KAILUA-KONA — Why put off a good thing? Kealakehe and Konawaena could wait until the middle, or perhaps even the end of the baseball season to kick off another chapter of the west side rivalry. But that is too expected – too easy.
Why not schedule it up front, in the first week of the season?
This is the way to kick off the 2019 season for the Wildcats, who will host the Waveriders on Saturday. Kealakehe will have a slight advantage, having played one game already, beating 7-6 Keaau on Tuesday.
“You usually look late into the season for a game like this, but we are going to get it going straight of the bat,” said Konawaena head coach Adam Tabieros. “This game could set the tone for the way the entire season goes. It is going to be a battle.”
That’s a lot of pressure for the Wildcats, but their veteran skipper believes this is a team that can handle the pressure.
“We have a bunch of guys ready to compete,” Tabieros said. “They want to set the bar high for all other players that come through Konawaena.”
For Kealakehe, the game will be a chance to see what Kallen Hiraishi can do in his second year as head coach. Last season was a learning experience for Hiraishi, who’s coaching experience consisted mostly of teaching younger kids in his succesful youth programs.
“I finally have a full year at the high school level and it is a different culture,” Hiraishi said. “I needed to adapt to the way that I talk to these kids since they are really young men. Going into my second year, I have a very good feeling about this team.”
Hiraishi will need his team to play error free baseball on the defensive side of the ball behind a pitching staff that will be going up against a pretty potent lineup.
The Wildcats’ offense will be led by All-BIIF Division II first team pick Jake Basque (senior, second base). Basque hit .347 last year, with a .435 on-base percentage. He knocked in 13 runs and scored 16 times. He made solid contact, striking out only six times in 72 at-bats.
“Jake makes hard contact,” Tabieros said. “He drives the ball in all directions.”
Basque will be joined in the heart of the lineup by Bronson Rivera (sophomore, short stop) and Kanai Rivera (senior, catcher).
“I am looking at Bronson as the No. 3 hitter. He took a big leap this year and combines power and contact at the plate. He can handle the fastball and off-speed pitches,” Tabieros said. “Kanai also drives the ball hard and has a solid bat.”
The Wildcats also get Tevin Canda (senior, third base) back for his final high school year. Canda played baseball his freshman year and then stepped away to focus on football. He will take on the leadoff spot in the lineup.
“We saw a glimpse of what Tevin could do as a freshman and now we are in for a treat,” Tabieros said. “I am really excited. He is a guy who can set the table for us. He does a good job of working pitchers deep into counts and is a tough out.”
Defense has always been a struggle for the Wildcats, who have had a habit of allowing the big inning after a costly mistake. Instead of getting the much needed out, the team usually adds to the problem with another miscue and then another.
Over the past few years, Konawaena has been able to get out of some of these jams thanks to their ace pitcher Kolu Alani. However, with Alani now gone, Tabieros will have to rely on another pitcher or two to step up and take charge.
One of the early front-runners for the ace of the staff is sophomore James Kapela. Kapela threw 11-1/3 innings for the Wildcats his freshman season, posting a 1.24 ERA. He allowed two earned runs, while walking seven and striking out 11.
“James has grown on the mound,” Tabieros said. “We will look to him in big game situations. He has better velocity now and he throws all his pitches for strikes. He won’t give up the free pass.”
Senior Boaz Ayers will also see time on the hill, as well as a few underclassmen.
Kapela and Ayers will go up against a Kealakehe lineup that will be led by four senior starters: Toby Estrella, Kainalu Lopes Alvarez, Makoa Soares and Dennison Joaquin.
“All four of them have changed for the better over the last year,” Hiraishi said. “They want to do well and they want to achieve their goal of winning a BIIF title.”
Joaquin and Estrella were both All-BIIF honorable mentions in Division I last season.
“We have a very young team so all four of these seniors will be looked at to lead the underclassmen,” Hiraishi said. “It will be a long, tough road, but they want to finish with a bang.”
As for the pitching staff, Hiraishi will lean on Kalaoa Jones, Trent Kepano, Isaac Kaku, Estrella and Soares.
“Everyone will have their part to play,” Hiraishi said. “The main thing to be effective is to throw strikes.”
The Waveriders finished third in their division last season, trailing Waiakea and Hilo.
The Wildcats finished runner-up to Kamehameha, falling in two straight games in the BIIF championship series. The Warriors are the favorites to win it all in 2019, and to beat them, Tabieros knows his team will have to limit the mistakes.
“We have to stop the bleeding quickly,” Tabieros said. “Kamehameha is an excellent team and we want to put a lot of pressure on them.”