Little back in the starting rotation

Before Thursday’s practice, Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso had his pitching rotation set.

An hour later, Connor Little found himself back in a starter’s role.

Little will go in place of sophomore Scott Squier tonight in the first of a three-game series against No. 4 Cal State Fullerton at Les Murakami Stadium.

Little (1-4, 4.37) started every week until the last series against Cal State Northridge, when he threw five innings and struck out six with no walks out of the bullpen.

Squier was put back in the rotation against the Matadors after pitching in relief the previous two weeks.

He allowed three runs on six hits in four innings with three walks and a hit batter.

"The situation changed and we felt it was best for this weekend that Scott pitch out of the bullpen and Connor start," Trapasso said after Thursday’s practice.

Little will pitch against the Titans for the third time in his career. Two years ago, he started the second game of the series against Fullerton, allowing three hits in 51⁄3 innings.

Fullerton won all four games in that series and is 6-1 in its last seven against Hawaii.

"There’s a different feel when you play Cal State Fullerton because it’s one of those rare programs in college baseball where if you ask anyone in the country to name the top five programs over the last 30 years, Cal State Fullerton will be in everybody’s answer," Trapasso said.

Ranked as high as No. 3 in one of the major polls, the Titans are the ninth different team UH will play that has been ranked at some point in the season.

"They are probably the best team in our league and it’s something we look forward to," junior outfielder Kalei Hanawahine said. "We’ve played the best all season long and we’re eager to get out there and play together and try to scratch out some (wins)."

Hanawahine went 5-for-7 against the Matadors to raise his average to .269, trailing only Conner George for the team lead.

Third baseman Pi‘ikea Kitamura is the only other UH regular hitting more than .240.

Hawaii ranks in the bottom 10 in the country in runs, home runs and stolen bases.

It’s a tough matchup against a stellar Fullerton pitching staff.

Tonight’s starter, Thomas Eshelman, is one of two freshmen the Titans will start. Eshelman (7-2, 1.23 ERA) has walked only one batter in 731⁄3 innings and opponents are hitting only .171 off him.

Right-hander Justin Garza, who starts Saturday, is sixth in the country with eight wins and has struck out 61 in 68 innings.

"When you play the No. 1 schedule, you play a ranked team close to every weekend and this is something that won’t be any different for our guys," Trapasso said. "It’ll be a great challenge for us."

Trapasso said Thursday that freshman Quintin Torres-Costa will likely sit out the rest of the year and earn a medical redshirt. He injured his elbow two weeks into the season.

Torres-Costa started two games on the mound before suffering a partial ligament tear in his elbow during batting practice in Las Vegas and was shut down for more than a month.

He’s slowly rehabbed his way back and has thrown off a mound two or three times, but is still tender.

"I’m not 100 percent, but way more than 50 percent," Torres-Costa said. "I’m leaving it in the hands of the coaches and how my body reacts to pitching over time."

"It’s looking more and more like a redshirt situation," Trapasso said. "He’s still weeks away from being game ready and I kind of decided last night that we’ll probably keep him home on our road trip next week to take his finals and focus on that."

UH will play 10 of its final 13 games on the road after this weekend’s series with the Titans.

Hawaii closes its home schedule against UC Davis on May 17-19.