Punahou baseball team gets it done, again
May 11th, 2008 by WesThere are many impressive facets to Punahou’s record streak of five straight state championships — great players, great pitching, great hitting, great defense. But when all is said and done, I think the most impressive is the Buffanblu’s uncanny ability to get the job done no matter what it takes.
Whether it was Saturday night’s sharp 4-0 championship performance against Saint Louis, or Thursday’s 9-8 scramble over Roosevelt, Punahou somehow found a way to take care of business when it mattered most. I think that is the mark of a great team: It’s one thing to win when you’re having a good game and playing well, but it’s another to find a way to win anyway when you’re not playing your best or when things aren’t going your way.
“Our kids are competitive, and they’ll fight through adversity,” coach Eric Kadooka said. “This (season) was a challenge, but they showed perseverance and stuck with it. They showed their will as players.”
I blogged a few weeks ago about the concept of “confidence,” and this team, this program is a good example. Even entering the ILH tournament as the No. 3 seed, even down 5-0, 7-6 and then 8-7 with one out in the bottom of the seventh in the state quarterfinals, you could see through the body language in the players that they really believed they would win. And I think that confidence came from having done it before.
Reece Kiriu was the ultimate example. He could have been bummed out about giving up five runs on four hits and four walks in the first two innings vs. Roosevelt, but he ended up playing a great game at second base and at the plate, ultimately driving in the winning run with a huge 360-foot double to the wall at left-center.
Then Saturday night, he showed the mental toughness he showed all season, coming back from 3-0, 2-0 counts to get the strikeout or groundout.
Just like the rest of the team, he bent but did not break.
Another thing: Like other great teams and great players, the Buffanblu will find different ways to win. How about Zach Kometani — the big cleanup hitter — bunting and head-first sliding his way on to get the tying run aboard in the bottom of the seventh against Roosevelt?
Then Jeeter Ishida — the reigining State Player of the Year — laying down the sacrifice to move courtesy runner Shane Yoshiyama into scoring position.
“They don’t like to bunt,” Kadooka said, “but we tell them to bunt.”
The bunt was a key weapon again in Saturday’s title game, with two of them resulting in advancing the runner with everybody safe.
Kadooka said playing in the ultra-competitive ILH has forced he and his staff to find different ways to win.
“In a league like ours, it forces you to think and play at a high level every game,” Kadooka said. “We get tested every time out. So that’s how we’ve been playing for years; it’s how the old coaches in Hawai‘i high school baseball played.”
Others may have played that way, but nobody else won five state championships in a row.
These guys know how to win, better than anybody else. And that’s the bottom line.
May 11th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
My gawd. Why is Punahou so damn good at every sport? State titles in everything it seems. Is it their facilities? Are they recruiting players or something?
May 12th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Reece Kiriu was outstanding!! Never did he look like he was upset or nervous, even in the game against Roosevelt. He is always calm and under control. And yes, you were right, he played his second base position like a pro, moving there right after he has those bad innings on the mound and making plays to get out of the inning. I’m really glad that Zach Kometani also made the all-tournament team. A catchers job is such an overlooked, unrecognized position. But, without a great catcher, a pitcher cannot be effective. Hats off to Kometani and Kiriu!!! I saw in the paper that Kometani will be going to San Diego. Any idea if Kiriu will be playing ball anywhere??
May 12th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I can recall reading comments about how this team was washed up and the coach was to blame for all it a couple of weeks ago. I would have wanted to know the odds of Punahou 5-peating then? The wins StL, MPI and even Iolani had over them during the season didn’t really “count” and I believe this team as Senior ladden as it was knew exactly when to turn it on. Everyone who watches sports the real season begins in the Playoffs.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
what about Jeremy Fujimoto? He did a hell of a job on friday night, being only 125 pounds the boy can throw some gas
May 12th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Loo,
Reece said he’s going to Santa Clara. Good school.
Mahalo for reading.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Man. Tough to win five in a row of anything, much less baseball [!] What baseball team do we collectively know, professional, school or otherwise, has recently managed to do these series of wins.
There should be a local Subway “5 dollar footlong” TV ad with the trophy, heh (though, actually, it’s $5.99 footlong here in the islands, eh? Ah, good luck #).
Congrats to the Buff and Blue (or is it “Blu”)!
May 13th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
With all the great baseball talent this state has, it’s a shame that Mr. Trap doesn’t make a great effort to recruit these local kids. Only Kolten Wong and Russell Doi are goin got UH from the gifted class of 08. I hear that Doi is a invited walk on and not on scholly. Traps best middle infielders came from mid pac and he still cant get him on scholly. CJ Johnson and Colby Ho had to go to a JC first before they could become UH caliber. Ho got drafted out of high school, but guess that wasn’t good enough. Trap is a total joke. His style doesn’t work they dont win. Get the fans back in the stadium get the excitment back. Paint the wall blue again and go back to 3rd base dugout and go green and orange again. We have the talent he just gives a poor effort at trying to recruit them. I am more interested in watching UH softball now because they have a good mixture of local and mainland talent. It’s so sad that I cant even name 3 starters on the baseball team. Wake up TRAP!
May 13th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Kiriu and Bninski will walkon at Santa Clara.
May 13th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
It is amazing to so many of us that Punahou, a deprived school if there ever was one — and with just 28 players on its roster, plus having to take mainland trips to play games, manages to field strong teams year in and year out. It’s almost like they recruit, just like big-time colleges do. How impressive that the privileged prevail over all the little people. I just can’t wait to see them do it again and again and again and again and again and again, ya know?
May 14th, 2008 at 7:48 am
Congrats to Punahoe, 5 peat is unbelievable for baseball and 4 state championships in one day. To Dawg, most private school recruit. Thats part of their program. No scholarships, but they find sponsors to pay the tuition of the best players. Holding the players back a grade level is the big problem. While public schools compete with kids their same age, private schools are able to compete with kids that should be in their first year in college. I wonder if any of Punahoe’s 4 championships they won this past weekend was with the aid of older players? School officials should address this problem. It seems like the ILH has an advantage with older players.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:43 am
What exactly, Pumps, is the problem? It’s no secret that private schools, not just Punahou, have different birthday deadlines for kindergarten admits that are earlier than DOE schools. The rule for Punahou, Iolani, and Mid-Pac, just to name 3, is that boys need to turn 5 by June 30 for their admit year. The same deadline is applied to kids, depending on their test results (which don’t take athletic ability into account at all) up through fifth or sixth grade. Occasionally, a kid will repeat a grade because his/her birthday is after June 30. DOE deadline is six months later.
Which school officials should address what problem, exactly? If the DOE got its act together it would establish earlier deadlines as well, and the benefit of that wouldn’t be just felt in athletics, but in academics, where it really matters. More mature kids mean better test scores.
Finally, Pumps, what do you mean by older players? 19, 20 years old? None of the Punahou players are over 18. Are you saying that a student who turns 18 during the academic year should automatically be freshman in college? Even when I went to college, about a century ago, the vast majority of freshmen were already 18 before they hit campus.
May 14th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
There is an HHSAA age limit on players. If players repeat a grade for some reason, they may find themselves ineligible to play at least at the state tournament level. I was told the Hanalani girls basketball team had a player who was over-aged for state tournament play, but could play in the ILH. I guess each league can make up its own age rules to determine participation. But it’s not like college–you do not automatically have four years (five with redshirt) to play, whatever your age.
May 14th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
baseball
all so correct! agree, with 2008 great class trap did’nt even give a look. Look at the 80’s all so many great teams and great local names!
May 14th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Um just wondering pumps, lets say these kids are overage. (they arent btw)
I believe this senior class got it done as sophomores and juniors with no significant help from the upper classes. These guys were talented, thats all there is to it. I’m a current freshman and I’ve practiced with these guys. They a legitimately just in a league of their own.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Regardless, Punahou baseball is always ready and prepared for prime time. They never shy away from it.
The lights go on and three will be winning performances from any of the starting nine.
And that’s difference from any other Hawaii high school baseball team.
Rise to the occasion and perform during “Prime Time.”
May 14th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
I understand that, Bill, but Pumps is wondering if any Punahou players are “older”, and they’re not, at least not in any significant way.
Can anyone tell us what the age limit is for HHSAA play? Wes?
May 15th, 2008 at 12:09 am
Fire,
If and when you someday have something sincere and of value to offer to the discussion, then I will consider posting it.
For now, your comments are basically the same old “axe-to-grind” verbal assaults you used to fill the pre-moderation blogs with, and now we (me and the other readers) don’t have to be bogged down with that stuff anymore.
So we won’t.
May 15th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Bored, you and I agree, but I’m just applying the HHSAA rules on age and not relying on “in any significant way.” It’s simple, the HHSAA rules say the players at Punahou are eligible to participate, so they may. Whether they had previously repeated or grade or anything similar is irrelevant,and “in any signficant way” is irrelevant.
May 15th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Thanks for clarifying, Bill….your last post is much clearer than mine, and what I wish I’d written.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
If you’re born in January of 1991, would you be eligible to play in the 2010 state championship (baseball)? You would actually be 19 yrs. old if I’m correct. There’s a couple of ILH schools who have players who stayed back in the 6th grade entry year after gaining acceptance from public school. They can play in the ILH season but I think their ineligible for states.
This isn’t a case of recruiting, as the parent’s elected to hold their child back for whatever reasons.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:40 am
Wes, what is the date that determines a student’s eligibility for HHSAA state tournament participation? That ought to be public information.