Just how close are these Hawai'i baseball players?

Let's just say they'd dye for each other.

It started with senior shortstop Jon Hee dying his hair blond before the doubleheader against New Mexico State on April 12.

"I was 1 for 18 prior to that," said Hee, who has then had at least one hit in nine consecutive games and is 15 for 37 (.405) since.

Then on the recent road trip to Ruston, La., senior outfielder Derek DuPree followed suit.

"I just wanted to change things up a bit," explained DuPree.

The next night during dinner, 19 others decided to join them. The Wal-Mart near their hotel saw a spike in sales of hair dye that evening.

"There were about 10, 12 of us," junior infielder/dugout ringleader Ryan Morford said. " 'Yeah, we should all do it. We should all dye our hair one color.' We called the other teammates ... see who wanted to do it."

The guys jammed into two rooms applying the stuff.

"Our heads were starting to burn and we were all getting scared that our hair was going to fall out," Morford said laughing. "It ended up working out."

And coach Mike Trapasso doesn't have to worry mamas not wanting their babies growing up to be Rainbows.

Jeff Van Doornum said his mother called after hearing about it on radio Webcast.

" 'What color's your hair?' " Van Doornum said his mother asked. "She said to send her a picture (through) the phone. She kind of liked it. She didn't care after that."

DuPree said his parents got some photos of his newly colored hair from Hee.

"They said they liked it," DuPree said.

The dye will last as long as their hair grows out, so fans turning out for the weekend series with Sacramento State this weekend will get a full view when the players remove their caps for the national anthem.

"We want The Les to see it for sure," Morford said of the fans at Les Murakami Stadium.

The hair-dying is just one of the ways the Rainbows keep things fun and in perspective. After all, it is a long season, made longer with long days because of doubleheaders just about every weekend.

At the halfway mark of the season, the Rainbows were 9-19. They had dropped six in a row that included a four-game sweep at Sacramento State. They actually out-hit the Hornets, 43-39, but were outscored 25-14. Worse, they were last in the Western Athletic Conference at 2-6.

But on April Fool's Day, things changed for the better. No joke. The Rainbows have gone 12-5 since, moved into third place in the WAC at 13-11, a game behind second-place Nevada and three back of leader Fresno State. One of the changes came from the dugout, instigated by reserve infielder Morford.

"It's just a bunch of the guys on the bench and we try to pump up the guys on the field," Morford said. "I think it helps bring the guys together. It kind of intimidates the other team when we're going nuts for no reason. If they're flat and we're not, they can sense something's coming. We just dropped four (at Sacramento) and we hadn't beaten a ranked team yet. We felt we had to change the pace somehow. It started small, four or five of us. Then it kept getting bigger every game ... everybody who's not starting is pretty much in it."

Trapasso has noticed the difference.

"He really brings a great energy in leading our guys and keeping everybody focused and into the game," Trapasso said of Morford. "He does it with some fun ways to get the guys into the game. Normally, I wouldn't have (this happening), but we've been winning since he's been doing it and we always focus on our team. None of it is focused on the opposing players. He's done a great job of keeping the energy level up with our team and it's paid off on a lot of Sunday wins we've had since he's taken the leadership role."

Morford admits he doesn't know if the cheers really have a bearing.

"But it definitely keeps everybody in the game," he said. "Everybody's focused on every pitch. Whenever I'm hitting, I want to hear people chanting for me. Maybe it does rattle the pitcher, maybe it doesn't but if we're in his mind, at least one percent, that's more than we would be if we didn't (cheer). Anything from the bench that can help the team win we're going to do."