The Wood Of Summer Should Polish Falcon Hitting Skills

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Spencer Shiroma of Kalani throws the ball to first during a game against Maryknoll. Photo by Byron Lee, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

With his team still trying to find its way offensively, Kalani head baseball coach Shannon Hirai is hopeful that the American Legion League’s rule of allowing only wooden bats can give his team a lift in the long run.

“The kids are starting to get used to them, so hopefully the wood bats will help our hitting,” said Hirai. “It has shown our kids that we need to hit the ball more solidly.You can no longer take those half swings (as with an aluminum bat).”

With input from the coaches, the American Legion League went to all-wood bats five years ago in the interest of improving batting technique among its players, although aluminum bats will be allowed in the league’s upcoming state tournament. Hawaii is one of few states to implement the rule, according to Hirai.

A year ago, the Falcons also endured a period of transition in switching over from the aluminum bats favored in the spring to the mandated wooden bats, but saw improvement when it counted most.

“At this time last year, we could-n’t hit the ball out of the infield,” said Hirai.“We had some doubles and triples during the spring, but there’s been a big difference (in summer). We’re starting to get some more.”

The Falcons, who finished 4-9 overall last spring after qualifying for the state tournament with a senior-dominated lineup in 2007, had dropped their first 10 games in ALL play last month before rebounding nicely to take a three-game win streak into last weekend.

“Our goal of making the (American Legion) playoffs is looking grim right now,“Hirai said on the eve of last weekend. “This weekend, we could make things interesting.”

Eight of the league’s 21 teams will qualify for the Hawaii state tournament later in the month, with the winner moving on to the national tournament on the West Coast, making every remaining game something of a “must win” for the Falcons.

Moving on to the post-season would allow his team to accumulate more game experience, which could pay big dividends for a team that is still relatively young. Hirai is carrying 16 players at present, most of whom have evenly split time in the Falcon lineup.

“We’ve been getting a lot of guys in,” Hirai said. “The kids all understand that everyone will sit, and they’re going along with it instead of pouting, which they were earlier in the season.”

Victories over Saint Louis, McKinley and Maryknoll teams accounted for the Falcons’ recent three-game win streak. Among the highlights during that stretch was the pitching of junior-to-be Wataru Noguchi, who threw 80 pitches in six innings to earn the win against Saint Louis.

“He threw the most innings of anyone in a game,” Hirai said. “Although he hasn’t pitched for us the last two years, we’ve always been looking to get him on the mound. He’s been pitching pretty well.”

Also in the fold for the Falcons are junior-to-be Kiel Odo, the team’s starting catcher last spring, and Dillion Matsuda, who will be a senior in the fall. Hirai is also high on a trio of talented first-year players in out-fielder/pitcher Spencer Shiroma, outfielder Matt Murakami and pitcher Cody Nakashima. All three of them will be sophomores in the fall.

One of the benefits of a long summer season following quickly on the heels of a team’s spring season is the cohesiveness that comes with being together for an extended period of time, according to Hirai.

“Everyone’s getting along better, and they’re playing more as a team,“he said.“The kids also know that they have to contribute when they’re in there, and they’ve been doing that.”

Kalani returns to action at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, when they meet Waianae at Central Oahu Regional Park.