Waiakea’s Skylar Thomas was just a fifth-grader at the time, and she has scant memories of when Sloane Thomas, her older sister, was all the rage in BIIF softball. ADVERTISING Waiakea’s Skylar Thomas was just a fifth-grader at the time,
Waiakea’s Skylar Thomas was just a fifth-grader at the time, and she has scant memories of when Sloane Thomas, her older sister, was all the rage in BIIF softball.
Sloane Thomas led Division I in home runs, RBIs and batting average and played shortstop for the league’s dynasty as a senior in 2010. Mysteriously, she was left off the all-league team.
“(Sloane) was the best in the BIIF, I don’t know what happened that she didn’t get (Player of the Year),” veteran Warriors coach Bo Saiki said.
Since it’s hard to keep a good family down, there are no such unsolved mysteries about the 2016 season.
An 11th-grader, Skylar Thomas duplicated many of her sister’s feats at the plate for a burgeoning BIIF dynasty and provided her own special flare as a sleek-fielding shortstop en route to being named Player of the Year by the league’s coaches.
Perhaps because of history, both player and coach said they were surprised by the vote.
“She had an awesome year at the plate,” said Saiki, who’s not known to toss around superlatives.
“To other teams, (Skylar) kind of carried the team,” Saiki said. “She’s steady in the field. She’s got a strong arm and she likes to show it off.”
Just not in the circle, despite Saiki’s suggestion.
“He tried to put me at pitcher, but I said no,” Thomas said.
Thomas said she found out about the honor when she got a text from a friend, Mykala Tokunaga, now a four-time Division II Player of the Year for Kamehameha.
“She said we’re twins now,” Thomas said. “I thought no way, but it’s pretty exciting.”
It’s Thomas’ first all-league honor – she hit .610 with two home runs and 31 RBIs – and she’s got plenty of company from teammates.
The only spot on the Waiakea infield that was neglected was first base. Thomas was joined by second baseman Brandee Chinen, third baseman Taylor Ogawa and catcher Taylor Nishimura, and outfielder Jolene Hirata was selected as well.
For helping league runner-up Kealakehe reach the HHSAA tournament for the first time since 2011, ace Kiara Cantiberos, outfielder Kawehi Kahele and utility Brei McLeod were named all-BIIF, and Hilo was represented by first baseman Moana Pinner and outfielder Patricia Marcus.
Sporting high-top sneakers and sitting outside the Waiakea gym talking about the honor, the athletic Thomas, 5-feet, 10 inches and slender, appears as if she could play well in any sport she tried.
Although she’s dabbled with soccer and basketball in high school, softball is the sport Thomas has mastered since age 10, and she’s turned it into a year-round endeavour.
“I came from Oahu and I wasn’t doing anything,” she said. “My dad put me into baseball and it made me adjust since I was the only girl. I guess that made me open up and it’s helped me a lot.”
Thomas has started for Waiakea since Day One, helping Saiki and the Warriors rekindle their glory years. After winning five consecutive BIIF titles from 2007-2011, the Warriors watched rival Hilo move to prominence and didn’t even qualify for states in the two years before Skylar Thomas got to Waiakea.
“There was a point where I realized we’re going to have to carry this team,” she said.
The Warriors were runner-up behind Hilo in 2014 and have swept the past two championship series.
“I feel more confident in myself now and know I can do it,” Thomas said. “My freshman year I wasn’t really talkative. Now, I can tell my teammates what to do and help them out.
“I knew I could walk the walk, but I had to encourage my teammates they could to.”
With her junior year almost finished, Thomas is transitioning to the Nobu Yamauchi RBI softball team. She’s already made five trips to the mainland through the RBI program, where she prefers to play first base, leaving shortstop duties to Kealakehe’s Tavian Taketa.
In the fall, Thomas will gear up for a winter league, and it won’t be long before the Warriors will vie for a threepeat. All the while, Thomas hopes to try and secure a scholarship to play in college.”
“Right now, I’d like her to try and hit more doubles,” Saiki said. “With a little more lift on the ball, then she will really be a pain when she hits the ball.”
And Skylar Thomas, the fourth-oldest of seven siblings, might not be the last of her ohana to wreck havoc in the BIIF.
“I’ve got a younger sister,” Thomas said. “She plays T-ball, and she loves it.”
