Castillo captures baseball’s top honor

Don’t let Isaac Castillo’s affectionate smile fool you.

The Menehune thirdbaseman is a demon in the batter’s box and as stingy as a one-way road in the field.

So it was no surprise when the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation named the Waimea senior as its 2006 Baseball Player of the Year.

Castillo was a bookend at third and he led the KIF in batting, all while leading his team to its first KIF title since 1994.

Castillo was also one of eight Menehune players to earn KIF all-star honors.

Waimea sophomore Kelly Batis was perfect on the mound and took all-star honors as a hurler.

His partner behind the plate, Brenden Hew, garnered all-star catcher accolades. Hew cracked the lone homerun in the 2006 KIF season.

Although a late season injury kept him out the lineup, Menehune junior Bradley Frasco still managed to grab honors at first base.

Waimea senior Quinton Natividad played solid defense and carried a hot bat on his way to all-star honors at secondbase.

Castillo took thirdbase accolades and teammate Mason Lorenzo, a junior, took shortstop all-star honors. Lorenzo anchored a Menehune defense which was one of the best in recent years.

Kapa‘a junior Travis Nakamura was all over the place in the outfield and was a hard out at the plate, which gave him one of three outfield all-star spots.

Waimea’s Broc Santiago was an unsung hero for the KIF champs and his quiet antics didn’t go unnoticed in the end, as the junior fielded all-star honors in the outfield.

Kaua‘i’s Stanton Yoshimori was solid at every position he played, but the KIF recognized him for his prowess in the outfield.

Kapa‘a’s Travis Shigeta played first base and manned the mound for the Warriors. His consistent play gave him all-star utility accolades.

The 2006 KIF baseball all-stars were chosen by the coaches.

• Duane Shimogawa Jr., sports editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 257) or kauaisports@kauaipubco.com.