Slow-starting Kailua Faces Mustangs
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usEvery day is a “hard hat” day, to hear Surfrider baseball coach Corey Ishigo tell it - even when his team isn’t practicing in the batters’ box.
With Kailua in the midst of a 15-day layoff between OIA East games, the veteran coach welcomed the practice time in his quest to instill a workman-like mentality. The Surfriders are currently 2-2, having split their respective series with both Moanalua and Castle.While far from hitting the panic button, Ishigo said they aren’t where he thought they would be at this point, although the difficult schedule has played a role.
“Right now, we need some practice time,” said Ishigo, whose team plays Kalaheo in a double-header at 11 a.m. Saturday at Kailua District Park.“They’re not really there yet. We have to practice like it’s a game instead of just running through the motions.We’re kind of down right now - we lost two games (6-5 to Moanalua and 6-5 to Castle) and had the lead in both.We made physical errors in both. That is something we have to take care of.”
Nevertheless, hopes are sky high for a team that made the state championship game last May. Its nucleus is intact and players entered the first day of practice last month even more seasoned after a spirited run in American Legion League summer play,which culminated in a state title and national appearance.
While Kailua’s two wins came convincingly - 13-3 over Moanalua, and 16-3 versus Castle - slow starts are not new for Ishigo’s teams.He bemoaned their work ethic in early March.
“It’s still the same thing,“he said of slow starts, “but we didn’t think that would be the case this year. We’ll get there - it’s just when.We’re hopeful.It was a good off-season for us with the same nucleus back. We hope to be OK in the long run.”
The OIA’s relatively new scheduling format, which favors double-headers, contributed to Kailua’s long layoff, as it had a bye week during spring break.
But Ishigo isn’t complaining.“We need this break this year. We have a plan - we just have to stick to it. Sometimes it takes long. Teams like Pearl City are in mid-season form early, but we’re not.”
Priority No. 1 is for the players to get out of their own way and eliminate self-imposed miscues.“We should be able to swing the bats fairly well - we’re scoring,“he said.“We’re just not playing good defense.We can field ground balls in practice, but with runners heading down the line (in a game situation), it’s different. We’ve been trying to rush our throws.”
Among the bright spots to date is the leadership and reliability of second baseman Jared Iha, a four-year varsity player and a team captain.“He’s a hard worker; he hustles. He always tries his best to help the team.Whatever the team needs,he’ll do.He’s a good defensive player, one of our better defensive players.”
“Balanced"describes the OIA East this spring,as Ishigo was impressed with both Moanalua and Castle so far.
“Moanalua always has been tough,and Castle is a big rivalry game. They play up for us. Both are good. We expect a good game from Kalaheo,“he said.“They always play us tough.”
Kalaheo, which was to play a doubleheader versus Roosevelt over the weekend, was swept by Moanalua (8-1 and 12-1) in its only other series to date.
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