Castle’s Baseball Knights Dry Up And Come Out Swinging
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usCastle baseball coach Joe Tom Jr. stopped well short of declaring the Knights’ games this week with Farrington and Roosevelt as “must wins,” but he knows if tradition should hold true in the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s Eastern Division this spring, his team will want to hit its stride in time for its last three games.
Indeed, no team in the East has arguably a tougher schedule down the stretch with the Knights set to play games opposite Kailua, Kalani and Moanalua in succession to close out their regular season.
“We’re progressing steadily now, so we’re staying focused on that,” said Tom, whose team took a 3-1 record into the weekend. “Like everyone else, we missed a lot of time on the field (due to the rain), but if we improve and are consistent, we have a chance to stay in the hunt in the East and make the playoffs and then, hopefully, qualify for the state tournament.”
Following a 7-1 loss to East front-runner Kaiser in their regular-season opener, the Knights have rebounded nicely with wins over Kahuku, McKinley and Kaimuki. On Saturday, Castle was to meet neighborhood rival Kalaheo. On Wednesday, the Knights host Farrington (4 p.m.) before meeting Roosevelt on Saturday (5:30 p.m.) in a game that will be played at Central Oahu Regional Park.
The Knights have relied on a nice mix of seniors and juniors to date, many of whom started a year ago when Castle qualified for the OIA’s post-season. Back in the fold from that team are shortstop Kyle Kanaeholo, second baseman Brandon Kon, catcher David Mohika, catcher Lyle Kitigawa, outfielder Corey Paredes, pitcher Royce Diaz, pitcher Codey Cabael, outfielder/third baseman Dallas Olsen, first baseman Kyle Abasial, outfielder Jordan Nakayama and pitcher Barron Meyer.
Offensively, the Knights have had no trouble producing runs, tallying 26 through their first three East games. But defense has been a point of emphasis for Castle lately, according to Tom.
In Kitagawa and Mohika, the Knights have two of the better catchers in the East.
“David (Mohika) adds speed to our lineup, and he’s been doing well with the bat,” Tom said. “Kitagawa has a good arm, he’s a good defensive catcher, and he’s been swinging a good bat, too.
“So far, we’ve done well defensively, committing only one fielding error (through three games),” he continued. “Our strength has been up the middle with Kyle and Kon. Both are great kids with great attitudes. That’s helped us. Our defense has been pretty solid. We have to make sure we stay consistent and don’t make errors.
Given that the Knights have faired well against both Farrington and Roosevelt in the past, a quick start in both of it games this week would benefit the Knights greatly, according to Tom.
“Roosevelt is very opportunistic, so you have to get that first out against them because they’re active at creating opportunities (on the base paths),” he said.“We’ve had big games against Farrington, and we’ve had some squeakers with them. The No. 1 thing we have to do against them is get ahead. They can swing the bat. Having the game at home is good.
“We’ve banged the ball around pretty good,” he added on his team’s offense, “and our bats are going to have to stay alive because when we play people like Kalani, Kailua and Moanalua, they’re capable of scoring a lot of runs, and those teams have the pitching to back it (their offense) up. Yesterday, we had a good hitting practice, which was good, and it’s good to see the sun again. Kids can get anxious and lose focus when they’re inside (due to the weather) all of the time.”
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