Kiriu emerges as tough leader for Punahou baseball
April 23rd, 2008 by WesLee Trevino once said a good golf game does not just mean shooting 65 on a good day; it also means being able to shoot 72 on a bad day.
Or something like that.
The same principle, I believe, applies to pitching. Reece Kiriu threw a five-hitter to beat Mid-Pacific, 5-3, on Tuesday, but he had to earn that victory pitch-by-pitch. It was clear from the beginning that he did not have total command, as he gave up two hits and walked in two runs in the first inning.
Kiriu later fell behind 3-0 after hitting the first two batters in the third inning.
But he kept battling, kept grinding.
Punahou finally gave him a 4-3 lead in the fourth, but it was hard work holding onto that slim lead. Kiriu was threatened several times and ran a lot of three-ball counts, but somehow seemed to come up with the money pitch when he needed it most.
“It was tough, because I started out behind on almost every batter,” he said. “Getting the curve over for strikes when I was behind (in the count) was key, because it kept them off-balanced. I knew they probably were not expecting it, so I just was focusing in when it got to three balls.”
Owls coach Dunn Muramaru said he was impressed with Kiriu’s mental toughness in their last meeting, when he lost a hard fought 3-2 decision. He was just as impressed yesterday.
“He’s tough as nails,” Muramaru said. “He’s a good pitcher, he never gives in. He still didn’t have (command) late, but he was able to make the big pitches when they gotta have it, and that’s the mark of a quality pitcher.”
Kiriu’s emergence as a clutch pitcher comes at a crucial time for the Buffanblu, who have lost big arms in Jeeter Ishida and Evan Lim (both injured).
“We’ve been building him for the last three years to pitch in a big game like this,” Punahou coach Eric Kadooka said. “He battled, he didn’t give in. He made key pitches at key times in the count, and he was able to get guys out.”
With four walks, three hit batsmen, and about 110 pitches thrown, Kiriu’s performance was not what might be considered a classic “gem.”
But sometimes, a 72 on a day when the drives go wayward can be just as impressive as a 65 when every swing finds the sweet spot.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:09 pm
What’s going on with Punahou pitcher’s getting sore arms! Hope history doesn’t repeat itself like several years ago when the ILH pitcher of the year blew his arm out and couldn’t pitch in college. 110 pitches is quite a lot of pitches. Hope they don’t bring Kiriu back to quick like this weekend.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Someones not doing their job at Punahou. It’s great to do well at the high school level, but you need to look at the big picture. You want to see these kids move on to the next level. Heard about Pate’s career ending injury, now Jeeter and Lim injured. Someone needs to monitor these kids. Hope Jeeter can get back on track, doesn’t he have a scholarship to Arizona?
Good to see Kiriu get his shot, hard working (very competitive) kid who deserved it.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:23 am
ILH Fan, are you talking about Harrison Kuroda? He didn’t blow his arm out through pitching, he hurt it while running the bases.
April 24th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Agree with ILH Fan, I hope the Punahou coaches are thinking of their player’s future. Heard about Pate having career ending surgery. Don’t want to see Jeeter go through the same thing just for a little glory at the high school level. Nice to win at the high school level but when a kid can move on to the next level coaches need to watch their pitchers.
April 24th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
There are so many Punahou kids with tired/sore arms. First it was Pate, now it’s Jeeter. When are the Punahou coaches going to learn that the kid’s futures are much more important than winning a baseball game or title. Even a renowned doctor has suggested that these coaches could be the main reason why certain players are injuring their arms, shoulders, etc. To this day, Pate didn’t reach his potential, and his overuse in high school could be the #1 reason why. Here is my question for the coaches? Are the titles worth the player’s future? I hope they don’t plan on pitching Jeeter this season. Even if the doctor clears him to pitch, a honorable coach would not risk his future. Let’s see what they do.
April 25th, 2008 at 8:14 am
balla808,
Harrison Kuroda is from Midpac. The pitcher that we are talking about is Pate. Heard his career is over. Too bad, definitely could pitch at DI level, never got a chance.
Pun coaches must be doing something wrong. In the old days, no one checked pitch count. Pitchers started games and finished them (9 innings back then, well over 100 pitches). I knew guys that threw way more innings than these guys now and never came up with lame arms. Mechanics must be bad or are taught pitches that are hurting their arm. That’s the scary part about high school baseball, how qualified are these pitching coaches? It’s one thing to make all the wrong moves as a coach in a game as far as play calling, substitutions, etc., but when you abuse a kid and possibly ruin his career that is inexcusable.
April 25th, 2008 at 8:58 am
word out is that jeeter got release by his doctor to start throwing. all punahou needs to do is get into the states, then we might see jeter pitch again. if punahou coaches knew pate was going to blow out his arm and never pitch ever again, you think they would still thrown him in the state final game? i doubt it. does anyone remember the olden days? when we all never heard of “pitch counts”? back then it was, just throw baby, jus throw! Maybe our old school coaches knew how to teach us the right way to throw. The new guys, its all about the curve…..splitter…..forkball….etc.
April 25th, 2008 at 9:02 am
I thought punahou was supposed to be good this year. They should be winning games with or without jeeter. They are just like their football team. Best talent in the state but still can’t win it all??? Seems to me that they all play for themselves …
way to go St. Louis!!
April 25th, 2008 at 9:08 am
This is typical of parents to blame the coaches when the going gets tough. Not only for Punahou but for other schools in the state. Parents know everything, They coached their kids to back to back to back PONY and Little Leauge Championships.
April 25th, 2008 at 9:20 am
What about other players with sore arms. McDaniel (MPI), Usui (STL). Jeeter throw bullpen two days ago. Watch out b/c HE IS BACK!
April 25th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Balla808-Harrison Kuroda went to MPI and he blew out his arm in summer league that UH sent him to.
I have a suspicion that Jeeter may end up throwing at some point if Punahou can continue their season. He took some balls at 1B in pregame prior to the MPI game. He is obviously throwing but without the stress his arm takes from pitching. I really hope this isn’t another case of Jared Pate part II. Pate couldn’t even practice but those guys at sports medicine hawaii always got him ready for game day somehow.
April 25th, 2008 at 10:50 am
A quality coach and a good humanitarian looks out for the best interest of the player, not the best interest of the team. Case in point, last year Miss Shaena Kuehu got an ACL injury. Even though the doctor cleared her, and with her playing, they probably would have won girls states, the coaches held her out.
Why you may ask? It’s because they did not want to risk her career. It seems that the coaches are willing to take the doctor’s opinion, and risk career threatening injury. I think if the kid gets hurt, the coaches can use the doctor as the scapegoat. If something goes bad, they can blame the doctor instead of being accountable.
I hope, these coaches get off their high-horse and puts the kids’ interests first. There is so much more important things than winning. But if you listen to them, and what they tell the kids, it’s win at all costs!
Winning is important, but not if you jeopardize their careers. They are now 2/2 in hurting arms (Pate & Jeeter). Message to coaches, don’t risk their careers just to win a baseball game.
April 25th, 2008 at 11:43 am
It’s all about the Championships. 5-Peat!!!
April 25th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Harold and Primo bring up a good point that is rarely talked about.
In the “old days” — major league or even high school — didn’t pitchers used to routinely go nine innings on three days rest? I don’t recall hearing stories of “sore arm” epidemics from that era.
Nowdays, 100 pitches is considered a lot and three days rest (which sometimes is four if you count by hours) is considered “short.”
What happened? Is it like Harold and Primo suggested, because of the many more different pitches they are throwing compared to before (mostly fastball, curve, slider, change)?
I wonder if high school kids (especially freshmen/sophomores) should be throwing more than that anyway? One former recent h.s. pitching coach (who made it to Triple-A ball) told me 70 percent of the pitches he called were fastball, change-up, curve. He said that can be good enough for a high school pitcher with good command.
April 25th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
The coaching of pitching mechanics is better than it has ever been. More kids are getting better coaching than ever before from the little leagues on up. There are a lot of kids who could become legit D-1 pitchers because of it. For some all they need is exposure. The state tournement could give them that opportunity. It is a shame that some of the top Punahou pitchers have sore arms. But I believe it is the good judgement of their coaches to rest them and to give other players a shot. The tough part is the veteran players want to play. The game is now and if given a chance the kids would choose to be in there sore arms and all.
April 25th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Remember Peter Kendricks? Pitched doubleheader to beat UH. I think it took more than 100 pitches to pitch 2 games.
April 25th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Common sense will tell us that both parties are guilty. Yes coaches nowadays use high school pitchers too much, especially their aces. Case in point, begining this season, Antolin from Mills, arm problems. Castillo from Aiea, arm problems. Jeeter from Puns, arm problems. Arguably the three best pitchers in the state along with McDaniel from Mid-Pac all have sore arms???? What’s going on? You can’t fault coaches for pitching these guys every week, that shouldn’t kill your arm. I believe, as others have mentioned, that the kids throw too many curve balls, sliders, and split fingers(this will kill your arm…guarantee surgery). Why just last night, Castillo throws 144 pitches, those of us there who witnessed it saw him throwing his curveball(albeit it’s nasty) on 3-1 counts. Not nearly enough fastballs, especially when his fastball is legit and he can spot it. Coaches need to allow the kids to throw more fastball/changeups. And parents will be parents, always have an opinion cause that’s their kid. It’s a catch-22 because I know all the Puns parents were in love with Kadooka and staff all these years they were winning, now that they aren’t, it’s because the coaches are pitching them too much. Take your lumps Puns parents, you’ve enjoyed it for four years, though it isn’t over yet, pitching isn’t the reason you’re not in first…all of a sudden it’s senior year and Kometani, Schneider, Suiter, and Kiriu can’t hit. Anybody got their stats? Kometani should be at double digit homeruns if he wants to play at USC next year.
April 25th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Pitcher throwing 100 pitches in a game is quite a lot for a seven inning game. Also, factor in the warm up pitches between innings and you’re actually racking up 150 pitches. Try doing this every seven days and your arm will start hurting after several weeks!
2008 High School season has been very interesting. Renowned group of pitchers such as Antolin, Castillo, McDaniel, Ishida, Outram, Sneider, etc., have all been rocked at some point in time this year. Velocities are also down from high 80’s to low 80’s. Antolin still clocks around 90-91. At this stage you’re not going to be blowing the fastball by hitters as they’ve caught up with the cheese! It’s location, location, location….changeup!!! Also, how effective can a pitcher be if he hasn’t been throwing for over a month? It’s takes a while to regain that dominating form and command of all pitches! If the Crusaders can hold off the Puns tomorrow, they should be looking good for states. Saio, Usui, Demello & Co. are pretty formidable.
Team winning states will need at least two fresh/lively arms as that’s 3 or 4 games in a row you need to play. Most ILH schools have at least two good arms, however, the OIA & outer island schools often only have one.
April 25th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I personally feel that winning is so important, that the coaches will risk permanent injury to the kids. All you hear about it win this, and win that. What about the experience? What about building self-esteem? All I hear about is the power trip that the coaches have. When does an adult have the right to purposely and intentionally humiliate a kid? That alone shows the type of people they are.
Yes they have proven that they can win baseball games. But how good are they are building successful young men? If the boys don’t play hard then it’s obvious they do not respect the coaches. When was the last time Punahou won when they didn’t have the most talent?
Put these coaches at schools like Castle, Kailua, Pearl City, and they won’t win states. They have no idea how to build relationships. They have no idea how to make the experience memorable. Wait, I am wrong, the experience is memorable, the boys got to walk home, and they got humiliated on purpose.
What I mean to say is that these guys cannot create a positive memorable experience.
April 25th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Personally I think they will pitch Jeeter. He is a senior. Look at what they did to him last year. If my memory is accurate, the pitched him on only 1 day rest. And, he pitched a high amount of pitches in both games. What kind of coach subjects his players to that kind of agony? This drama could be called “Jared Pate Part II.” Since he will be gone after this season, the coaches will exploit him, hopefully win another title, and what ever happens, happens, after he grads. Who cares if his career is over. How can a school let irresponsible people be in charge of young men. It makes you scratch your head in amazement!!!
April 25th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
The coaching staff at Punahou is doing and has done an excellent job of making sure their pitchers are healthy. I never once was told to throw forkballs or screwballs and was instead taught that all you needed was a fastball and changeup. After going thru two years of D1 ball, I truly believe that those two pitches will allow you to compete. I was never recruited heavily and walked on to play at UCI and was still able to crack the top 5 on the team pitching depth chart. This all due to the fundamentals that were taught to me at Punahou. For those of you that do not know, although I did have surgery, it was not the surgery or sore arm that ended my baseball career, but rather my own decision to pursue my hope of becoming a doctor. I have nothing but praise for my coaches at Punahou and can confidently say that the future of their players are their number one priority.
April 25th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Mahalo Jared for setting the record straight.
Also, regarding the earlier comment about Jeeter pitching on “one day rest,” I have been covering the state tournament since 1991 and it is common for a Thursday starter to come back and pitch in the championship on Saturday.
As mentioned in my earlier comment, if you count the “hours” instead of the “days,” it’s 48 hours — which really is two days’ rest, no?
April 26th, 2008 at 2:55 am
Two days rest is still unhealthy for a teenager.
April 26th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Building strong, successful young men is the number one priority for all coaches including the Punahou coaches. I have a hard time listening to parents complain about coaching. Lets remember these coaches sacrifice a lot of time and energy for these kids, and as far as I know no coaches have million dollar contracts to coach. The reason they take off of work, and sacrifice their weekends is for the boys. Baseball is a humbling game, and win, lose or draw there are many lessons that a young man can learn through the game of baseball. I think we should thank all the coaches, for the taking the time to teach these lessons to our kids, and for the time that they dedicate to our boys. Like any sport or competition winning is on everyone’s mind, and coaches prepare their kids to win, but lets also keep in mind it’s still just High School Baseball, and I doubt their are any coaches out there that would sacrifice the future of a young player. As for the Punahou team walking home, I know many coaches have different ways of getting a message accross, and have different techniques of teaching these kids not only “baseball lessons” but “life lessons”. This can sometimes be difficult because coaches have the arduous tasks of getting through to a teenager. For someone to think that a coach would intentionally humiliate a player seems a little juvenile. From what I understood, the point wasn’t to humiliate anyone. It was about pride, accountibility, respect, and pulling together as a team. Whatever the message, it may have worked. With Punahou turning it around recently, the end of this ILH season should be interesting.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Stop already…just give credit where it’s due, Kiriu is peaking right now. The coach has already lost the respect of the players and parents with bad choices he made using his vulgar pep talks and walks up McCully St. (get real “Supportive Parent” that’s not how you teach life lessons). People coach because they love the game and have compassion for kids. You have to teach lessons and earn respect. Yes, it’s a huge sacrifice, but if you don’t enjoy it any more and can’t earn the respect, maybe it’s time to move on. And just for the record (Tedium), never were the parents in love with Kadooka from the beginning, don’t know what gave you that idea. If Punahou makes it to States and ends up winning it all, it will be because the kids wanted it. Kids like Sneider, Kiriu, Bninski, Kometani, Ishida. It won’t be because of the coach.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:14 am
That Punahou walk is called “Team Building”. As silly as it may have been, that little exercise will put Punahou into the State Tournament and become a force to be reckoned with. Mark my words…..that one for the “THUMB” ie #5 for Punahou isn’t that far away and that “walk” just put it closer for them to reach.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:37 am
another reason why things are different in today’s high school sports compared to the “old days” like some mentioned is the competition and outside leagues. if a kid today is good in something and wants to play in college, they have to play year-round pretty much. for a pitcher, that could mean not resting your arm, shoulder, and elbow for weeks at a time. for a young adult teenager, that’s a lot of pressure on those areas.
in the old days, we used to change sports every season, about 3 or 4 months, so we weren’t putting all this pressure on one part of our bodies, like the arm. we trained better and smarter in the old days.
April 28th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Hey Loo, I agree. Relationships between coaches and players are built through trust and respect. The fact that the coaches would do that to the players after they won them 4 titles, show that the coaches think they are bigger than the players or the program. Plus, anyone who thinks that walking is the biggest factor why they are winning is naive. There could be 100 external reasons why they are winning. But, since the coaches love to take credit, they are going around telling various people that the walk made them straighten up.
Real coaches, would give the credit to the kids. After all, the coaches job is to put them in a position to succeed on and off the field. But, they love the spotlight. I’d love to see if they could win when they don’t have the most talent. But they would never put themselves in that position. You have to give June Jones credit, he topped out at UH and went elsewhere, a program on the bottom.
Could these guys do the same thing? If they had the drive and confidence, they would go elsewhere since the challenge is pretty much over after this year. But they are Punahou grads. They are smart enough to know that they couldn’t win state at any other school. If they are as good as they think, then go out and prove it. I think any ILH coach could go to Punahou and win a title. How hard is it to win when you are playing with a stacked deck.
I thought they were okay coaches until they started to run their mouths, belittle the kids, and take credit for things they really did not do.
What have they accomplished other than at Punahou? Look at the Punahou staff now. Coach Hale was pretty successful at Moanalua. Coach Tune led St. Louis to one of their best volleyball seasons ever. Coach Iams is world renowned. Coach Taylor led Maryknoll to a few successful seasons. What have these guys done? Prove it elsewhere when the field is level.
The mailman, yardman, blue shirts, cafeteria worker, and the head of the PTA could take these boys to states!
April 28th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
ahhh…yes!!…very true!!!
April 29th, 2008 at 1:22 am
Glad Jared could come on here and tell people here the truth. And trix, lots of schools believe their talent is the best. Remember all the years Kamehameha felt that they should’ve been the ones with the football dynasty? Punahou’s talent in football and baseball aren’t at all superior to everyone else across the state.
April 29th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Punahou is in the drivers seat for another ILH Championship! Boys will get it done by taking the tournament and then the ILH playoff. Pitching and bench depth is just to great. Kam & St. Louis don’t have much pitching left and lack the hitting of the Puns! Only possible trouble down the road for Punahou is Pearl City who has fairly good depth on their roster. Repeat of last year with Puns prevailing next week Saturday at Murakami Stadium!
Should put an asterisk next to the championships. Head coach was only there for the ride! It’s the players intestinal fortitude which brought home the championships. I guess negative reinforcement by the coaching staff does work!!!
April 29th, 2008 at 8:43 am
jp. . .quality ending to your rant. love the last paragraph.
April 29th, 2008 at 10:02 am
If you play baseball or any other sport for that matter with no rest days or months in-between, the body will breakdown. Sports in Hawaii is a big deal because of the potential for scholarships to private schools and colleges and playing for a school with a winning tradition is a plus as far as showcasing their talent. Varsity sports is about winning and the coaches know that is how they will be graded. If you keep on winning but some parents, kids don’t like what is going on what’s the big deal. The child and his/her parents can choose to go to another school with more humane and caring coaches that haven’t won squat. No publicity no scholarship. You can’t have your candy and eat it too. I have seen a handful of coaches that are excellent tacticians, motivational, tought but fair. They too suffer from critical athletes and parents. Coaching is a no win situation and let’s just leave it at that. So hats off to Kadaoka and staff for consistently fielding Championship teams.
May 1st, 2008 at 12:38 am
J.P.: “The mailman, yardman, blue shirts, cafeteria worker, and the head of the PTA could take these boys to states!”
Hahahahahaha. People who read and comment on blogs could not take Punahou to States.
BBoomer: “Coaching is a no win situation and let’s just leave it at that. So hats off to Kadaoka and staff for consistently fielding Championship teams.”
Agree wholeheartedly.
The kids’ lives will turn out just peachy, unless the parents screwed them up a long time ago. Put away your microscopes, and enjoy the BASEBALL. 3 quality ILH teams in the state tournament opens up a lot of possibilities. It’s no longer, “who will face Punahou in the final?”. (not that I’m counting them out)
May 1st, 2008 at 8:50 am
It’s gonna be Punahou vs. Pearl City for the second straight year!
May 1st, 2008 at 5:02 pm
One for the Thumb!!! Go Puns!!
May 1st, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I think many coaches could take Punahou to the states and win! It seems, and from what I hear from players is that they are unhappy. But they are rallying around each other. I mean how much abusive talk can one person handle?