Knights Ready For State Baseball Tournament On Maui

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The mind-set of the post-season has always been to grab any advantage one can get. With that in mind, the Castle baseball team is hoping its trip to Maui will pay dividends next week when the Knights take part in the Wally Yonamine Foundation 2006 State Baseball Tournament at Iron Maehara Stadium.

“We know the field, and we know the surroundings,” said coach Joe Tom, whose team competed in the King Kekaulike Pre-Season Tournament in March.“The kids have a good feel for what the area is like, and since there’ll be no school, we’ll be there to just focus on baseball.”

The Knights had most of last week to prepare for the state tour-ney after an intense run through the OIA Tournament the week before, where they’d teetered on the brink of elimination. Castle earned the last of the OIA’s five state tournament berths by defeating Leilehua 9-1 in the fifth-place play-in game May 8. They had opened the OIA Tournament with a 6-3 win over Mililani, but lost to eventual league champion Moanalua the following day in the quarter finals, leaving their state hopes in limbo before regrouping for a 5-4 win over Pearl City to make the play-in game.

“The kids have been a little more focused lately, and there’s a sense of accomplishment,” Tom said. “There are a lot of positive emotions right now.”

Pairings for the state tournament, which runs Wednesday-Saturday, were to be announced over the weekend. Both the Knights and Windward rival Kailua were anticipating playing first-round games on Wednesday.

Entering the OIA Tournament, Tom had talked of Castle’s need to “be a little more selective and more focused at the plate,” and the Knights have done an about-face in that regard as of late, totaling an amazing 39 hits while averaging 5.7 runs per game through four post-season encounters. The team equaled Moanalua’s seven hits in its loss to the OIA champions, but were done in by defensive miscues.

“Our hitting has picked up,” he said.“During the tournament, we were able to out-hit teams. We still get over-anxious once in a while, but for the most part our hitting has been good. We’re improving, and we hope it stays that way. I’m optimistic that we’ll be fine (offensively).

“Clutch-hitting will be important,” he added. “There have been times when we’ve out-hit people this year and still lost. As with anyone, getting ahead is always a big plus for us. Things flow better when you’re ahead.”

Although three errors proved costly in the loss to Moanalua, defense has been the Knights’ forte for much of the year. Castle has committed only two errors in its last two games combined.

“Overall, our defense has played well. Our mistakes really ballooned against Moanalua - we had some unearned runs - but we’ve been pretty solid there.”

Defensive strength remains up the middle. In shortstop Kyle Kanaeholo and second baseman Brandon Kon, the Knights boast two of Hawaii’s better infielders.

“Kyle has done it all year long for us (defensively),” Tom said. “He has great range, and Kon has been flawless. He had to play shortstop for us last week after not having played there all year, and he made every play.”

Tom was unsure late last week which pitcher would start Castle’s first-round game, calling it a “game-day” decision, although junior right-handed pitcher Royce Diaz could get the call, having logged starts in two of the Knights’ four OIA Tournament games. Regardless of who starts, Castle’s ability to eliminate self-inflicted wounds will go a long way toward determining the team’s fate.

“We have to cut down on our walks, and getting the first batter out will be very important,” Tom said. “It takes them out of their running game.”

Off the field, the Knights have benefitted greatly in their mental preparation by working with Mountain View Community Church pastor Rob Gross, now a fixture within the program.

“He’s been very instrumental with our team,” Tom said. “He helps with our study hall and with helping our kids to keep a strong mind. It’s been a very positive relationship the last five years, this year especially.”