Knights Breaking Records, Er, Bats In Summer League

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Besides facing stellar pitching, members of the Knights’ baseball team endure another challenge in American Legion League play this summer.

Unlike in the regular season at Castle High, the summer Knights are required by American Legion rules to use only wooden bats - a drastic change from aluminum, which is the bat of preference in modern baseball.

“Now the kids are realizing what the coaches had to go through when we played,“laughed Castle coach Joe Tom,who also manages the Knights, a team made up largely of former and current Castle players. “The weight is different.You have to have some strength to get these things around, but I think they’re enjoying the challenge.”

The rule banning aluminum is in place for developmental purposes and is a welcome change, said Tom. (Aluminum bats will be reinstated for the playoffs.)

“You have to hit the ball on the sweet spot more often,“he explained. “We broke three bats in the first game, and we’ve broken five in three games. I like it, but it can be expensive,I guess,if we keep breaking bats.

“The kids are concentrating a little more because of this,“he added. “They have to learn a better swing. You have to make adjustments.You can’t swing the same old way every time and get those quote ‘aluminum hits.’ It’s a great training tool.”

The ALL season runs through the latter part of July, with playoffs set to begin July 26.The top eight teams (out of 18) make the playoffs, with the champion earning a berth in the national tournament. The Knights hope to be a part of the playoffs, although Tom admits that “development is the key thing.”

They return to action at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday when they host Aiea. A nine-day layoff will follow before their next game, a road game at Mid-Pacific June 30.

Players hit the summer season in full stride after a riveting run in last month’s Wally Yonamine state baseball tournament, which saw Castle upset OIA champion Aiea in a quarterfinal game en route to a surprising third-place finish. A number of Knights are in the fold from that team, although lineups are ever-changing because many players have other commitments.

The Knights took a 2-1 record into the weekend,with all three contests decided by one run. Wins against Pac Five (5-4) and Kalani (11-10) were sandwiched around a 9-8 loss to Diamond Head. Tom was pleased with his team’s hitting in all three games. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the kids.We had 15 kids in uniform against Kalani, and all 15 played. We try to get as many kids in as we can.It gives us a chance to look at kids at different positions.”

Tom called the Knights’win over Kalani “one of the best comebacks I’ve been around.We were down 9-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, and we exploded for nine runs.”

The win over Kalani, whose team also includes nine players from Kaiser High - which won the OIA Eastern Division regular-season title - also gave the Knights a taste of Falcon pitcher Mika Takahashi, one of Hawaii’s top pitchers. He had missed most of the 2006 season with an injury.

“I was impressed with his speed,” Tom said.“He was throwing some smoke.”

The Knights will have to replace their infield in time for next spring after graduating several standouts from 2006. Finding replacements is among their priorities.

“It (defense) is something that looks terrific at times and at other times not so good,” Tom said.“We had five errors in the game we lost. Against Kalani, except for the first inning, we did pretty well. It’s something we need to shore up. I think we can be a little sharper there.

“We’ve been mixing and matching, and it’s been good to see the younger kids mixing well with the veterans.”