Baseball

When Kila Kaaihue talks, it’s easy to tell what’s important to him regarding his Kaiser baseball team. Is it winning? Yes. That’s the name of the game. But that is far from the only concern. The Cougars are 1-0 in playoff games under Kaaihue after Wednesday’s 9-5 home victory over Aiea. Today will be a tougher test — at top-seeded, undefeated Campbell (12-0), the second-ranked team in the state. “Going into it (against Aiea), this (a slugfest) is not the […]

The OIA baseball playoffs are always a wild four-day event with this year expected to be no different. The semifinals and final in Division I and the championship game in Division II will be held at Les Murakami Stadium. Defending OIA champion Kailua is the No. 1 seed out of the East while Campbell, which won three consecutive OIA titles prior to last season, is the top seed out of the West. Waianae ran through Division II with a perfect […]

Kamehameha baseball coach Thomas Perkins has sensed for a while now he’s coaching a special group of kids. “They might not be the most talented guys out there, but they play well together and they support each other 100 percent,” he said Tuesday. “They’ve bought into the plan that we don’t panic. We play the whole seven innings and we’re not going to stop until (the game) is done.” The Warriors showed that exact trait against Saint Louis at Ala […]

Every time No. 4 Saint Louis and No. 5 Punahou play baseball this season, there’s a little mini drama going on, especially when the Crusaders’ Dawson Yamaguchi is pitching. That’s because the senior left-hander and Buffanblu junior first baseman Kyson Donahue are the best of friends, growing up in Kahala about two blocks from each other. Yamaguchi had his way on Saturday at Ala Wai Community Park. He went the full seven innings, struck out seven and didn’t walk a […]

Trust is a mighty big part of success, none more so than in big blue country. When Joey Cantillo took the mound against Kalani yesterday with first place in the OIA East on the line, the Kailua ace was in a place that few high schoolers dwell in. The site was Kaimuki’s diamond — Kalani’s home games are on ice until its adopted City and County field is playable — but Cantillo and his arsenal of weapons are as cerebral […]