UH’s Martin-Grudzielanek calls for the ball

This time, it was Hawaii pitching coach Keith Zuniga who was on the radar. With the Rainbow Warriors needing a starting pitcher for tonight’s series opener against UC San Diego, Brody Martin-Grudzielanek, who had pitched four innings the past Saturday, pleaded with Zuniga for the assignment. “He tracked down Zuni in the hotel lobby and said, ‘I want to go,’” UH head baseball coach Rich Hill said.

Martin-Grudzielanek is expected to get his wish as Hill and Zuniga adjust the ’Bows’ starting rotation for this Big West series at Triton Ballpark on UCSD’s La Jolla, Calif. , campus. The usual Friday-through- Sunday series was pushed up a day to avoid playing on Easter Sunday.

Hill decided to keep Isaiah Magdaleno and Hekili Robello in their usual Friday and Saturday spots. “I don’t normally like to do that,” Hill said of not using Magdaleno in the opener. “But those two guys, we’re going to have to ride them down the stretch.

Their last two outings, they’ve really been extended into the early 100s (of pitches). It was better to keep them on that (Friday-Saturday) schedule. It’s a gut feeling to keep them there.