Mililani P.O.N.Y. 13 All-Stars Now ‘Second In The World’
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usEven before his Mililani P.O.N.Y. traveling all-star team played its first game last month, head coach Glen Kakugawa was sure of one thing. To make the World Series, they’d plainly have to go the long, hard route.
“To make it out of the West region is really tough, mainly because you have all the California teams,” he said. “The West is usually one of the toughest zones to come out of.”
If anyone was up to the task, it was Mililani, whose roster featured 10 players who had reached the World Series a year earlier under Kakugawa. A few more were on the Waipio all-star team that had come within a game of making the Bronco World Series in 2008 . With no shortage of depth, expectations were high, he said.
“We were confident. Together, with players from both of those teams, we thought we had something pretty strong. Most of them were tournament tested, and that was a real plus. A lot of them were battle tested as far as feeling the pressure. They helped each other to stay focused.
“I talk to them about how advancing to the Mainland is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and for some, this was their second or third time.”
To reach the Mainland, Mililani had to first secure a berth in the West zone. They did that by going 2-1 in their three regional games in mid-July at Central Oahu Regional Park. Mililani defeated a team from West Oahu (Waipio, Kapolei and Ewa) in the title game to punch their ticket for a berth in the double-elimination West zone in Fullerton, Calif. Once there, Mililani quickly asserted itself, winning all four of its games to earn a World Series berth in nearby Chino Hills. The West zone included Arizona, California and Washington teams. Mililani captured four more games at the World Series before a 9-4 loss to Kyle Chapman of Texas in the title game ended their run.
Mililani’s entourage was in California for a total of two weeks. Unlike some other teams at the World Series, Mililani’s travel distance was short, as they had only to go 45 miles from Fullerton to Chino Hills in the two days between tournaments.
As in past years, Kakugawa’s team found itself giving away a lot in the height department.
“Teams from Hawaii are always among the smallest, and when we first got to Chino Hills and saw some of the boys, I thought, my goodness,we’re playing with the big boys,” said Kakugawa, whose team finished 10-2 in its all-star season. “It was the same way at Fullerton (in the West finals), but our boys didn’t get intimidated.”
Mililani’s P.O.N.Y. all-star team included Iolana Akau, J.C. DeJesus, D.J. Dureg, Kainoa Fong, Troy Kakugawa, Kim Jensen, Trevor Ling, Jimmy Madrid, Ekolu Ramos, Rayson Romero, Cheyne Shiroma, Tanner Tokunaga, Adam Uehara, Justin Ushio and Kody Yamada.
Kakugawa credited “pitching and defense” as key factors in their advance out of Hawaii and beyond.
“What carried us mostly was our pitching,” said Kakugawa, who was assisted by coaches Les Ebato and James Madrid.“That held up really well, and our fielding was outstanding. We didn’t have a lot of errors. Hitting-wise, we did OK.”
While an all-star team, Mililani nevertheless took a blue-collar mind-set into its season, according to their coach.
“They were team players. They gradually understood that one player wasn’t going to carry us.We do a lot of sacrificing runners and moving runners up, so they had to trust in each other.”
The majority of the players will be moving on to high school-level baseball, making their recent World Series appearance the last for most involved.
“The players gave up most of their summer break for a shot at getting to the World Series,“Kakugawa said.“When asked, not one of the players or coaches regrets this sacrifice. The financial burden of sending a team this far is enormous,but all the parents made sacrifices for the memories that everyone will have. Winning the P.O.N.Y. 13 World Series was our ultimate goal, but being second in the world is still an accomplishment for everyone involved.”
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