If you notice the Nanakuli catcher looks like a girl, it’s because she is a girl.
Cheyenne Lute is her name and she’s batting .429 and fulfilling a role as a team leader for the Golden Hawks (2-9).
If you recall her name, it might be from her starring role in Nanakuli’s push to the Division II softball state championship last year. She earned tournament most outstanding player honors as a pitcher.
Lute decided to play junior varsity baseball in the winter, and when the spring rolled around, decided to stick with baseball at the varsity level rather than go back to softball.
Baseball is where she’ll stay, Lute told Hawaii Prep World on Saturday, unless the Golden Hawks move up to Division I in softball between now and her senior year. Then, she said, she would want to switch back.
“She’s only a sophomore and she decided to stick it out with the varsity,” Nanakuli head coach Ahmoo Kaululaau said Saturday. “She’s our best hitter. I wish I had a team full of players like her. She’s not afraid and works hard.”
Lute is 5-foot-3 and 111 pounds and bats second for the Golden Hawks.
Kaululaau said he initially “took heat” from coaches and others around school that maybe Lute shouldn’t be on the varsity.
“I told them, ‘You have to see her play before you judge,’ ” the coach said. “She’s proved herself and they know now that she belongs.”
Lute, 16, told Hawaii Prep World on Saturday that her first experience playing baseball was when she was 10 and 11.
And now, she’s fitting right in with the Golden Hawks.
“I like everything about this team, the players, the coaches,” Lute said. “I love how we get along and compete. The coaches help me with a lot of things and they even help me with my softball swing.”
On the JV team, Lute played second base until one day at practice when the catchers were busy doing other things.
“I asked if I could catch, and they let me try it,” she said.
Nanakuli (2-9) is tied with McKinley for the last OIA Division II playoff spot and a coin flip will decide which team moves on.
“We’re supposed to be in there,” said Lute, referring to missed opportunities throughout the season. “We made some errors and that led to the coin toss.”
One of Kaululaau’s good friends who attends the games occasionally recently told the coach that, “Your best player is a girl.”
I’m so proud of my girl! She always goes against the odds and challenges herself. I think THAT, in addition to other factors make her the player that she is.
So proud of my niece Chy-Chy(Cheyenne) We are rooting for you all the way from home, Guam!!! Work hard! Play hard! You are truly the best..We love you!!!
overrated. So you don’t want to play division II softball but you want to play division II baseball? Sorry but being a starter on a division II team really ain’t that hard. No mention about the dramas with softball that lead to the change to baseball. Real talk!
Don’t worry Chey you always going to get haters when your great! I’m proud you didn’t mention the drama. That’s real mature of you! Even though you guys played ALLthe teams in the west to become the leading hitter on the boys team is AWSOME! It just goes to show no matter where you go your going to shine. Haters are over rated. Just keep shinning. And let them keep hating.
And to compete on the Los Angeles Angels field and the Dodgers field is a big accomplishment. And I’m proud of you that you never quit playing, even when there was drama you went to where there was no drama… That was smart of you! And wasn’t we told that baseball didn’t have a division… I thought so! And that last comment by that hater is as real talk as the name their hiding behind! Hahaha know your stuff before you have a real talk! Hiding behind the name nanakuli is as fake as it gets! That’s real talk!!!