Tom Dynasty Continues On Castle Baseball Diamond
By Jack Danilewicz
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Castle High senior shortstop Kainoa Tom could always be counted on to deliver for the Knights. This year, he’s also accumulating some style points along the way.
“He’s really standing out right now,” said Chad Uyehara, who is Castle’s co-head coach along with Brent Taniguchi. “He’s always been a steady player - he makes the plays on defense, and he hits the ball. Along with his consistency, he’s been on a power surge, hitting the long ball.”
Tom, who had no home runs as a junior last spring, already had hit four of them heading into last Friday’s game with Moanalua. Against Kaiser on March 12, Tom hit two home runs to lead the Knights in a 12-0 rout.
“He hit two shots,” Uyehara marveled. “He’s been on a wild tear every since. Kaiser was his break-out game.”
Tom entered the weekend with a staggering team best .645 batting average through 10 games. He also had 11 extra base hits - four doubles, three triples and four home runs - to his credit. His production has helped fuel the Knights’ considerable offensive output, helping them to a 7-3 record. Castle had entered the weekend tied with Kaiser in second place in the OIA, one full game back of leader Kailua. Castle dropped both East encounters to Kailua, but swept Kaiser in its season series to help position the Knights for a possible second seed in next week’s OIA playoffs. Castle needs a win over McKinley in its East finale on Friday (3:30 p.m.) to ensure a second seed.
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Having Tom in the lineup can only help the Knights’ chances. One of five team captains along with Pulama Silva, Kris Kahanu, Kaliko Cayetano-Tamashiro and Coby Agres, Tom has been a fixture around Castle baseball since his youth. His father, Joe Tom Jr., was Castle’s head coach since the 1980s and is still on staff, along with Kainoa Tom’s grandfather, Joe Tom Sr.
Kainoa Tom’s older brother Jordan was a standout shortstop for the Knights in recent years.
“It’s a baseball family,” Uyehara said of the Toms. “Kainoa has been playing with a ball since before he could walk.”
At Castle, Tom’s versatility and consistency have been his strengths, according to his coach.
“He’s more than one-dimensional - he has different ways to
beat you,” Uyehara said. “He can hit, he has good speed, a strong arm, and he knows the game well. This year, he’s been swinging the bat a whole lot better. He worked hard in the off-season.”
Castle, which had tallied 80 runs in its first 10 league games, including five double-digit scoring efforts, took a team batting average of .333 into the weekend.
“Our offense has really come alive lately,” Uyehara admitted.
The Knights figure to be on guard against a letdown this week as they look ahead to Friday’s game against McKinley, which was winless in the East (0-9) heading into last weekend. “We have to make sure we don’t take them lightly,” Uyehara said. “Our seniors have been leading us well all season long, so we’ll need them to continue that and take care of business these last two (East conference) games.”
The top five finishers in the OIA Tournament earn the league’s berths for the Wally Yonamine Foundation state tournament, which will take place May 7-10 at Central Oahu Regional Park.
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