Maybe one-third of the announced crowd of 2,295 stuck around late to help honor, congratulate and show appreciation for the eight UH seniors who made their final appearance in Manoa and on statewide TV via OCSports: Outfielders Kaeo Aliviado and Jordan Richartz, pitchers Jarrett Arakawa, Eric Gleese, Andrew Jones and Juliene Jones, catcher Steven Pollakov, and second baseman Stephen Ventimilia.
This Senior Night was special for another reason, as Ronald Cambra, UH’s Assistant Vice Chancellor of Undergraduate Education, also presented Richartz, the Joneses, Pollakov and Ventimilia with graduation certificates. (Arakawa earned his bachelor’s degree last year, and Andrew Jones and Pollakov are on schedule to graduate later).
Each of the eight seniors contributed in his own way and was shown appreciation from the crowd, but not surprisingly, the biggest ovation was reserved for the two local products, Aliviado and Arakawa. And it can honestly be said that it wasn’t just because they are local boys.
Longtime ESPN 1420 radio play-by-play announcer Don Robbs said Aliviado, a 5-foot-6, 165-pound center fielder, “might be the most popular Rainbow Warrior since Kolten Wong.” Like Wong, Aliviado is an exciting five-tool player who can hit, hit for power, run, throw and field. And he is even more undersized than Wong was (5-9, 190) in his UH days.
Aliviado actually was a fan favorite long before entering UH, even before his outstanding two-sport career at Saint Louis School. He won the hearts of baseball fans across the nation as a tiny-but-productive first baseman on the West O‘ahu team from ‘Ewa Beach which won the 2005 Little League World Series.
Aliviado went on to become an all-league kick returner and a top receiver for future Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota at Saint Louis, in addition to establishing himself as arguably the state’s best all-around baseball player (pitching, playing a stellar center field and batting leadoff).
He then wasted no time in cracking UH’s lineup, starting 52 games in left field as a true freshman and scoring 29 runs. Head coach Mike Trapasso said back then that Aliviado was saving the Rainbow Warriors up to one run per game just with his spectacular plays on defense, and that continued throughout his career.
Many of those gems included highlight-reel diving catches or crashing into the outfield wall, fearlessly sacrificing his body and earning great respect and admiration from fans across the state. Aliviado also has shown surprising power, leading the team in home runs this season with five – no one else has more than two – and is tied for the lead in doubles with nine.
He also leads the Rainbow Warriors in runs scored with 26, runs batted in with 30 and in slugging percentage at .389.
Like Aliviado, Arakawa already was well-established in the Hawaii sports community upon entering UH after an outstanding three-sport (football, basketball, baseball) career at ‘Iolani. And also like Aliviado, Arakawa made an immediate impact as a true freshman, earning the victory in his first college game against nationally ranked Oregon.
He went on to win four more games that season and led the team in strikeouts with 65, then went 7-6 with a 2.88 earned run average as a sophomore before redshirting the 2013 season following shoulder surgery. Despite not being fully recovered from that injury, Arakawa started 10 games last season and went 2-1 with a 2.42 ERA.
The injury lingered throughout this season, but Arakawa has literally battled through every pitch and made 11 starts, going 3-4 with a 3.65 ERA.
Arakawa, a crafty 6-foot, 190-pound left-hander, was not overpowering by any means but proved to be a master at locating pitches, changing speeds to keep batters off-balance and simply getting batters out whether it’s by getting them to swing at a backdoor curve or hitting a grounder or fly ball straight to a fielder.
“I’m not an overly intimidating guy, I don’t throw hard,” Arakawa told OCSports. “I hope that guys can see — especially the younger players — that you don’t have to throw 95 (mph) or be 6-6, 250 pounds to be successful at the college level. Hard work, working on the small things, will lead to some success.”
Both Aliviado and Arakawa said they are glad they chose to play for UH and represent the state of Hawaii.
“Just playing in front of my family and friends and just being a local boy here, it’s really something special,” Aliviado said.
The feeling was mutual, as evidenced by the roaring ovation each received at the end of Senior Night.
Yes, a lot of that was because Aliviado and Arakawa are two popular local boys who proved they could be successful at the NCAA Division I level.
But more than just that, it’s because they each overcame adversity, always gave 100 percent effort and showed the people of Hawaii what it means to be a true Rainbow Warrior.
