Shortstop Brittany Hawn Is Knights’ ‘Coach On The Field’
By Jack Danilewicz
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When Castle High head softball coach Jon Berinobis looks for leaders at the beginning of next season, they will already be in place.
His junior-dominated Knights of 2010 are well ahead of the schedule in that regard. In fact, sophomore shortstop Brittany Hawn has already laid claim to the distinction of coach-on-the-field.
“She’s our spark plug - we like her leadership and her love and knowledge of the game,” Berinobis said. “She plays with fire and passion. She’s the kind of girl you like to have on your team.”
As he scans his roster, Hawn can be labeled merely the prototypical player of the program, as leaders fill his lineup.
“If anything is going to carry us, it’s the leadership,” he said. “The older girls have taken the lead, and they’ve been helping the younger ones and pushing them. It’s something we haven’t seen here lately. It’s been a good season. The kids have been great, and that boils down to the leadership.”
On-field results support the positive trend from day to day. Castle took a 3-1 record into last Saturday’s double-header with Moanalua, and a loss to Kahuku is the only blemish on its OIA East Red record. The Knights return to action at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at home versus rival Kailua. On Saturday, the teams meet again at Kailua. The games should figure big on both teams’ schedules, especially for the Knights, who are seeking a fourth straight appearance in the state softball championships next month.
While Hawn is joined by mainly juniors, there’s little talk of inexperience with several key components of the team having played critical roles on last year’s team, which finished 12-7 overall.
Also back are second baseman Brook Kaululaau, pitch-er/first baseman Leisha Liilii, catcher Kaisha Dacosin, left fielder Kalena Lessary, right fielder/first basemen Brittany Lane, pitcher/infielder/out-fielder Maile Barros and center fielder Alyssa Cipriano, who is one of few seniors in the lineup.
Berinobis has turned to Liilii on the mound, as the Knights lost last year’s ace, Chandelle Dacosin, who completed her eligibility. Liilii started Castle’s first four games.
“She’s off to a real good start,” Berinobis said. “She hadn’t pitched much last year and during the summer, so this year she was kind of pressed into the pitching duties. Her confidence has gotten a lot better, and she’s grown into the program.”
Berinobis has also been high on the leadership of Kaululaau, who has moved in nicely to second base to fill the spot vacated by Kaitlyn Wills, who transferred to Kapolei.
“She’s made the transition and adapted to it well,” he said. “We’ve been very impressed with her understanding of the game. She’s made great improvement. Offensively, she’s been really hitting the ball. She’s made some adjustments.”
Dacosin also has made a quantum leap development-wise and is sharing catching duty with Cipriano. “She’s been a mainstay behind the plate,” he said. “She and Leisha work well together. We let her call all of the pitches.”
Lessary, meanwhile, has been an anchor in the out-field in left.“She’s deceiving. She makes some spectacular plays. She gives you all she has and has improved a lot. Hopefully, she’ll help us on the offensive side, too.”
Maximizing his team’s offensive output remains a priority as the Knights move into the second half of their Red East season.
“We’ve been swinging the bat pretty good, and we’ve also struggled at times,” he said. “It will help if we can produce more timely hits. We have some younger kids that can run, so we can go to a small-ball game if we have to.
“Defensively, we’re still searching. Shortstop (where Hawn is the starter) is the only real position player we returned (in the infield), so we still need to be tested.”
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