thereevery day with his teammates.But for each of UHs 55 games,Hanawahine could only stand idlyby.

Its tough to just sit back in thedugout and watch my boys playevery night, Hanawahine said.Its definitely going to make thisyear that much more worth it.

After what has seemed like for-ever, Hanawahine will finally be

back on the field when the Rain-bows open the 2013 seasonagainst No. 6 Oregon.

Hell be the first starter in cen-ter field since 2011 not namedBreland Almadova, who gradu-ated from Iolani the same year asHanawahine and Kitamura did atKamehameha.

Teammates once again,Hanawahine currently lives withKitamura, who knows as well asanyone what his good friendbrings to the table.

I know hes pumped and heknows what prime time Division Ibaseball is like, Kitamura said.

Any athlete baseball player es-pecially who has been out ofthe game for a year, they are defi-nitely itching to get back in.

That he is a full 634 dayssince his last Division I game.

Friday: Pitchers

THURSDAY

2 /14 /13

HANAWAH

INE

KALEI

CAREER

NUM

BERS

AT

SAND

IEGO

YEAR

AVG.

GP-GS

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

2010

.310

43-14

71

9

22

1

1

0

10

2011

.217

32-13

60

6

13

1

1

0

6

TOTAL

.267

75-27

131

15

35

2

2

0

16

CFJUNIOR

SECOND OF 3 PARTS


4/6




After tearing through junior col-

lege at Rio Hondo (Calif.) for twoyears, Adam Hurley is ready to takeon Les Murakami Stadium.

Hurley is part of a recruiting classthe Rainbows signed after the end oflast season, when they finished247th out of 291 teams with a .257batting average.

The left-fielder was named a juniorcollege All-American after leadingthe Road Runners to both the leagueand regional titles. He led the entireFoothill Conference with 10 homersand a .619 slugging percentage andwas second in doubles with 16.

We brought him in to give ussome left-handed pop, which we did-

nt have, Hawaii coach Mike Tra-passo said.Hurley was first approached by as-

sistant coach Rusty McNamara andit didnt take much to convince himto enroll at Hawaii.

It was really a no-brainer, obvi-ously, Hurley said. Who wouldntwant to come out here and playbaseball? The program is good. Itwas an easy decision.

Hurley is solely a corner guy whilethe other outfielders are capable ofplaying any of the three positions.

Sophomore Kaeo Aliviado, whospent nearly all of his freshman yearin left, will move over to right to take

advantage of his dynamic arm thatrecorded seven outfield assists.With him, we told him defen-

sively, do what youve been doingbecause hes so valuable, Trapassosaid. From an offensive standpoint,its about consistency.

Aliviado was the only Rainbow tocollect four hits in a game last yearand reached base six times in a nine-inning game against Wagner College.

He also struggled through an 0-for-20 stretch midway through the sea-son and recorded only nine multi-hitgames in 52 starts to finish with a

.239 average.He was a little too pull-conscious but starting

this fall and movinginto the spring,

weve seen

growth and maturityand the understandingto hit to all fields, Tra-passo said.

With Kalei Hanawahine,that would give Trapassothree left-handers starting inhis outfield.

Needing a righty, Trapassohad junior Conner Georgeswitch to the outfield.

George was recruitedas an infielder out ofhigh school in Oregonand moved to firstbase last year beforetransitioning to theoutfield in the fall.

Second baseand catcher,George said are theonly two positionswhere he hasnt practiced. Ihave no problem with it because Imjust trying to get in the lineup and bea part of everything. If I have to playa different position to do that Im go-ing to do that.

At 6 feet 4, George ran the 60-yarddash in 6.6 seconds in the fall, mak-ing him an easy candidate to moveto the outfield.

I have a feeling its the rightplace, George said.

In limited action, George has onlyhit .111 (5-for-45) but has been ar-guably the hottest hitter in the falland spring. It has earned him achance to start against left-handedpitchers out of the gate.

Right away, Conner Georgewill be in the outfield, Trapassosaid. Hes been swinging thebat as well as anybody overthe last two weeks in ourscrimmages.

No. 2 pitcher QuintinTorres-Costa will alsoplay in the outfield.

STRENGTH

Versatility. Nearly everyoutfielder is capable ofplaying all three posi-tions. Against right-handed pitchers, UH canfield a lineup of threequality-hittingleft-handers.

WEAKNESS

Experience. Aliviado is

the only one out of sevento get more than 31 at-bats at the Division I levellast year. Hanawahine hit.310 in his first season atUSD but dipped to .217as a sophomore andhasnt played in nearlytwo years.

110Combined starts in the outfield last year be-tween Zack Swasey and Breland Almadova.Swasey graduated and Almadova turned proafter he was picked in the 37th round of thedraft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

634Days between Division I games for juniorKalei Hanawahine, who is expected to startFridays opener against Oregon in center-field after transferring from San Diego andsitting out the entire 2012 season.

OF

LEFT FIELD

NO. NAME B/T CL. HT. WT. HOMETOWN

12 Adam Hurley L/R Jr. 6-0 190 Chino Hills, Calif.6 Alan Baldwin* R/R Fr. 6-1 175 Kailua

27 Kaden Kamoe R/R Jr. 5-11 180 Aiea

CENTER FIELD

3 Kalei Hanawahine* L/L Jr. 5-8 170 Honolulu10 Quintin Torres-Costa* L/L Fr. 5-11 175 Hilo

RIGHT FIELD

2 Kaeo Aliviado* L/L So. 5-6 155 Ewa Beach4 Conner George* R/R Jr. 6-4 205 Tigard, Ore.

*Can play all three positions

B Y T H E N U M B E R S

10Home runs hit last season at Rio Hondo(Calif.) College by JC transfer Adam Hur-ley, which led his league. He also wasfirst in the league in slugging percentage(.619) and second in doubles (16).

4Hits in a single game last seasonby Kaeo Aliviado, who reachedbase six times (four singles, twowalks) in a win over WagnerCollege on Feb. 26.

MOVABLE PARTS


KaeoAliviado

AdamHurley


5/6




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UNIV

ERSIT

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HAWAII

2013PREVIEW


If Scott Squier had trust is-sues, he likely wouldnt openthe 2013 season as Hawaiis ace.

A 21st-round pick out ofGreenway High in Arizona, the6-foot-6 left-hander chose in-stead to come to Hawaii, wherecoach Mike Trapasso immedi-ately went to work on his throw-ing motion.

Its changed dramatically,like everything about it is gone,Squier said.

There were growing pains. Inhis first collegiate start last sea-son, Squier recorded only eightouts, giving up seven runs on

seven hits.In his last five starts, not oncedid he last into the sixth inning.

Through it all, he never lostfaith in what he was trying todo.

I came in here with an openmind where anything theywanted to help me with andteach I was going to take,Squier said. Nobody in highschool ever taught me how topitch so coming to a D-I(school), theyre going to knowtheir stuff.

Trapasso has coached hisshare of pitching studs over theyears and says Squiers open-ness to change is one of thetraits that separates him fromother talented players.

A lot of good draft pickswhen they show up initially area little hesitant to make any

changes, Trapasso said. Hehas made changes in his deliv-ery, in his mind-set, in his ap-

proach to everything andthats something that Im reallyproud of when it comes toScotty.

Even with his pitcher strug-gling to stay on the mound lateinto games, Trapasso was con-tent to leave him in the startingrotation. He knew the payoffwould come down the road.

Regardless of performance,my intent was that Scott wouldget a start every series noncon-ference because he neededthose innings to grow and learnand to get better, Trapassosaid. His numbers were gener-

ally pretty solid but he justdidnt pitch consistently enoughto get into the seventh or eighthinnings.

Trapasso and the Rainbowshope the payoff starts now, asSquier has been tabbed asHawaiis opening-night starteragainst No. 6 Oregon.

Since the end of last year,Squier has eliminated a hitch inhis throwing motion and devel-oped a slider he says has be-come a big pitch for me.

Its also made him more con-sistent in his location and hisvelocity, which ranges between88 and 92 mph.

I feel now like this is some-thing I can actually work with,Squier said. Im comfortable.

And that should makeopposing hitters feel quitethe opposite.

FRIDAY

2 /15 /13

THIRD OF 3 PARTS

SQUI

ER

SCOT

T

CAREER

NUM

BE

RS

YEAR

ERA

W-L

APP-GS

IP

H

ER

BB

SO

BAA

2012

3.5

0

3-4

15-14

6413

64

25

30

55

.261

LHPSOPHOMORE


6/6




He pitched a couple of innings for theHawaii Island Movers in the summer.

In the fall, he struck out seven in fourshutout innings in an exhibition against ateam from China.

Make no mistake, however, the long roadback from injury wont be complete forConnor Little until he takes the mound thisweekend as Hawaii opens the 2013 seasonagainst No. 6 Oregon.

Its a great thought to get back out thereand help this team win and hopefully get toa regional, said Little, who is scheduled to

start Game 3 on Sunday.Littles importance to the team was mag-

nified when ace Jarrett Arakawa opted forshoulder surgery, meaning he will miss the2013 season.

He is one of only two UH opening-week-end starters with more than two starts atthe Division I level and has performed wellin key situations. He retired all nine battershe faced in a three-inning start against Ari-zona State as a freshman. Two years later,he went six shutout innings against Texasand allowed two earned runs over 713 in-nings in a win at Loyola Marymount.

If that Little shows up in 2013, it could be

a special year.Its time for Connor to pitch with a chip

on his shoulder, Hawaii coach Mike Tra-passo said. I think Connor is a key to ourwhole season to pitch to his potential andto pitch to his skill set.

His hot start to the 2011 season was tem-pered by nerve pain that eventually re-quired surgery in the offseason. Then, overChristmas break, he broke his ankle, forc-ing him to miss the 2012 season.

As of right now, my arm is the healthiestit has been, Little said. Being out for ayear and a half, Ive had a lot of time to getmy arm and body back into shape.

Three of UHs four pitchers in the start-

ing rotation are 6 feet 5 and above.Thats no slight for freshman left-hander

Quintin Torres-Costa, who might be 6-0 onhis tippy toes, but who brings an arm asdynamic as anyones.

Hes got a fastball he routinely pumps inthe low 90s and is well equipped to handlethe big-time atmosphere of Les MurakamiStadium.

In the most important game of his highschool career, he threw six hitless inningsin the state championship game, recordingstrikeouts on 13 of his 18 outs.

As a senior at Waiakea, he allowed onlytwo earned runs in 4723 innings.

We were trying to decidewhether to close him or starthim and when Jarrett wentdown and with the way (Torres-Costa) was pitching, it juststruck me we needed to start theyear with him in the rotation,Trapasso said.

UHs four-man rotation will cutdown to three during Big Westplay.

The bullpen is still very much amystery as multiple pitchers arestill trying to work up to fullstrength.

Left-hander Lawrence Chew is

a key returnee who posted a2.40 ERA as a freshman lastyear, walking only six batters andgiving up 34 hits in 45 innings.

Junior college transfer AndrewJones is a lefty who went 10-0 andstruck out 80 in 71 innings last year.

Senior Patrick ORourke haspitched only five innings in histhe past two seasons butwill see an increasedworkload this year.

Were definitelywide open on roles,Trapasso said.

STRENGTH

Hawaii has three starting pitchers withtools that make them capable of perform-ing like aces, fitting perfectly into thethree-game series format in the Big WestConference.

WEAKNESS

With so many new faces and little experi-ence in the bullpen, roles have yet to bedefined, meaning different pitchers willhave to get used to different situations ona game-by-game basis.

4Hawaii finished the2012 season fourth inthe country in walks,allowing 2.24 per nineinnings.

80Strikeouts in 71 innings lastyear at Grayson (Ariz.)County College by AndrewJones, who will begin theseason in the bullpen.

0Hits allowed in six innings with 13 strike-outs in the HHSAA state championshipgame last season by Waiakea alumnusQuintin Torres-Costa, who will open theseason as UHs No. 2 starter.

POSSIBLE STARTERS

NO. NAME POS. CL. HT. WT. HOMETOWN

17 Jarrett Arakawa* LHP Jr. 6-0 190 Honolulu31 Scott Squier LHP So. 6-6 190 Phoenix10 Quintin Torres-Costa LHP Fr. 5-11 175 Hilo15 Connor Little RHP Sr. 6-5 225 San Diego13 Corey MacDonald RHP Sr. 6-6 205 Davis, Calif.21 Andrew Jones LHP Jr. 5-11 185 Melbourne, Australia33 Matt Cooper RHP Jr. 6-0 180 Marysville, Wash.

RELIEVERS

41 Lawrence Chew LHP So. 6-1 205 Mililani25 Patrick ORourke RHP Sr. 6-5 245 Elk Grove, Calif.34 Jon Flinn RHP Sr. 6-6 215 Windsor, Calif.20 Bryan Burgher RHP So. 6-2 210 Puyallup, Wash.24 Scott Kuzminsky RHP Jr. 6-2 195 Puyallup, Wash.32 Jonathan Lopez RHP Fr. 6-6 255 Corona, Calif.

28 Jim MacWilliam LHP Sr. 6-3 200 Phoenix40 Kris Butler RHP Sr. 6-4 210 Upland, Calif.37 Shane Grace LHP Fr. 6-0 180 Huntington Beach, Calif.*Out for the season with injury

60%The Rainbows will have to replace 60percent (33 of 55) of their startsmade last year with the loss of juniorJarrett Arakawa to season-endingshoulder surgery.

3Only three returning pitchersthrew more than 10 inningslast year: Scott Squier (6413),Lawrence Chew (45) and JonFlinn (3123).

PB Y T H E N U M B E R S


WELL ARMED

Quintin

Torres-Costa

ConnorLittle

University of Hawaii 2013 Baseball Preview

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