FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
Hawai'i puts out a Challenging 2009 Schedule
HONOLULU – The 2009 University of Hawai‘i Rainbow baseball schedule was released today by head coach Mike Trapasso, featuring four teams that played in the 2008 NCAA Super Regionals.
Hawai‘i opens the season with a four-game series, Feb. 20-22, against UC Irvine, a team that was just three outs away from making its second-straight trip to the College World Series this past season. UH will also host traditional powerhouse programs Mississippi State (March 5-8) and Loyola Marymount (March 12-15) and another 2008 Super Regional participant, Coastal Carolina (March 26-28), for four-game non-conference series early in the season.
The Rainbows will also play in two big non-conference tournaments on the mainland. The first will be the Dairy Queen Classic in Minneapolis, Minn., from Feb. 26 to March 1, featuring UH, Minnesota, Washington and UC Santa Barbara, with all games taking place in the Minneapolis Metrodome. UH’s other non-conference tournament will be the Rose City Baseball Invitational in Portland, Ore., from March 20-23. That tournament will include Washington, Portland and Oregon, with all games being played at Beavers Stadium, home of the AAA Portland Beavers minor league baseball team.
Following that tough non-conference schedule, Hawai‘i faces another challenging Western Athletic Conference schedule that will conclude with a four-game series at defending national champion Fresno State (May 7-9). UH will also play a few non-conference mid-week games in the middle of the conference season, playing at Santa Clara (April 7), St. Mary’s (May 5) and defending Pac-10 Champion Arizona State (April 21).
The schedule culminates with the Rainbows hosting their first WAC Tournament since 1992 from May 20-24 at Les Murakami Stadium.
UH returns three 2008 all-WAC honorees, Jared Alexander, Greg Garcia and Landon Hernandez, along with starters Vinnie Catricala, Kevin Macdonald, Matt Roquemore and Jeffrey Van Doornum.
