There are certain trends that the Rainbow Warrior baseball team hope to keep going into this week's series with UC Riverside.
Along with DallasJ Duarte's eight-game hitting streak (.364 with eight RBIs over that span), the Bows hope to extend a trend of winning games on Sunday and Monday (8-2 combined).
On the other side of the diamond, however, the Warriors have had a negative trend of losing series-opening games on Friday and Saturday (UH is just 1-6 on Fridays, 1-8 on Saturdays).
For Aaron Ujimori, always the glass-half-full optimist, he views this trend as a testament to his team's mental fortitude.
"Our bodies might be tired, but our minds definitely aren't tired and I think that's what separates us a lot, especially on Sundays. I think we have a really good record on Sundays because of that Sunday tough mindset," the infielder said. "I think we're right there, we're playing good baseball on Friday and Saturday, too so I'm not too worried about the results on Friday and Saturday."
Head coach Rich Hill, on the other hand, is not necessarily a fan of his team's Jekyll and Hyde performances. He says the key to performing on Friday and Saturday nights all comes down to figuring out the opposing team's starting aces.
"We have got to flip that and be able to execute against Friday Big West pitchers," Hill said. "The transition to hitting really good pitching--that's tough to do."
Hill admits that the Bows troubles have stemmed from their superior competition. Along with nationally-ranked Long Beach State and Vanderbilt, the Warriors have also faced talented rosters in UC Santa Barbara and Rutgers (22-6 this season) and came away with various wins.
But Hill wants folks to know he isn't making any excuses. The past 26 games are behind them and now it's time to hold this team and himself accountable.
"No more excuses, our second season begins today," Hill said. "Our mentality is not 'hey, it's the new coach, new philosophy,' we're putting that to the side. No we're the University of Hawaii baseball program, there is no other narrative other than running to the fight and doing everything we can to win games. It's not going to be 'let's try and compete, let's build a program," no. Let's go. We can matchup with everyone from here on in. Our season starts today."
