For tonight’s baseball game at Les Murakami Stadium, it will not be a time to look back, although Hawaii pitching legend Derek Tatsuno will be signing autographs during a pregame session.
It will not be a time to bid aloha, although UH’s Ben Zeigler-Namoa will be participating in the final home series of his four-season, 195-game career as a Rainbow Warrior. UH’s senior ceremony will follow Friday night’s game.
And it will not be a time to focus on the magnitude of the three-game series, although the ’Bows need to beat Cal State Northridge just once to clinch a berth in next week’s five-team Big West Tournament in Irvine, Calif.
The ’Bows and Cal State Fullerton enter the final week of the regular season tied for fourth at 14-13. UC Davis is 11⁄2 games back, at 14-16, but already has completed its Big West schedule. UC Irvine is seventh at 12-15 and CSUN is 11-16. The ’Bows hold the tiebreaker over CSUF and UCI.
“We’re still playing meaningful games,” said CSUN coach Eddie Cornejo, whose Matadors need to sweep UH to keep alive any postseason prayers.
During a team meeting on Tuesday, UH coach Rich Hill referenced the “dangling carrot in front of us” and Tiger Woods’ 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open.
“It’s not about the dangling carrot,” Hill said. “It’s not about the putt going in. It’s about the process it takes for that putt to go in. It’s the process that it takes to eat that golden carrot. That’s been the message from day one just because there’s consequence attached to a win or a loss. It shouldn’t matter at all. It’s pretty much a distraction. If it can motivate you, if it can get those juices flowing a little bit, that’s a good thing. If it causes anxiety, which it does to some guys, and fear-based, then that’s a bad thing.”
For starters, the UH coaches debated whether Isaiah Magdaleno, the defending Big West Pitcher of the Week, will throw the first pitch tonight. Magdaleno has allowed one run while striking out 25 the past two Fridays. With this series pushed up two days because of UH’s commencement ceremony on Saturday, Hill weighed using Magdaleno five days after his previous start or keeping him in his usual Friday slot. Hill hasn’t announced his decision yet. Pitching Magdaleno today would give him a full week’s rest for next week’s tournament opener. This season, UH opened two series on a Thursday. In the first, Magdaleno yielded five earned runs in five innings against Wichita State. In the second, Grant Garman started against UC San Diego, with Magdaleno keeping his usual Friday start.
There are few questions about the top of the ’Bows’ batting order. Center fielder Kamana Nahaku is batting .216 but has reached base on a team-high 31 walks and 16 hit by pitches. The past 25 games, third baseman Tate Shimao is hitting .367 and Zeigler-Namoa is batting .336. And freshman Mana Lau Kong is 18-for-48 (.375) the past 14 games.
“He puts in the work like no other,” Zeigler-Namoa said of the 6-foot-6, 245-pound Lau Kong. “He comes in day in and day out. Nothing but gratitude for him.”
CSUN counters with a lineup that has clubbed 73 home runs and has nine players batting at least .,295. Left fielder Matthew “Chewy” Thomas and first baseman Matthew Pena have smacked 15 homers apiece.
“We spend a good amount of time developing hitters,” Cornejo said. “I like hitters who have good hand-eye coordination. It’s one of those deals you can’t really teach. Our place plays a little different. I like guys who can slug a little bit to the gaps. … In the past, we were able to bunt, steal, cause havoc on the bases. We’re not that kind of team this year. We have to rely on that three-run homer or double. That’s our game now. I like guys who can put the barrel on the ball and love the weight room and can work deep into the count and work the field.”
Against Cal State Fullerton in April, starting pitchers Gabriel Hernandez, Traig Oughton and James Voorhies combined for a 1.89 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. The following week against Cal State Bakersfield, the CSUN starters compiled a 10.82 ERA and 1.80 WHIP.
“All three of our weekend starters went deep into the game against Fullerton,” Cornejo said. “Ever since then, we’ve had real difficulty with getting guys beyond the fifth or sixth inning.”
In particular, Cornejo noticed freshman Charles Rogers was superb in the first inning of every relief appearance but struggled after that. Cornejo started Rogers as a one-inning opener, then turned the game over to the bullpen. In the past three Big West series, Rogers has made six appearances. He started on consecutive days against UC Davis and Cal Poly, exiting those four games after the first inning.
“We made him a one-inning (starter),” Cornejo said of Rogers. “That’s according to his numbers.”
RAINBOWS BASEBALL
At Les Murakami Stadium
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (24-26, 11-16 BIG WEST) AT HAWAII (25-21, 14-13)
>> Schedule: 6:35 p.m. today, Thursday, Friday
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1500-AM / 92.7-FM
BIG WEST BASEBALL STANDINGS
Team
Conference
Overall
W
L
Pct.
GB
W
L
UCSB
19
8
.704
—
34
16
Cal Poly
19
8
.704
—
30
21
UC San Diego
16
11
.593
3
22
25
Hawaii
14
13
.519
5
25
21
CS Fullerton
14
13
.519
5
22
28
UC Davis
14
16
.467
6 ½
26
25
UC Irvine
12
15
.444
7
23
26
CS Northridge
11
16
.407
8
24
26
Long Beach St.
11
16
.407
8
17
32
CSU Bakersfield
10
17
.370
9
22
30
UC Riverside
10
17
.370
9
15
34
SCHEDULE
Today
CS Northridge at Hawaii, 6:35 p.m.
x-Cal Baptist at UC Davis
Thursday
CS Northridge at Hawaii, 6:35 p.m.
UC Riverside at UC Santa Barbara
CS Bakersfield at UC Irvine
Cal State Fullerton at UC San Diego
Long Beach State at Cal Poly
x-Cal Baptist at UC Davis
x-nonconference game
