KEAAU – There was a lot for the Kamehameha seven of DallasJ Duarte, Kyran Kai, Justyce Ishii, Kekona Naipo-Arsiga, Kahi Tolentino, Kalai Klask-Hoopii and Keola Ili to soak in for their Senior Day.
First, they all contributed in the Warriors’ 6-1 victory over Hilo in a BIIF game on Thursday at Kame‘eiamoku Baseball Field, where they’ll play again maybe once more in an odd postseason setup.
Secondly, Kamehameha, the Vikings, and the fans had the opportunity to practice the virtue of patience when a miscommunication led to no umpires at the 3 p.m. start. The game started an hour later with one umpire calling balls and strikes from behind the pitcher’s mound. A second umpire arrived 15 minutes later to a small round of applause.
And finally, the Warriors had their fun, running around the bases, getting sprayed with water guns while a teammate was holding a nickname poster.
Maybe the best part was the one Warrior who rarely talked but perfectly summed up what’s special about his program, a juggernaut that has won the last six BIIF Division II titles.
Ishii (2 1/3 innings), Tai Atkins (2 2/3 innings), and Zakaia Michaels (two innings) each allowed a hit and combined on a three-hitter. Ishii started and allowed a first-inning run, Atkins earned the win and struck out three, and Michaels had his power sinker working and whiffed four.
Ocean Gabonia went three innings, gave up three runs and two hits and took the loss. Puukani De Sa followed, allowed two singles and a balk and recorded no outs. Nainoa Kane Yates pitched three innings of one-run relief, yielded a hit, walked four and struck out two.
Duarte batted 2 for 2 with an RBI, Kai had an RBI, Naipo-Arsiga had three putouts in center field, Tolentino was 1 for 3, Klask-Hoopii and Ili each scored a run. La’a Asuncion batted 1 for 3 with three RBIs for Kamehameha (11-0).
The Warriors already clinched a berth to the HHSAA tournament, so coach Andy Correa had the luxury of starting all seven seniors. Duarte is a four-year starter, Kai a three-year starter, Naipo-Arsiga a two-year starter, and Tolentino and Klask-Hoopii are first-timers. Ishii has been a valuable pitching swingman.
“They’re really great kids. We’re blessed to work with them as a coaching staff,” Correa said. “They’re hard-working, competitive and fun to be around. A lot of them were not accomplished coming into high school. They worked hard in their summer leagues to improve.
“They leave a good legacy. They’re really supportive teammates and show the younger guys how it’s done. That’s why it’s not a team, but a program for us.”
No one paired hits for Hilo (8-2), but senior center field Micah Bello smashed a triple to center field and scored. He went 1 for 3 and flew out against Atkins, a junior left-hander, with a runner on and one out in the third, the game’s best showdown between two potential MLB draft candidates.
Ili, a backup infielder, is nicknamed Zero after the non-talkative character in the movies “Holes.” Ili was designated as the program spokesman for the seven seniors, who were all on the roster for the 2016 state championship team.
“For the first two seasons, I barely talked. That’s why they called me Zero,” Ili said. “I was just super shy. But then it was just breaking the ice and being part of the team and bonding. Before games, our tradition is the whole team would go to 808 Billiards.”
Duarte is Mir Cat, Kai got tagged with Caillou, the rounded-head, Charlie Brown lookalike cartoon character, Naipo-Arsiga was stuck with LaMelo Ball after sporting a similar hairstyle, and Klask-Hoopii with Short Stack after short stack of pancakes.
Ishii is Frozone for the character in the “Incredibles” because the two look the same when they run or ice skate. Tolentino was the odd guy out because he didn’t have a nickname on his poster. He ran with a poster that resembled the flag of the Philippines.
Speaking of odd, Kamehameha will be the No. 1 seed against No. 4 seed Honokaa in the best-of-three BIIF semifinals. The Warriors will host the first game on April 20, and the Dragons will host the second, throwing the theory of home-field advantage out the window.
The best-of-three BIIF championship series will be played at Wong Stadium.
Meanwhile, Ili wants to go to Washington State to major in software engineering. He’d like to find a job as a coder for Apple or Google, building firewalls, apps or security systems.
If that doesn’t work out, Ili could think about becoming a public speaker or a motivational one. He can always share his story of being shy, breaking out of his shell and transforming himself.
Then he talked about what he likes about his Warriors.
“It’s just the fun, hanging out with the boys,” he said. “We’re hoping for another state championship, and to remain undefeated. We just have to stick together and trust each other.”
Then Ili was done talking. There was more celebrating to do on Senior Day.
