Hawai'i should feel at home when it plays a three-game nonconference series at UC Santa Barbara starting today.

And it's not just because the Rainbows were highly successful away from Les Murakami Stadium last season, going 21-7, including neutral site games in the Western Athletic Conference tournament at Fresno State and the NCAA Corvallis (Ore.) Regional.

"They're saying it's supposed to be around 80 degrees tomorrow," UH coach Mike Trapasso said last night in a telephone interview.

Today's game starts at noon, tomorrow's at 11 a.m. and Sunday's at 10 a.m., all Hawai'i time. The games will be played at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, which has no lights and will be broadcast live on 1420 AM.

It is the second year in a row the Rainbows are playing a non-conference series on the road. Last year, they swept three games at Loyola Marymount.

The Gauchos (1-1) are coming off a split at San Jose State, in which rain canceled one game of the three-game series. This will be UCSB's home season opener.

The good news for the Rainbows is second baseman Jon Hee and outfielder Derek DuPree are expected to return to action. Hee, who sustained a subluxed left shoulder in the season opener Jan. 26, will start at second today, Trapasso said. DuPree, who made a pinch-hitting appearance last weekend and had been recovering from an offseason knee injury, might start at designated hitter.

But UH might be without center fielder Brandon Haislet, who "tweaked" his back during practice Tuesday, Trapasso said.

"He's a lot better, but it's going to be a day-to-day (situation)," Trapasso said. "I wouldn't be surprised at all if he's not able to play (today) or at all this weekend."

Left fielder Jorge Franco will move to center with Evan Zimny still in right. Left field will find either the switch-hitting Ryan Asato or the left-handed hitting Matt Roquemore, Trapasso said.

Haislet, who bats cleanup, is one of the better hitting Rainbows at this juncture of the season. He is batting .345 with a .488 on-base percentage. He leads the team with 14 runs and is 3 for 3 in steal attempts.

The Rainbows will go with the same starting rotation as they did in the sweep of Pacific last weekend. Reigning WAC Pitcher of the Week, left-hander Ian Harrington (2-1, 4.20), starts today's opener with left-hander Mark Rodrigues (3-0, 1.72) starting tomorrow and right-hander Josh Schneider (0-0, 0.00) going Sunday.

Senior right-hander Steve Morelock (0-1, 0.00) will start today for UCSB; he sat out last season because of an injury.

Senior left-hander Jeff Braun (0-0, 5.40) is slated for tomorrow and freshman right-hander Mike Ford (0-0, 0.00) will start Sunday. Ford pitched two-thirds of an inning in relief against the Spartans last week.

Hawai'i leads the all-time series, 9-3, sweeping a doubleheader at home last year.

The Gauchos were picked to finish sixth in the eight-team Big West Conference by the league's coaches. They are coached by Bob Brontsema, who is in his 26th season associated with UCSB. This is his 14th season as head coach after 10 years as an assistant. He also played two seasons at UCSB.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.