Trojans Pitching Solid In Red West Home Stretch
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usAs Mark Hirayama and his Mililani baseball team reached the midway point of their OIA Red West season recently, the theme for the home stretch of their slate was set in stone: more offense.
Indeed, low-scoring, defensive battles have been the prevailing theme through their first six games,which they split to take a 3-3 record into last weekend. The good news is that they have been in striking distance in all six encounters, which included a sweep of Waianae, a split with Kapolei, and a pair of losses to surging Campbell.
“Good pitching beats good hitting any day of the week,” Hirayama said.“We definitely count on pitching to keep us in games, and we’ve played pretty good defense. Now, we just have to find a way to win a few more.”
While the Trojans haven’t yet had a break-out game at the plate, it isn’t from lack of effort, according to the coach, who’s been pleased with their practices.
“We’ve worked a lot on our hitting. Sometimes it can become a mental thing with the players. We’re trying to continue with what we can control, loosen them up and have them swing the bat, be aggressive and take chances. We’re balancing the physical and mental (approach to hitting).
“(Good) Hitting can be contagious,“he added.“When one starts hitting, it can snowball. We’re hoping that happens as we finish up our OIA schedule and move into the (league) tournament.”
At .500 at the midway point, the Trojans are positioned nicely for a second half run in the Red West. A late-season run in 2009 helped Mililani make the state tour-nament.“The nice thing is that we control our own destiny. If we play like we can, we should be right there.”
Although they still have three-time defending OIA champion Pearl City remaining on their schedule, the Trojans catch the Chargers in their last two games - April 14 and 16. Mililani was to play Leilehua in a double-header last Saturday and meet Aiea on Wednesday (at home) and Saturday (away) this week. On paper, those games would appear to be favorable matchups for Mililani, given the fact that Leilehua and Aiea both had losing records in league play as of late last week.
Regardless of the opponent, the Trojans hope for more offensive production. On that note, Hirayama praised the play of senior center fielder Jared Ichimura, who has been batting in the top spot in the Mililani hierarchy.
“He’s been doing a nice job. Offensively, he gives us a chance to score runs when he sets the table for other people by getting on base in the lead-off spot.”
Senior catcher Kacey Miyasato has the team’s lone home run this season, which came in a win over Waianae, and has been a defensive mainstay behind the plate at catcher. “He’s been playing well behind the plate,” Hirayama said. “He’s been handling our young pitchers and providing us with our most offensive support so far.”
Pitcher Micah Kitaoka has carried the load on the mound in the first half of league games, meanwhile, logging three starts as of last weekend. “He’s been doing a real good job for us. He’s been our No. 1 (starter in the rotation). He’s been throwing strikes, and he’s been around the plate with everything. When you do that, you have a chance. He’s been a pleasant surprise.”
Kitaoka’s progress also has helped fill the void left by Mike Yasamura, who was projected to be the ace this year. He’s recovering from an arm injury and had missed a week-anda-half of practice time as of late last Thursday. His status is still unclear for this week’s games with Aiea.
“We saw him as being our No. 1 based on the innings he threw last year, so it’s been frustrating for him to sit,” Hirayama said.“He’s worked (hard) towards his goals.”
Mililani’s regular-season finale April 16 against Pearl City has been selected by Oceanic-16 for TV broadcast and will be played at 7 p.m. at Hans L’Orange Park.
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