At least for the five seniors on the Hawai'i baseball team, goodbyes will be brief.

Although four-year letter winners Jayson Kramer and Landon Hernandez, and JC transfers Jared Alexander, Shane Hoey and Ryan Morford will be honored at Sunday's regular season finale against Utah Valley for completing their eligibility with the program, fans will still have another chance to see them in next week's Western Athletic Conference tournament at Les Murakami Stadium.

JAYSON KRAMER

Kramer made a big, yet smooth transformation from closer to starting pitcher.

The right-hander out of Mid-Pacific Institute was solely a relief pitcher his first three seasons as a Rainbow, notching seven saves. This season, he made his debut as a starter and flourished.

"It might be the best story of the year for us because he's really pitched well," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "He's had some hard-luck losses. For the most part, he's been very consistent."

Kramer didn't miss a start. He enters tonight 4-4 with a 3.87 earned run average. For good measure, he atoned for his shortest outing of the season — five runs (only two earned) in 1 1/3 innings against Fresno State — with 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief for his first save of the season to close out the Bulldogs in the series finale last Saturday.

"To finally be able to start as a senior is a real accomplishment to me," Kramer said. "I'm finally able to show Coach I'm able to be a legitimate key to the puzzle to his team."

Kramer will graduate after the summer session with a degree in sociology, unless, of course, a pro career beckons.

"I'm going to miss being around the guys every day," Kramer said. "I'm going to miss the fans the most."

LANDON HERNANDEZ

Hernandez has been an ironman at a position that is generally tough to stay injury-free. Since becoming starting catcher his sophomore year, he has played in 158 of a possible 170 games.

A wrist injury from several weeks ago finally caught up with him in last weekend's series at Fresno State. He said he is having a magnetic resonance imaging today. The Rainbows would certainly like to have Hernandez back by the WAC tournament. In his past two WAC tournaments, he is 12 for 27 (.444) with four home runs and nine RBIs. (He was on the all-tournament team in 2007 in Reno, Nev.)

"He's had a great career for us," Trapasso said. "I haven't been here for 30 years, but I've had other people tell me he'll go down as one of the best catchers that we've had defensively (because of) how he's handled our pitchers, how he's handled our staff."

Hernandez is an interdisciplinary major with a target date of graduation in December. Pro ball is expected to be on his horizon. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 50th round last year, but opted to return.

"I love school out here," said Hernandez, who is from Cathedral City, Calif. "It's nice. All the fans, (they're) one of the nice things. Having good coaches and good teammates, that's always a plus."

JARED ALEXANDER

Alexander came to UH by way of Cosumnes River JC last season and quickly made an impression, finishing 7-3 with a 3.27 ERA. Although he missed the end of last season, including the WAC tournament, because of elbow problems, conference coaches still remembered his impact by voting him preseason WAC Pitcher of the Year. A setback in January forced UH to bring Alexander back slowly this season, but it appears he is finding his stride.

"It's a tough thing to overcome more mentally than physically, what he had to overcome, missing (the end of) last year and having a setback in January," Trapasso said. "We're counting on big things from him in the next couple of weeks."

Despite the slow start, Alexander is optimistic.

"It was tough, not being able to help my team out," he said. "But I'm starting to figure it out now. Hopefully, I'll have my best games to come in postseason."

Alexander will graduate Saturday with a degree in sociology. He is hoping a pro career is in his future. If not, he said he plans to enroll in graduate school with hopes of becoming a graduate assistant coach.

RYAN MORFORD

Morford is somewhat of a rags-to-riches story. The JC transfer from Santa Barbara City was brought in last year primarily to provide infield depth. After spending his first season as a dugout ringleader, Morford has turned into an integral part of the team. He started the season in a platoon with fellow senior Shane Hoey, but has emerged as the starting second baseman, batting leadoff to boot.

"Last year was really tough," Morford admitted. "It was the first time I've been sitting on the bench. It was important to me to be a good teammate (last year). It was the best thing that I could've done to help the team try winning.

"This year, I've been grateful to have the opportunity to play. Luckily, I've been cashing in on some of my opportunities."

His .324 batting average is third-best on the team and his 12 doubles tie him for third.

"Morford's had a great second half where he's stepped up the last couple of weeks," Trapasso said. "Morf's been a team leader for us. He'll be missed next year because of his enthusiasm and his leadership abilities."

Morford will graduate after the summer session with a degree in economics.

SHANE HOEY

Hoey also was recruited out of JC — Bellevue (Wash.) — to shore up the infield. Although his playing time has been limited, his contributions are not overlooked.

"He's been a great team guy," Trapasso said. "Character-wise, he's been as good as anybody that you'll ever coach in a career. Busts his hump every day, no matter what the situation."

Hoey is the team's scholar-athlete with a cumulative grade point average of 3.55. He will graduate with a degree in interdisciplinary studies Saturday. He already has a teaching job lined up at a Yakima, Wash., middle school.

Hoey will be working on his master's degree in education via online with the University of Portland and might also coach.

"It was a really great experience, coming to Hawai'i," Hoey said. "It's been a great two years here."

NOTES

Hernandez and Kramer are the only holdovers from the 2006 UH team that made the regionals in Corvallis, Ore. Kevin Fujii red-shirted and Harrison Kuroda was out with a shoulder injury that season.

Saturday's starting time is 7:35 p.m., or an hour later than usual because of graduation ceremonies earlier in the day.

Regardless where UH finishes seeding-wise for the WAC tournament, its first game next Thursday will be at 7 p.m., the WAC said. Game times the first three days are 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday's championship is noon, and, if necessary, 4 p.m.