It appears the Hawaii baseball team’s Scrabble options are limited.
Head coach Rich Hill said “bumps,” “bruises” and “tired” are among the words not in the Rainbow Warriors’ vocabulary.
The ’Bows play host to UC Riverside tonight in the 45th of the 53-game regular season. Freshman third baseman Elijah Ickes has started each one, far exceeding his appearances for Kamehameha last year. But Hill said Ickes, who is having a breakout season at the plate and on the field, and four freshman pitchers have made the adjustment to college baseball.
“We’re built for this,” said Hill, noting the ’Bows’ schedule pales to the indefatigable perseverance of those who wear fatigues. “There are guys who are Elijah’s age … who are fighting for our freedom and not sleeping ever. We’re not tired. He’s not tired. When we signed Elijah, when he committed to come to school, that was part of the deal. We’re all about development. And we can develop over 50-plus games here in a real intense environment, where he’s going to learn, as all our guys do, the importance of winning and how to win. In the minor leagues, you don’t get that.”
Freshman left-hander Sebastian Gonzalez has emerged as series-opening starter. Reliever Brayden Marx has not allowed a run in six of his past seven appearances. Two-way player Itsuki Takemoto has pitched well as starter and reliever. And Myles Standish has not allowed a run in six appearances.
Ickes has flourished as an everyday player after turning down an opportunity to sign with the Texas Rangers as a 19th-round draft pick. “It’s amazing to play the game I love as much as I can,” said Ickes, who is hitting .277 while drawing 33 walks and being hit by seven pitches. “It’s always fun to be out on the field.”
On Sunday, Ickes went 3-for-3 and was hit by a pitch to help extend the ’Bows’ winning streak to eight. “It’s still sore,” Ickes said of being struck. “Coming back on the field really takes that pain.”
The pitching staff also has contributed significantly to the recent surge. Cal State Northridge brought a nine-game winning streak into last week’s series. In sweeping the Matadors, the ’Bows allowed two earned runs in 27 innings. Alex Giroux pitched five perfect innings of relief in the opener. He said he relied heavily on a cutter to complement a sinker and fastball.
He said the outing was “one of those special ones where I felt I had every pitch that I needed to have. I wasn’t thinking too much. I was throwing whatever was called as hard as I could and executing to the best of my ability.”
Giroux credited catchers DallasJ Duarte and Austin Machado, as well as pitching coach Keith Zuniga. In the previous three weeks, UH is 5-1 with a 2.50 ERA when Duarte starts behind the plate.
Zuniga, who succeeded popular Mathew Troupe, now with the Loyola Marymount, uses videos and in-game analytics as part of his pitch calling. “Coach Zuni is a special person,” Hill said. “He really has that power of human connection.”
UC Riverside has won three in a row while adjusting the pitching rotation. Julian Orozco, the ace of the staff, suffered a season-ending injury. Instead of moving up No. 2 Matthew Flores and Noah Andrunas, UCR coach Justin Johnson has started Eric Marrujo and Alfredo Capacete II in the past two series openers. The Highlanders will start Kurt Marton or go with a multiple- pitcher approach for tonight’s game.
Bubba Rocha leads the Highlanders in hitting (.403 in Big West games) and grit. He suffered a broken nose last Friday. The next day, he wore a protective face mask to start in left field and then catch for an inning.
UCR outfielder Cole Koniarsky’s 25-game hitting streak ended last Saturday. But Koniarsky still has reached base in 36 consecutive games.
BIG WEST BASEBALL
At Les Murakami Stadium
Hawaii (29-15, 12-9 Big West) vs. UC Riverside (15-28, 5-16)
>> Schedule: 6:35 p.m. today, Friday; 1:05 p.m. Sunday
>> TV: Spectrum Sports today, Friday
>> Radio: 1420-AM, 92.7-FM
