Mililani Baseball Boys Hit By Flu Bug

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All season long, Mililani head baseball coach Mark Hirayama has been telling the members of his team they would all be needed if the Trojans made a post-season run. No week proved him more right than last week when the flu bug hit the team as it prepared for this week’s state baseball tournament.

“We have seven to eight guys missing every day with the flu, so it’s been hard to work on some of the ‘team stuff,’ like team defense. We’ve filled in where we’ve need to. You just have to play through it.

“I’m sure other teams are going through some of the same things as we are. It’s worked out good for us that we haven’t had any games.”

The Wally Yonamine Foundation Division I State Baseball Tournament will run Wednesday through Saturday at Les Murakami Stadium in Manoa. Mililani has been idle since April 24, when it defeated Kalani in the fifth-place game of the OIA post-season tourney to earn the league’s final berth for the state tournament.

The Trojans, who were 6-6 in the OIA’s Red West Conference during the season, won three of four at the OIA Tournament, posting wins over Kaiser (8-6) and Castle (1-0) in addition to the victory over Kalani. A 3-0 loss to East champion Kailua was Mililani’s only loss in the tournament.

Most encouraging was perhaps its offensive output over the final two days, as the Trojans combined for 19 runs in contrast to scoring one in their first two encounters.

“Hopefully, that continues,” said Hirayama. “We have to find ways to get guys on and come up with big hits. Good pitching will always beat good hitting at the state tournament. We’ve been fortunate that pitching has kept us in games this year.”

Hirayama was awaiting pairings for the state tournament, which were to be released over the weekend, before naming a starting pitcher for Wednesday’s first-round game, although he said that senior right-hander Preston Tacoba will “most likely” get the call. Tacoba started Mililani’s opening-round game in the OIA Tournament, going six full innings in a 1-0 victory.

“He’s been our most consistent pitcher all year,” Hirayama said. “He throws a lot of strikes, which helps our defense. He’s not a strike-out pitcher, but he makes other teams put the ball in play and gives us a chance to make plays.”

Hirayama also praised the play of shortstop Jordan Queja, who has anchored Mililani’s infield.

“He’s been solid all year, defensively, for us,” Hirayama said.

With potentially four games in as many days, depth figures to be a factor this week for all teams.

For their part, the Trojans have had a lot of contributors throughout the regular season and OIA playoffs, according to their coach.

“It’s been a real team effort,” Hirayama said. “Not a lot of guys stand out, but we’ve had a lot of guys play well at times. In the OIA Tournament, every day we had someone step up.

“We’re still a work in progress. We’re not done trying to get better.”

Hirayama is in his first year as head coach after many seasons as an assistant at Kamehameha under Vern Ramie. While a coaching change often leads to a transition year, Hirayama’s case has been different, given that he is a longtime resident of the community.

“The support from the kids and their parents has been great,” he said. “They believe in what we’re trying to do.

“Hopefully, we’re setting the groundwork for getting the program back.”