Pitching Key For A Season Packed With Doubleheaders
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usThere are seven baseball teams in the OIA Red West conference, and six of them began the regular season last weekend with much the same mind-set: Catch Pearl City.
With back-to-back OIA titles and an appearance in the state championship in May of 2007, the Chargers’role as the favorite for this season was pretty much assured the moment the last one ended.
For his part, second-year coach Gary Nakamoto sees a wide-open race.“Every series is tough, and anything can happen,” he said.“Every week will be about who comes to play. It should be a challenging season.”
The new format of playing numerous doubleheaders on Saturdays will add to the intrigue in the West, which already is a balanced division.Pearl City was to play the first of these doubleheaders over the weekend against Mililani in their West opener. Doubleheader Saturdays also loom later in the month,when the Chargers will meet West powers Aiea and Waianae on March 21 and 28, respectively. This week they host Campbell on Wednesday and travel to Ewa for a second meeting with the Sabers on Saturday. Both games begin at 3 p.m.
“You need at least six good pitchers for a doubleheader,” said Nakamoto, who led Pearl City to a 19-5-2 overall record in 2008.“If you use one or two in the first game, you will need at least two or three for the second game. Depth is going to be important.”
With that in mind, Nakamoto spent Pearl City’s preseason trying to bring along a pitching staff that has only two seniors.
Nothing can help season a group more than good competition, of course, and the Chargers played one of the tougher schedules in the state, taking part in tournaments hosted by Iolani, Kailua and Maui High, in addition to hosting the Mel Seki Pearl City Tournament. They managed a 13-2 record while seeing their pitching staff accumulate lots of innings.
“They had their work in preseason,” Nakamoto said of his pitchers.“We used four a game, and we used everybody five to eight innings each.
“Staying healthy and eligible are keys. If we do that, we should be in the mix of things.”
Nakamoto is counting on juniors Kahana Neal and Chace Numata and seniors Jordan Schweitzer and Micah Nakasone to lead the way early-on. Neal and Numata were both starters as sophomores, turning in solid seasons. They also hold down spots at second base and shortstop when not on the mound. Schweitzer and Nakasone will both be strictly pitchers, according to Nakamoto.
Freshman Kawika Pruett and sophomore Isaac Shim also have found their way into the rotation. Both had solid seasons for the junior varsity in the fall, and both have seen their stock rise since being moved up to varsity.
Whoever gets the call on the mound will have the luxury of pitching to senior catcher Carleton Tanabe, one of the most highly regarded at his position in the state. Tanabe, who hit four home runs in preseason, was slowed recently by a pulled hamstring and was listed as questionable over the weekend for the series with Mililani.
The Chargers also boast leadership in senior third baseman Bryson Namba. Like Tanabe, Namba also has been visited by a lot of scouts in the off-season, according to Nakamoto.
If all goes according to plan, Pearl City’s power at the plate won’t be restricted to just Tanabe and Namba, however. “Top to bottom in the lineup, we have power. We just have to work on being more selective. Once we get settled, we should be more productive and, hopefully, we can produce runs.”
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