Playing like it was out of season, Hawai'i's 2009 varsity baseball team was held to four hits by the Alumni in a 4-4 tie yesterday at Les Murakami Stadium.

The annual Alumni game, usually held a week before the season opener, was played in the fall for the first time because of a shorter preparation period during the spring due to the recent NCAA uniform starting date.

"It was good for us to have a break from the fall practice regimen," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "You need to do that sometimes to see what guys will do in game situations. It helps us the rest of the fall to look at certain things, where some guys are doing certain things in practice, but not transferring it to a game situation."

The Rainbows were held in check by an Alumni staff composed of a starter on 147 days rest (Josh Schneider), a former pro (Paul Ah Yat) and someone who never pitched collegiately (outfielder Derek DuPree).

Schneider, who last pitched May 23, beating Nevada, 14-5, in the Western Athletic Conference tournament, went seven innings. He allowed four runs (two earned), three hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Ah Yat pitched a perfect eighth and DuPree, who last pitched in high school a half decade ago, gave up a squib double and hit a batter in a scoreless ninth.

"I always asked" to pitch last season, a smiling DuPree said.

"He said, 'C'mon, coach, I can do it. I pitched in high school,' " Trapasso recalled. "We actually had him throw a couple bullpens, but blame me. I didn't have the nerve to put him in a game."

If anything, the Rainbows got a glimpse of a potential lead-off hitter in freshman Kolten Wong, who went 2 for 3 with a triple, double, stolen base, and two runs scored. The Kamehameha-Hawai'i alum started at second base and finished in center field, two positions for which he is competing.

"That's my style," Wong said of his aggressive base running. "If I can't hit, I'll try to do something else to help the team."

He tripled leading off the bottom of the first, then scored when Matt Roquemore grounded into a fielder's choice to first. Roquemore took second on a throwing error by first baseman Kris Sanchez on the play.

Wong walked in the fifth, was caught leaning the wrong way on a pick-off attempt, but still stole second and went to third when Sanchez's throw to second was wild. An out later, Wong scored on Greg Garcia's sacrifice fly to left that tied the score at 4.

With one out in the ninth, Wong hit a pool-shot double to shallow left. He hit a grounder toward the third-base line, but when third baseman Justin Frash broke toward the line, the ball apparently had a lot of english on it and spun away from Frash toward shallow left. Wong hustled his way to second.

The Alumni did all of its damage when it batted around in a four-run first against UH starter Jayson Kramer. Frash's RBI single was followed by Evan Zimny's two-run double. After a walk by Eli Christensen, Ryan Asato's RBI single made it 4-0.

The Rainbows responded with three in the bottom of the first against Schneider. After Wong scored on the fielder's choice/error play that allowed Roquemore to take second, Roquemore took third on Garcia's single. Garcia stole second and Roquemore scored on catcher Jack Hall's throwing error to second. (Hall, a JC transfer, was on loan to the Alumni, who didn't have catchers.) After advancing on a wild pitch, Garcia scored on Vinnie Catricala's sacrifice fly to center.

Kramer allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings. Trapasso said he is looking at Kramer, a reliever his first three seasons, as a possible starter. He said Kramer had done well in scrimmages, but didn't pitch well yesterday.

Two other 'Bows did pitch well. Connor Little, a 6-foot-6 freshman right-hander, retired all seven batters he faced, striking out two. Sophomore left-hander Sam Spangler retired all six he faced, striking out three.

Little is from Rancho Bernardo High near San Diego, which has an alumni featuring Hank Blalock and Cole Hamels, to name a few.

"It felt awesome, being a freshman and coming out here working in a different atmosphere," Little said.

The Rainbows have fall workouts until Nov. 6. The season opens Feb. 20 with a four-game series against UC Irvine at Murakami Stadium.