Baseball Cougars Have Talent, Now Working On Control
By Jack Danilewicz
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The Kaiser High baseball team’s spoken and unspoken mantra for this week and all ensuing weeks is simply “to finish.”
“When you get ahead, you have to control the game, and we haven’t done that,” said coach Peter Ho. “Bottom line is that we should be 5-1 instead of 3-3.We didn’t do the things we needed to do, but we’ve been working on that.”
Much on Ho’s mind of late were losses to Kailua (6-5) and Moanalua (7-6), games where the Cougars led in the seventh inning only to lose at the end.While those defeats stung, Kaiser had won three of its last four OIA East Red conference games heading into the weekend,highlighted by a doubleheader sweep of Kalaheo March 22 by 12-0 and 18-0.
In the coming weeks, it will all be about positioning for the OIA Tournament.Under the league’s new format, the playoffs will begin only three days after most teams will play a season-ending doubleheader, leaving little turnaround time for pitching staffs. The top two teams get an extra day of rest in earning a bye and advancement into the second round.
“Every one game is tough - every team wants to place first or second because of that bye,” Ho said.
There is no let-up in the schedule this week with an all-important series with Castle looming. The Knights will host Kaiser at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. They meet again at 3 p.m. Saturday at Kaiser. Castle won both games between the teams last season, and the Knights were off to a 2-1 start in Red East play through last week.
“Castle always has good pitching, and they swing the bats real well,” Ho said. “They took two from us last year. We have to stop making mistakes and punch out at the end.”
Even with the two games that got away, Kaiser finds itself in position for a favorable post-season seeding if it can close out its schedule with a win streak. A riveting run in the playoffs would be the ideal sendoff for Ho, who will step down as coach at season’s end after a successful eight-season run. Ho is the second-longest serving baseball coach in Kaiser’s annals.
“It’s that time already,” laughed Ho, who also coached at McKinley and Radford. “My daughter is 10 now, and she’s playing softball, so I’d like to coach her at some point.”
Seniors Cal Tashiro, Bryce Marcouiller, Joe Honma and Zach Wong have been the catalysts for Ho’s current team. Honma is a second baseman who bats in the No. 3 spot in the batting order, while Marcouiller is the team’s catcher. Both were First Team all-conference selections in the East last season.
Tashiro was a Second Team All-Star in the East last season at shortstop and also serves as a relief pitcher. Wong is in the starting rotation as a pitcher, meanwhile, and threw a no-hitter in Kaiser’s win over Kalaheo. He joined Tashiro on the East’s Second Team in 2008.
“It’s a close-knit group,“said Ho, who led Kaiser to a third place finish at the 2007 state baseball tournament. “They do a lot of things together outside of baseball - team activities. They’ve bonded real good.
“Bryce is a good hitter and a very good leader,“Ho said of Marcouiller, whose three home runs led the team through the first six games. “He’s even-keeled and steady. He’s always going to give his best. Cal gets on base a lot and he’s real quick.
“Joe’s been steady all year long,” he added of Honma.“He can play defense with the best of them.Zack’s still a little rough, but he’s 6-4 and he has good speed. He’s going to be good.He’s just a strong kid.He never gives in.”
Following this week’s series with Castle, Kaiser has a pair of doubleheaders remaining in Red East play. On April 11, they meet Roosevelt at Stevenson Middle School before finishing up with a doubleheader at home April 18 against rival Kalani.
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