(Watch KHON-TV 2 Interview with Coach Miyataki here)

The Hawaii Hilo baseball program has had much to deal with over the last 12 months.

Of course, there was the pandemic that ended their season abruptly on March 12, 2020 while they were at the airport awaiting a flight to northern California. Then there was the long 2021 offseason which included the cancellation of fall practice and a very late start to workouts this spring. Now, add in torrential rains this past week in Hilo that have made it impossible to practice outside as the Vulcans get ready for their season opening series against....

The Big Brother Hawai`i Rainbow Warriors. UH-Manoa is awaiting the Vulcans for a four-game series that begins this Friday night under the lights at Les Murakami Stadium. Always daunting but a fun challenge for the Vulcans, add in the fact that Hawai`i is already 5-2 this season, which includes a season-opening 3-2 win over No. 15 ranked Arizona State.

And, the Vulcans won't sneak up on the Rainbow Warriors this year, after twice leading in games at Hawaii last year, only to have the home team rally for 5-4 (walk off home run) and 6-4 wins. 

"Yeah, we have our challenges for sure," UHH head coach Kallen Miyataki said when reminded of all of the above. "But we are just excited to have the chance to get back out and play, especially at Murakami Stadium. It is a dream come true for a lot of our guys to get to play there and also play against Manoa."

The Vulcans will face off against the Rainbow Warriors on Friday night at 6:35 pm, Saturday for a doubleheader that is slated to begin at 1:05 pm and then a Sunday single contest also at 1:05 pm. 

After that, it's a whole lot of Vulcans versus Sharks (Hawaii Pacific).

The two squads are scheduled to play 24 times on 12 different dates, with 12 contests in Hilo and 12 on Oahu. Major League teams don't even play each other that much. It will bring a whole new meaning to "getting to know you."

If the pandemic allows, UH Hilo may take a mainland trip later in the spring for games against Pacific West Conference teams in northern or southern California.

The Vulcans will tackle the Sharks with some experience. Brandyn Lee-Lehano (2-1 with a 2.16 ERA last year) and lefty Kyle Alcorn (0-2 and 3.92 ERA) anchor the pitching rotation, and career close leader John Kea (22 saves) is steadfast in the bullpen. A pair of junior college transfers from Arizona will get their first Vulcan starts on the mound this weekend in the four-game series. Cameron Scudder, a 6-5 lefty from Chandler-Gilbert CC and Jonathan Buhl, a 6-4 right-hander from Paradise Valley JC, are scheduled to start games two and three of Saturday's doubleheader. 

On the field, Miyataki has nearly his entire starting line-up back from 2020, with the exception of third baseman Lucas Sakay, who is still stuck in Brazil because of COVID travel issues and Jacob Igawa, who transferred to Manoa for academic reasons. Starters returning include catcher Jaryn Kanbara, first basemen Kobie Russell and Ryan Cho, second baseman Lawson Faria, shortstop Casey Yamauchi, and outfielders Rustin Ho, Chris Aubort and John Bicos.

UH Hilo will return home after the Manoa trip to play the Sharks on back-to-back weekends (Saturday-Sunday doubleheaders), April 20-21 and 27-28. The Vulcans are slated to play their home games this year on campus, but spectators are not allowed.

All Vulcan home games will be video streamed, for more information click here.