Hurricanes Are Eyeing The OIA
By Jack Danilewicz
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Senior Ciara Acierto pitches during
Kapolei softball practice. Photo by
Byron Lee, staff photographer.
In most programs, losing 12 seniors - including seven starters - would normally translate into a rebuilding year. Not so at Kapolei, where head softball coach Tony Saffery is always surrounded by a team with the right mind-set.
“These kids walk in expecting to win right away,” said Saffery. “That’s one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is that I always remind them that it takes hard work, and these kids appreciate hard work.”
The payoff for the Hurricanes’ work ethic has been back-to-back OIA titles in 2004 and 2005 as well as the 2004 state title. Kapolei finished as the state tour-nament’s runner-up in 2005 and took third last February. The byproduct of those accomplishments is that the Hurricanes figure once again to find themselves among the favorites to win the OIA, even with heavy losses to graduation last spring. Saffery wouldn’t have it any other way.
As has been the custom for the Hurricanes, the emphasis is on who returns rather than who doesn’t, although even Saffery concedes that replacing four-year standout Tajia Acierto would be a challenging process for any program.
The good news for the Hurricanes is the return of a trio of standouts - junior center-fielder Kaili Smith, sophomore short stop Tehani Kaaihue and junior catcher Ashlynn Ashby. Sisters Kishti and Amber Kamaka, both transfers from Mililani, are also expected to have an impact this season.
Of the returnees and newcomers, Smith is plainly the most visible of the bunch.Although she still has two years of eligibility remaining, she is already one of the most sought-after college prospects in the state.
“We see her continuing to do great things,” said Saffery. “She’s been a pretty dominant hitter in the past, and she’s one of the best center-fielders. She’ll bat fourth for us.
“Tehani is a phenomenal athlete,” he added. “We took her on as a freshman, and this will be a breakout year for her. We took her to the Mainland this summer with our (Hawaii Pearls) Club team, and she tore it up with four or five home runs.”
Like Kaaihue, Ashby has started for the Hurricanes since her freshman season.
“We’re really proud of her accomplishments - she’s matured into a good ballplayer,“Saffery said of Ashby.“She can also play in the outfield, which really helps us because she communicates so well with our players.”
Saffery will count on Kishti Kamaka and junior Ciara Acierto to compensate for the loss of Tajia Acierto, whose talents now belong to Hawaii Pacific University. Kamaka is a left-hander, while Ciara Acierto is a right-hander, providing the Hurricanes with balance that can only be a huge asset to Kapolei’s defensive prospects.
“Both bring their own specialties,“Saffery said.“I like what I see from both of them. It’s amazing to have a stable of pitchers like that. We’ll have a competitive season with those two as ‘go-to’ pitchers.”
As the Hurricanes prepare for the upcoming regular season, defense remains a priority, according to Saffery.
“Tajia was such a dominant pitcher the last four years that she spoiled us,“he said.“Although our defense always works hard, they didn’t have to work as hard. We were able to get away with some things. Now we’ll really have to depend on Ciara and Kishti to balance out the load.We’re hoping our strength will be our offense - putting runs on board.”
Kapolei returns to action Wednesday when the Hurricanes take part in the Shigetani Invitational. The tournament, which runs Wednesday through Saturday at Central Oahu Regional Park, is named for former Kapolei junior varsity coach Greg Shigetani, who passed away last year.
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