Standout Trio Returns To Waipahu

Del.icio.us

Former Waipahu standouts Kaimi Mead, Triton Gante and Ignatius Mackenzie may have moved on to college programs, but their baseball “base” remains with the Marauders, whom they led to back-to-back OIA titles in 2008 and 2009.

The trio are back playing with Waipahu as the Marauders take part in the American Legion League now through the end of July.

“They’re all home for the summer, so they’re with us,” Waipahu coach Milton Takenaka said. “It’s a good change for the summer, having them back, and we also have some kids from other schools. They’ve kind of grown up a little. I expected Iggy to come back on the heavier side, but he looks great.”

Mackenzie and Gante play baseball for Indiana Tech, an NAIA school in Fort Wayne. Mead plays football at Menlo College in California and walked on to the baseball team in the spring. All three highlight Waipahu’s summer roster.

“I think we have a little more depth this year,” Takenaka said.“We have a lot more kids than in previous years when we might have 15 or 16. We’re up to 20 or 21 kids now.”

Mead and Gante will pitch and hold down spots in the outfield when it’s not their turn in the rotation. Mackenzie will catch most nights. Waipahu, which took a 2-1 record into last weekend, will play a 20-game regular season with the playoffs set for late July. The team is coming off another state tournament appearance in May and went 10-4 overall, so ALL play could sustain momentum from players who were part of the spring season. For returnees like Gante, Mead and Mackenzie, it’s a chance to refine their skills and accumulate more game experience.

As in past years, the league allows only wooden bats for the first 10 games in an attempt to help players develop better habits at the plate. “I think it helps,“he said.“You have to make better contact for the ball to go anywhere. With an aluminum bat, you can hit it off the handle (for a base hit).”

Also in for the summer are Pearl City standout Chevas Numata at third base and Saint Louis standout Kino Enos at shortstop. Sam Chee, who was an All-Conference Waipahu player in the spring, also is back and will be playing multiple positions.

“He finished up his senior year strong,“Takenaka said of Chee.

Drake Yoshioka, the ace of Waipahu’s pitching staff in the spring,will be only a part-time player this summer because of his commitments to the Marauder football team.

Three games into the ALL season, Marauder defense remains ahead of offense. “Defensively, we’re pretty good - that’s our strength,” he said.“Offensively, we’ll get better.We hit the ball in a couple of games (wins over Campbell and Punahou), but we didn’t against Saint Louis (a loss). We’re feeling ourselves out right now, and we have some kids who are just starting to get in a groove.”