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SPORTS

[ ALL-STATE BASEBALL ]

Tai Ayzek Jason Micah Safea Jake Makana

Atkins: Silva: Shiigi: Yonamine: Mauai: Tsukada: Murashige:
Kamehameha-Hawaii Campbell Mililani ‘Iolani Waiakea Punahou Punahou
Pitcher Pitcher Pitcher Catcher First base Second base Third base
Pitcher of the Year Position Player of Year

STATE’S DOMINANT DUO

KS-Hawaii’s Tai
Atkins was nearly
Micah Yonamine, who batted
.500 and slugged 11 home runs
to power the Raiders. His team-
mate, center fielder Shane Sa-
unhittable on any saki, placed second in the voting
level while ‘Iolani’s and Waiakea center fielder Kala‘i
Rosario was third.
Micah Yonamine was “I feel like I’ve always had the
a hitting machine raw tools, but this year putting
on the weight and muscle
boosted me and put me over the
By Paul Honda top,” Yonamine said. “I definitely
phonda@staradvertiser.com
put in a lot of work. This was the

I
t’s a long way from Kapaau
to Keaau, but that’s the
route Doug and Anne Atkins
know quite well.
The proud grandparents
got in the car and hit the road
often the past four years, just to
see grandson Tai Atkins and his
team from Kamehameha-Hawaii
take the field. Ninety-five miles
for Warriors home games. Less
mileage for most of the away
games.
They didn’t know they would
be witnessing history.
Atkins went 8-0 for the War-
riors as a senior, with an 0.84
ERA, striking out 79 while walk-
ing just six batters in 41 innings.
That included a complete-game
win over powerful Waiakea, lim-
iting the Warriors to a sea-
son-low two runs — only one
was earned — while striking out
eight with two walks.
“Their attitude was always,
they want to face the best,” long-
time Kamehameha-Hawaii coach
Andy Correa said.
Waiakea coach Eric Kurosawa
remembers that game well. It
doesn’t faze him that Atkins,
technically a D-II pitcher, was
recognized across the state.
“I am not surprised because
he threw against us. I don’t care
what anyone says, we lost to a
legitimate D-I pitcher,” Kurosawa
said.
Coaches and media voted At-
kins the Star-Advertiser All-State
pitcher of the year in tight bal-
loting. Campbell senior Ayzek
Silva was a close second and Ja-
son Shiigi of Mililani was third.
Atkins, who has committed to
the University of Hawaii, is the
first from Kamehameha-Hawaii
to be named an All-State player
of the year since Kolten Wong in
2008. He was up to the challenge
against top competition in the
BIIF’s combined regular-season
schedule. Waiakea’s top three
hardest I prepared for a season.
Heading into the season, I knew
I was going to do pretty well.”
The 6-4, 210-pound senior
drove in 34 runs and finished
with an OPS of 1.688 against
what was arguably the toughest
top-to-bottom competition
statewide, the Interscholastic
League of Honolulu.
“I’m happy for him. He earned
it. The baseball ability is one
thing, but I’m more impressed
with the way he’s grown over
PHOTOS BY DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARADVERTISER.COM (ABOVE) the years into a young man,”
AND RONIT FAHL / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Raiders coach Kurt Miyahira
said. “Today, tomorrow, he’s
FIRST TEAM working with underclassmen in
the (batting) cage.”
Pos. Name School Yr. W-L Miscellaneous Statistics
Yonamine was particularly
P Tai Atkins KS-Hawaii Sr. 8-0 0.84 ERA, 41 IP, 19 H, 79 SO, 6 BB
tough on league runner-up Saint
P Ayzek Silva Campbell Sr. 6-1 1.11 ERA, 38 IP, 24 H, 58 SO, 15 BB
Louis, going 8-for-12 with three
P Jason Shiigi Mililani Sr. 4-0 1.28 ERA, 43 IP, 19 H, 32 SO, 16 BB, Sv
HRs, two doubles, 12 RBIs and
Pos. Name School Yr. BA Miscellaneous Statistics
three runs scored in three
C Micah Yonamine ‘Iolani Sr. .500 11 HR, 34 RBIs, OBP .538, SLG 1.150
games.
1B Safea Mauai Waiakea Jr. .417 OBP .500, SLG .646, OPS 1.146, 20 RBI
“We couldn’t get the kid out,”
2B Jake Tsukada Punahou Sr. .377 OBP .442, SLG .623, OPS 1.065, 24 RBI
Crusaders coach George Gus-
3B Makana Murashige Punahou Sr. .436 OBP .456, SLG .673, OPS 1.129, 18 RBI
man said. “He’s humble and car-
SS Stone Miyao Waiakea Sr. .433 OBP .513, SLG .642, OPS 1.155, 27 RBI
ries himself well. He’s also
OF Kala‘i Rosario Waiakea Jr. .431 OBP .500, SLG .831, 5 HR, 31 RBI, 25 R
versatile. He played some third
OF Shane Sasaki ‘Iolani Sr. .565 OBP .620, SLG .839, OPS 1.459, 5 HR
base last year and some first
OF Kevin Varner Baldwin Sr. .490 OBP .528, SLG .653, OPS 1.181
base this year. He really sacri-
U Caleb Lomavita Saint Louis So. .465 OBP .531, SLG .690, OPS 1.221, 2.79 ERA
ficed by catching so other play-
U Kaipo Haole Baldwin Sr. .364 OBP .417. 6-0, 1.22 ERA, 34 IP, 17 H, 42 SO
ers could play to their strengths,
so their position players could
>> Position player of the year: Micah Yonamine, ‘Iolani (above) pitch. That was great stuff by
>> Pitcher of the year: Tai Atkins, Kamehameha-Hawaii (inset) him.”
>> Coach of the year: Keenan Sue, Punahou With seven college offers, Yo-
namine signed to play at Illinois
State next season. Last week-
players — All-State first-team se- The tail action of the south- Correa compares Atkins fa- end, he had a workout in Califor-
lections Stone Miyao, Kalai Ro- paw’s fastball, at 87 mph, is es- vorably to some BIIF pitching nia with 11 other prospects for
sario and Safea Mauai — were a sentially a screwball. Add to that greats. an MLB team.
combined 19-for-31 (.613) with a spike curve that sometimes, “He’s comparable to Onan Coach of the year honors
13 RBIs and 12 runs scored at unintentionally, switches from a (Masaoka) and Kodi (Medeiros), went to Keenan Sue, who guided
the state tournament. Against 12/6 drop to a sweeping hori- but at the high school level, they Punahou to its first state title
their longtime friend and foe, At- zontal path. had more velocity,” said Correa, since 2010. Kip Akana, who led
kins, they were a collective “When I get into a rhythm, it whose brother, Tom, coached St. Francis to the D-II state
1-for-8 and struck out five times. does something magical that’s Waiakea to a state title in 2012. crown, was second in the vot-
Nobody did that to Waiakea. Not funny,” Atkins said. “From time “The similarity is they all have a ing, and Mililani’s Mark Hi-
Hilo, which gave up 25 runs in to time, I get too much under- lot of movement. Tai is maybe rayama was third.
four matchups. Not Leilehua neath or on the side and it more like Quintin (Torres-Costa) ———
(nine runs). Not Saint Louis sweeps. So my slight inconsis- as far as velocity.” See more about the Atkins, Yo-
(nine). Not Baldwin, which still tency with that at times might Position player of the year namine and the All-State team at
rallied for an 8-5 win. be a surprise factor.” honors went to ‘Iolani catcher hawaiiprepworld.com.

Stone Kala‘i Shane Kevin Caleb Kaipo Keenan

Miyao: Rosario: Sasaki: Varner: Lomavita: Haole: Sue:
Waiakea Waiakea ‘Iolani Baldwin Saint Louis Baldwin Punahou
Shortstop Outfield Outfield Outfield Utility/First base, Utility/Third base, Coach of the Year
catcher, pitcher pitcher

SECOND TEAM THIRD TEAM HONORABLE MENTION

Pos. Name School Yr. Pos. Name School Yr. Sabu Kahee, Hilo
PITCHERS CATCHERS UTILITY
P Landon Carter Punahou Sr. P Javyn Pimental Kamehameha Jr. Laa Asuncion, KS-Hawaii
Kelena Sauer, Kamehameha Makana Poole, St. Francis JT Navyac, Saint Louis
P Matthew McConnell Punahou Sr. P Dylan Rawlins Kamehameha Sr. Tyler Shimabukuro, Punahou Matt Nishimura, Punahou Varen Sabino, Campbell
SHORTSTOPS
P Kaiwi Winchester Mililani Jr. P Ty Honda Waiakea Sr. Roy Meinen, Baldwin DJ Akiyama, Aiea
Pono Lyman, Kaiser Maui Ahuna, Hilo Colby Chun, Pac-Five
FIRST BASEMEN
C Cade Kalehuawehe Baldwin Sr. C Kalua Neves Kailua Sr. Brayden Nomura, St. Francis Bubba Akana, St. Francis Bryson Sato, Moanalua
Mikey Hanano, Kailua Kennedy Hara, Mid-Pacific
1B Cody Hirano Punahou Jr. 1B Ethan Thomas Mililani Jr. Richard Vidal III, Saint Louis Jacob Hinderleider, ‘Iolani
Kiyo Perry, St. Francis Christian Reasoner, Kaiser Zach Tanabe, Roosevelt
2B Noah Tory Saint Louis Sr. 2B Kalae Harrison Punahou Jr. SECOND BASEMEN Kayde Iranon, Kailua
Christian DeJesus, Kame- John Navarro, Aiea
3B Jalen Ah Yat Kailua Sr. 3B Aaron Ujimori ‘Iolani Sr. hameha JR Suehisa, Mililani Reyn Okita, Baldwin Ty Yukumoto, Leilehua
SS Ikaika Ganancial Campbell Sr. SS Shaydon Kubo ‘Iolani Sr. Clyde Enos, Farrington Shayden Sabangan, James Yamasaki, St. Francis
Curtis Chung Jr., Kaiser Campbell OUTFIELDERS Jacob Luther, Seabury Hall
OF Aaron Tom Punahou Jr. OF Austin Teixeira Saint Louis Jr. Jesse Stroede, Kaiser
TJ Bates, Maui Lee Matsuzaki, Mid-Pacific Matthew Lukins, Radford
OF Koa Eldredge Punahou Jr. OF Tate Shimao ‘Iolani Fr. Makana Quia-Estanique, Devin Midel, Waiakea Jayton Pang, Mililani Canen Perreira, Honokaa
OF Chase Mindoro Aiea Sr. OF Brandon Sarae Kailua Jr. Waipahu Braeden Coloma, KS-Hawaii Reece Kadota, St. Francis
Kaimi Malina, Kapaa THIRD BASEMEN JP Tilley, St. Francis Rydge Ishii, KS-Hawaii
U Bryson Ewaliko Kailua Sr. U Gyson Oshiro Kaiser So. Jaydon Tomas, Mid-Pacific Danelle Daniels, Baldwin Richard Akana III, Radford
Vance Oshiro, Mililani
U Ocean Gabonia Hilo Sr. U Naighel Calderon Lanai Sr. Landon Shigeta, Kaiser Micah Kaohu, Mililani Ben Zeigler-Namoa, Baldwin
Hunter Peneueta, Saint Louis Mathew Saelua, Saint Louis Konnor Palmeira, KS-Maui