Waimea High School baseball team has several reasons to be optimistic heading into the 2020 baseball season.
The Menehune, a team that finished second in the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Division II tournament, lost only one key starter from last season.
Waimea finished the Walter Souza Invitational Baseball Tournament Saturday with a 2-1 record after defeating Kaiser, a Division I team, 3-1 Saturday afternoon at Hanapepe Stadium.
Menehune second-year head coach Chad Delanoza admits his team still has some work ahead as they prep for the first Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation game next Saturday when they travel to Kapa‘a.
“We had a great tournament, and our kids got a lot of quality at-bats against Kaiser,” Delanoza said. “The KIF this season is going to be a fun league, and we have to find our niche, and continue work on our weaknesses.”
During the game, the Menehune got five pitchers into the game. Waimea’s pitching staff together combined to strike out six Cougar batters across seven innings.
“Our pitching is slowly growing, and we have a lot of young kids play today,” Delanoza said. “We try to make everyone play, which is why these guys came out as early as they did to give them a piece of the pie. I am proud of their effort, and their hustle, and what they did on the mound for us today.”
The Menehune bats also gave their pitching staff support.
Kanaan Ephan singled on a ground ball to center field. After stealing second, then Anson Lazaro courtesy-ran for him Ephan, who advanced to third after Kainalu Lazaro struck out.
When Kash Akita grounded out to second, the Waimea second basemen was the first score for the Menehune in the bottom of the fourth.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Menehune added to their lead.
Waimea was propelled by a Cory Goias-Soares double, which got things started for the Menehune’s offensive attack.
After Goias-Soares stole third, Kawelo Huddy walked to put on runners at the corners when Kaikoa Perreira-Alquiza knocked in both runners on a ground ball to center field to give the Menehune a 3-0 advantage.
Kaiser answered with a run in the top of the sixth before Waimea’s pitchers were able to close the deal.
The Cougars, a team that qualified for the Division I state baseball tournament last season, found good competition against their Division II opponents in the tournament.
“They have all of the pieces,” former Major League Baseball player and Cougars’ manager Kila Ka‘aihue said. “I like how their catcher played, and they have their team built similar to ours as well.”
Ka‘aihue said he felt his team, who finished the tournament with a record of 0-3, got what it needed in the loss for their preseason preperation.
“We got some more in-game repetitions, and that should help us moving forward in the season,” Ka‘aihue said. “It definitely helped, the more games you play, reps you get in-game, it definitely helps us get ready for the regular season and ready for the postseason if we are lucky enough to make it.”
