Kapolei: New Field, New Game

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The 2008 baseball season was one for rebuilding in more ways than one for the Kapolei baseball program. While the Hurricanes tried to follow-up their breakthrough season in 2007, their field underwent a complete renovation this year, forcing them to move practices to Kapolei Middle School or to a make-shift field on the high school campus.

As the Hurricanes’ varsity and junior varsity take part in their respective American Legion Leagues this summer, they’re finally experiencing the kind of home-field advantage their opponents enjoy.

“It’s nice to see balls stay down (on the ground in the infield) and not have it take a strange bounce,” Kapolei coach Tom Ebanez mused of the new field, which was completed recently, “and it’s nice to watch kids run and not have to worry about them stepping in a hole.

“It’s good for the school and good for the community,” he added. “This field will be around for a long time. All the credit goes to our athletic department and (athletic director) Darren Camello for coming through with this.”

Among the upgrades to the field were a state-of-the-art fertilization system that operates by way of the sprinkler system.

“The field was really hard and dry, and they found that the water that was being used (to fertilize the field) contained a lot of salt. When it would be watered and watered, it would become hard.”

Boosters to the program have begun plans to add seating at the field. For the present, the Hurricanes are just happy to have a home to call their own. Other benefits have followed, according to their coach.

“The nice thing is that it has generated interest in the community,” said Ebanez, who also serves on Kapolei football coach Darren Hernandez’s staff. “I have eight kids who just finished at Kapolei Middle School who got in touch with me and who are playing with our JV (American Legion) team. They’ll be freshmen in the fall. They really want to play.”

On the field, the Hurricanes are trying to return to their form of 2007 when they went 7-3 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s Red West Conference. Kapolei finished 3-9 last season with a team dominated by underclassmen. The current Hurricanes team took a 2-8 record into the weekend in American Legion League play, but Ebanez measures success in the summer not in wins and losses, but in developing under-classmen.

“They have instructional league in Major League baseball, and that’s how we try to approach it here (in the summer),” Ebanez said. “We try to utilize all of the kids who didn’t get to play a lot during the (spring) season. That way, they can step right in next season. They’re getting all the experience they didn’t get then now.”

The Hurricanes JV team plays games on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, while the varsity is in action Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. On Monday, members of both teams practice together.

At Kapolei, the baseball coaching staff - which also includes Oliver Taoy, John Kaina, Huey Say and Jon Santiago - works with both the JV and the varsity, making the summer months a busy time.

“They’ve done a lot for the program,” Ebanez said of his staff. “They’re basically coaching every day, and they put in a lot of time on (keeping up the) field.”

The Hurricanes return to American Legion League action on Wednesday at Hans L’Orange Park, when they take on Kamehameha at 4:30 p.m.