State Tourney In Red Raiders’ Sights, Despite Injuries
By Jack Danilewicz
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The prospect of “weathering the storm"has nothing to do with the weather for the Kahuku baseball team in the early-going of the OIA White Conference season.
Instead, Roger Van Ness’ team looks to stay the course while it awaits the return of a handful of projected starters on the mend from injuries and academic issues. There’s also the reality of a difficult schedule, which began against two-time defending OIA DII champion Waipahu last Wednesday against Kahuku’s scaled-down lineup.
The good news is that they’re equipped to overcome obstacles now, as they will be gunning for a fourth straight appearance in the DII state tournament in May.
Also firmly in place is a work ethic associated with championship-caliber teams, in Van Ness’ view.
“They come out and play hard every day - that’s the bottom line,” said Van Ness, whose team tied McKinley for the OIA White East crown en route to a 10-6 overall record. “They leave it on the field every day.If they do that every game, we’ll be fine.
“We’ll be a handful for other teams, even though we’re young,“he added.“We’ll have eight 10th-graders on the field at all times. Hopefully, we’ll play up to our potential.”
While a talented sophomore class should carry much of the load, veteran leadership also is back with senior standouts J.J.Nozawa,Kekoa Hughes and Justin Van Ness.
Included on Hughes’ resume is a perfect game, which fueled a 21-0 rout of Waialua in 2009.Van Ness was the league’s second leading hitter last spring, batting .565 to go with six home runs, while Nozawa has been a steady performer throughout. He was Kahuku’s opening day pitcher against Waipahu last Wednesday (a 5-1 loss), while Van Ness and Hughes will reenter the lineup later in the month.
“We’re real happy about our pitching staff,“Van Ness said. “We have several kids who can throw strikes. Hopefully, we can keep our mistakes to a minimum. They talk a lot and guide each other, which is great.”
Relative newcomers that Van Ness is high on include Samson Mamazuka (catcher), Michael Sabido (third base, lead-off hitter), Hekili Greycochea (shortstop, No. 2 in batting order), Evan Ramirez (second base),Taynui Nagy (pitcher/shortstop) and Iukini Hughes (pitcher).
“Samson caught in Little League with this group and has been playing with us in the summer. He has usually concentrated on judo and wrestling but decided to play baseball this year. He’s a good defensive catcher. If we had 10 kids who hustled like Michael (Sabido), I’d be happy all of the time.We have a lot of new additions who have done really well in preseason.
“We won’t be your typical Kahuku team,” he warned. “We’re small, but we’re real fast.”
Although they lost projected first basemen Joe Deal,who was advised to skip the season due to a medical condition, they will benefit from the return of senior Marcus Mutao, who gets the start in left field.
Further good signs are the expanded coaching staff of assistants Les Kamae, Nolan Ramirez, Gary Nagy,Anthony Haite and John Guadnola.
“I’m really glad we got some coaches,“Van Ness said.
Kahuku had an open date Wednesday and return to action Saturday for a doubleheader at Kaimuki. Game One is set to begin at 11 a.m.
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