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After detailed planning and compliance with the safety protocol, the University of Hawaii baseball team has announced a schedule for 51 games.
Rainbow Warriors opens with a three-game road series against traditional power Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. The series begins with a single game in February. 26 followed by a double head the next day.
The ‘Bows will play Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii Hilo in addition to a full Big West schedule.
In ‘Bows’ first eight seasons of Big West membership, each series series was three games. This year, the Big West has put each weekend series on four games, with nine rounds of double heads on Saturdays.
“With everything that has happened in the last year, the opportunity to get back on the field and play baseball is truly a blessing,” head coach Mike Trapasso said in a press release. “The pandemic obviously affected our non-conference schedule this season, but we’re excited to open up Arizona State, one of college baseball’s premier programs.”
Trapasso, who is entering his 20th season as UH head coach, has been planning road games against top teams in recent years. In 2014, ‘Bows’ played in Texas. Last year, ‘Bows went to Nashville, Tenn., To meet that time. 2 Vanderbilt. The Bows were scheduled to host Michigan this year. The Wolverines finished second to Vanderbilt in the 2019 College World Series. But that series, as well as others against power-five programs, was scrapped due to the pandemic.
But ‘Bows was able to make a full schedule, thanks to school administrators and Big West officials. UH leaders gave their blessing to ‘Bows’ travels to ASU to open the season.
“As strange as this season has been to put the schedule together, it’s a little cool we manage to stick to our attempt to challenge ourselves in the non-conference with some of the best teams in the country,” said Trapasso in a telephone interview. “Arizona State definitely fits that bill.”
The ‘Bows also earned the fourth game added to each Big West series. In addition, Cal State Bakersfield and UC San Diego have joined the league this year.
Of the 51-hour schedule, Trapasso said: “It’s been years when we played the whole season, and there were 51 games.”
The ‘Bows returns their three best starting pitchers - Logan Pouelsen, Aaron Davenport and Brandon Ross - and the entire starting lineup. Third baseman Dustin Demeter, first baseman Alex Baeza and outfielder Adam Fogel would have been selected as a junior if the 2020 Major League Baseball draft had lasted 40 rounds. But it was shortened due to the pandemic, and the three are all back.