HANAPEPE — Fifteen softball teams, including three from the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation, braved the blustery weather, which blanketed Hanapepe Stadium during the opening day of the Waimea High School Invitational Softball Tournament Thursday.
Playing in three pools, the tournament features pool play on Thursday and Friday on four different fields to determine pool seedings for the Saturday playoffs.
“We could do without all this wind and rain,” said Waimea High School athletic director Jon Kobayashi who was checking out the action following the close of school, Thursday. “We already blew out a tent.”
Over at Field D, located behind the main stadium, a fan’s umbrella was caught by the wind and snagged the field umpire during the game between Kapa‘a High School and Pac-5.
Pac-5 was matched up against Kapa‘a High School in the green pool along with McKinley, Iolani and Mililani high schools.
“We got beat up by Mililani, this morning,” the Pac-5 coach said. “We tried to get the girls up, but they were deflated and it’s hard to get them to do anything once they go down.”
Things looked up in the second matchup against Kapa‘a.
Trailing 2-0 in the second inning with two outs, Shazzreigh Nakoa-Chun, cut down on the fielder’s choice in the first inning, bopped a two-RBI single to tie the game and scored on a wild pitch to give the Wolfpack a 3-2 lead.
On Field C, Kato Field where the Protect Our Nation’s Youth Bronco division games are normally played, Kaua‘i High School wrapped up a TKO win, 17-6 over Waialua in the red pool.
Joining Kaua‘i and Waialua, Mid-Pacific, Sacred Hearts and Kamehameha Schools-Big Island make up the five-team pool. Mid-Pacific is the HHSAA Division I champions from 2012.
“Last year, we faced Mid-Pacific’s Keiki Carlos in our second game,” said Ross Shimabukuro, the Kaua‘i High School athletic director. “Now, that pitcher is the No. 2 pitcher at the University of Hawai‘i.”
Waimea High School, winning the HHSAA Division II softball crown in 2012, is in the Blue Pool along with Punahou, Maryknoll, Kaimuki, and Kaiser.
Mike Koerte, a Waimea coordinator for the tournament, said the pre-season tournament goes back a long way.
“Dickie Lutao, who just got through umpiring a game, said he’s been doing this for 28 years,” Koerte said. “He said he was doing it from when Albert Soto and Pat Baniaga were running the tournament.”
Koerte said he’s been officiating the tournament for 16 years, remembering how the tournament used to be held during the Thanksgiving Day weekend before the softball season was moved to spring.
Pool play continues through Friday, starting at 10 a.m. with the last game starting at 5 p.m. The tournament playoffs start Saturday morning from 9 a.m. with the tournament championship and Division II title games starting at 4:30 p.m.
There is no charge to view the games and a food booth as well as supporter wear are available.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
