Pitchers Are The Backbone Of Young Campbell Team
By Jack Danilewicz
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Watching his starting pitchers in action, Campbell High coach Rory Pico almost forgets he has a relatively young team.
On the mound at least, the Sabers are in good hands with a trio of talented starters in Keanu Kapana, Allyn Oliva-Respicio and Charles Kaalekahi.
“Depth-wise, it’s one of our best (pitching staffs),” said Pico, whose team took a 2-2 record into their doubleheader with Aiea over the weekend.“We feel comfortable with any one of the three starting against anyone. They all give us a shot to win. We have some relievers that also can come in. Pitching is the area where we’re a lot more game-ready.”
Perhaps no team in the OIA Red West had a tougher route than Campbell, which opened its season with a doubleheader sweep at Waianae before playing a pair
against two-time defending OIA champ Pearl City. While they lost both meetings to the Chargers, those encounters left plenty to build on from Campbell’s point of view.
“They’re one of the best teams in the state, and we played well against them,” Pico said of the Pearl City series.“I felt like we hung in there, and it showed us where we stand.We’ve been playing decent ball recently. We just have to keep working.
“It’s hard to prepare for every situation, and Pearl City exposed that,“he added with a laugh.“Our goal is to get into the playoffs with a good seed and from there, whatever happens, happens.”
Of the aforementioned trio, Kapana is the only senior. Oliva-Respicio is a junior, and Kaalekahi is a sophomore. “He’s our senior leader,” Pico said of
Kapana, “and he’s also our starting catcher. He has good knowledge of the game. He calls a lot of our games.As a pitcher, he can throw various pitches for strikes.”
Oliva-Respicio, who earned Second Team all-OIA honors last season, is the Sabers’lead-off hitter in addition to being in the starting rotation. “He’s a competitor - he doesn’t like to lose,“Pico said. “He’ll do anything he can to win. He has good speed and a good strong arm, and he’s gotten even stronger in the off-season.”
Pico labeled Kaalekahi, who has grown to 6 foot 2 inches in height, as “probably our ace right now. He played a lot in the off-season, and he’s a lot more fluid. He throws with decent velocity, and he has more command over his change(-up) and curve. He mixes his speeds a lot better.”
In addition to Kapana, the Sabers also boast senior returnees in Jumar Gonzales and Nicholas Tiglao. Gonzales was a starter in the outfield a year ago, but has moved to second base to fill a need there, while Tiglao is an outfielder and left-handed reliever.
The talent pool also received a boost when Mike Memea transferred from Damien. He’s settled in at first base. “He brings some power to our lineup - he drives the ball real well. He’s been a big addition for us.”
While the Sabers have high hopes for their pitching staff, the offensive output will also figure big in their fate.
“They lack in (varsity) game experience,so our hitting has been inconsistent,” Pico admitted. “Some games we’ve hit the ball well, and some games we haven’t. As we get more at-bats, we’ll become more consistent.”
Campbell returns to action on Saturday when the team meet Kapolei.
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