Surfrider Baseball Goal: A Well-rounded Attack In OIA
By Jack Danilewicz
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The official starting date for the prep baseball season may have been last month, but in a sense, Kailua’s 2008 season began last July when the team traveled to San Diego for a national tournament.
Indeed, longtime Surfrider coach Corey Ishigo credits that trip with helping to kick-start Kailua’s fast start this spring in OIA Eastern Conference play.
“We didn’t win it, but we held our own,” he said of the San Diego trip. “It was an 18-and-under tournament, and we had a team of kids who were 17-and-under. “Experience is our strength. This is a tournament team.
“We had a great summer,” he added. “We faced some good competition - we were able to beat a lot of ILH teams - and we played well in tournaments. They’ve put in a lot of time, and they’re seeing the results. It didn’t happen overnight.”
As in past years, reputation alone has helped to ensure they receive every opponent’s best effort, but Kailua, which has won five titles under Ishigo, and which was the league runner-up to Pearl City last spring, has met every challenge to date, having reeled off four straight wins against Moanalua (8-3), Castle (5-1), McKinley (10-0) and Kalani (8-5) to begin their OIA season.
Pitching was an area of concern in preseason, he said, but the Surfriders have made strides in the past few weeks. Against McKinley on March 15, senior Rob DeMarsh tallied six strike outs and gave up only one hit to lead the way in the Surfriders’ rout. Four days later, they got a stellar performance from Jared Tamanaha, who posted six strike outs and limited host Kalani to five hits.
“Our pitching is getting better,” said Ishigo, who led Kailua to a state title in 2001. “We knew this was our weakest point, but the little things we’ve been working on with them have helped them to get better. Rob’s been throwing strikes - that helps.
“And he’s been hitting the ball well, too,” Ishigo added of DeMarsh, who went 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored in Kailua’s recent win over McKinley.“Jared is doing a lot better than last year. He’s learning how to pitch instead of just throwing as hard as he can.”
Offensively, the Surfriders also have gotten production from senior outfielders Ryan Kinoshita and Kale Sumner. Kinoshita went 3-for-4 with three RBI to help drive Kailua across the finish line in their win over Kalani last Wednesday, while Sumner blasted a two-run homer versus the Falcons and has three extra base hits in his last two games. More output came from Jared Iha, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.
“Ryan sets the table for us offensively - he’s a good base-runner,” Ishigo said of Kinoshita, who is batting in the lead-off spot.
“We’re trying to put everything together right now and not be one-dimensional. Our defense has been holding its own. We’ve been working hard on it, and the kids have been buying in. Hopefully, we’re getting better.”
Kailua returns to action this week with a pair of key games against Kaiser at home on Tuesday and at Moanalua on Friday. Both games begin at 3:30 p.m. Kaiser entered the weekend one game behind Kailua with a 3-1 league record.
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