A week ago, the Correa family business produced its greatest achievement on the diamond: one of Coach Jimmy’s sons brought home a state baseball championship.
Through all the HHSAA state tournament appearances that came up short, coach Jimmy Correa was always there.
But on May 7, Kamehameha, coached by his youngest son Andy Correa, defeated Kapolei 5-4 in eight innings at Wong Stadium to capture the Division II state title.
Coach Jimmy died at home on Feb. 7, 2016. He was 96 years old.
Coach Jimmy was a volunteer coach on St. Joseph’s High School baseball team for 31 years from 1955 to 1986.
“We dedicated the season to him,” Andy Correa said. “We did everything he would have wanted us to do.”
Back in 1996, Coach Jimmy’s son Tom Correa piloted Waiakea to an unexpected spot in the Division I championship against Iolani, which won 4-1.
The Warriors were scheduled to make a serious run the year before when they had left-hander Onan Masaoka, who later pitched two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In 1995, Masaoka’s senior year, Konawaena upset Waiakea in the BIIF semifinals. Hilo and the Wildcats went to states; the Warriors stayed home.
Waiakea didn’t make it back to the Division I state championship until the magical year of 2012 when all the pitching stars aligned.
Behind a pair of future pros in left-handed aces Quintin Torres-Costa and Kodi Medeiros, the Warriors beat Baldwin 5-2 on a combined no-hitter to capture the state title, the program’s first.
But Tom Correa had moved on from Waiakea coach to become the school’s athletic director.
The family business was still going strong with Andy Correa at Kamehameha, which finished second at the Division II state tournament in 2010.
The Warriors led Waimea 9-0 after three innings but fell 11-10 for the state championship in what was a Correa family affair.
Andy’s son Pono was on the team as a second baseman/pitcher and his dad, Coach Jimmy, was in the dugout as an assistant.
Fast forward a few years and in 2012, it was Pono Correa’s senior year. Kamehameha lost to Maryknoll in the third-place game, a preview of sorts.
The BIIF Warriors and the ILH Spartans would meet the next two years in the state championship.
Maryknoll won both times, 14-0 and 4-0. The Spartans played a brand of ball Coach Jimmy taught his sons and all his ballplayers.
The Spartans pitched to the corners, buckled down with runners on base, and relied on their defense as their best weapon. At the plate, they found a way to get on base, then executed sacrifice bunts, and gave themselves scoring opportunities.
The Warriors played exactly the same way. But as coach Tom Correa once said, “You have to be lucky enough to catch the breaks and good enough to take advantage of them.”
Then the 2015 season came and went with another fourth-place finish. Aiea defeated Kamehameha 4-1 in the semifinals, and Kauai squeaked by 4-3 in the third-place game.
The Warriors started the 2016 season without the comfort of Coach Jimmy around. But they pocketed their fifth straight BIIF Division II crown.
Then they were seeded No. 1 for the first time by the HHSAA. It was also the debut of Wong Stadium for hosting a Division II state tournament.
Tom’s words
On that May 7 night, Tom Correa’s words came true for his brother and his Warrior ballclub.
Down to the last out, two runners on and behind 4-3 in the seventh, Makana Aiona was Kamehameha’s last hope. But he found himself in an 0-2 hole.
Still, the senior third baseman took a healthy cut, and the ball soared high to the heavens. Hurricane third baseman Corey Slade was under it but dropped the ball.
That was the lucky break.
The tying run scored, and Kamehameha plated the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth on DallasJ Duarte’s RBI walk with the bases loaded.
Kamehameha senior Daylen Calicdan wiggled out of a bases-loaded pickle in the bottom of the eighth to seal the 5-4 victory.
It wasn’t easy, but the Warriors were good enough to take advantage of their lucky break.
After Calicdan pitched 4 2/3 innings of one-run relief for the win, he was bursting with exuberance, but one sentimental thought hit home.
“This was for Coach Jimmy,” he said. “This was all about him. In the beginning of the season, coach Andy gave a heartfelt speech about Coach Jimmy. And that made our season so much more special.”
As the night grew old, Tom Correa found his brother Andy and congratulated him. It was one of those old Hallmark card moments. It was a priceless memory between two baseball brothers.
Family business
A day later, on May 8, Kainoa Correa (Tom’s son) hit up Facebook with the post: Great weekend for the family business. Congrats to my Uncle for bringing home D2 state title in honor of my late grandpa.
Kainoa Correa, a 2006 Waiakea graduate who played for his dad, is in his second year as a Northern Colorado assistant coach.
The Bears are on the NCAA Division I level, so Kainoa Correa will have a much tougher challenge bringing home a national championship.
At least, the Correa family business will keep going strong.
Back to Kamehameha’s special night on May 7. The thought of his dad not in the dugout struck Andy Correa right in the heart.
“All those years, I tried to win one when he was here,” he said, his voice trailing and emotions overflowing.
To those who lament that Coach Jimmy was not there, he was.
He was always there.
From high in the heavens, Coach Jimmy had the best seat in the house.
