Waiakea senior David Nakamura was a model of consistency, pitching with cool efficiency, especially when the game’s temperature was turned up.
The left-handed ace produced gems in every postseason start and sparked the Warriors to a second consecutive BIIF title and second straight HHSAA runner-up finish.
Nakamura went 6-0 with a 0.89 ERA in 39 1/3 innings. He surrendered 21 hits, walked 11 and struck out 50, a sparkling 4.5 strikeout to walk ratio, above the preferred 3-to-1 ratio.
He also often helped himself at the plate with a .400 batting average, .486 on-base clip, and 18 RBIs.
He was named the BIIF Division I player of the year in a vote by the league’s coaches, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald and West Hawaii Today.
If there were an award for BIIF team player of the year, Nakamura would win that, too. He never fails to credit his teammates.
“Words cannot express how honored and exhilarated I am with the honor of being player of the year,” he said. “This award is not a reflection only of my performance but my whole team’s. I would not have had a 6-0 record if it weren’t for my teammates who brought their bats, gloves, and game faces to every game this season.”
Six teammates join Nakamura on the first team: catcher Jacob Igawa (.323, .389 on-base, 12 RBIs), second baseman Casey Yamauchi (.470, .583, 16), shortstop Trayden Tamiya (.345, .464, 8), third baseman Stone Miyao (.397, .468, 20), outfielder Kala‘i Rosario (.538, .635, 22) and utility Khaden Victorino (.310, .453, 9).
The other first-team selections are Hilo first baseman Ryan Ragual, shortstop Maui Ahuna, third baseman Logan Respicio, and outfielders Micah Bello and Donald Saltiban Jr., and Kealakehe pitcher Makana Kaluau.
In the postseason, Nakamura did his best work. Leading off was his first career no-hitter. That was followed by his most efficient game then a win over Campbell, the 2015 state champion.
In a 10-0 TKO win over Keaau in the BIIF semifinal series, he threw a five-inning no-hitter and batted 2 for 3 with three RBIs.
When the competition got better, so did he.
Nakamura fired a five-hitter with 11 strikeouts and no walks in a 10-1 victory over Hilo in the BIIF championship series.
He capped it with another brilliant outing in the quarterfinals of the HHSAA tournament. Nakamura pitched 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball in a 6-2 win over the Sabers.
Waiakea ran out of offense and pitching in a 14-4 five-inning TKO loss to Baldwin in the state championship but brought home an appreciation for the journey.
“Winning a state title is the ideal for all teams,” Nakamura said. “But I’m nonetheless proud of what our program has done. Waiakea baseball has made it to the championship game four times in school history, including the past two years.
“We have made a name for ourselves in the state, and there is nothing to be sad or upset about. Our team was special because of the friendship and brotherhood we all shared.”
Team-first mindset
In the BIIF championship series finale, junior right-hander Cody Hirata pitched six innings in a 7-5 win over Hilo, breaking the title-sharing tradition that started in 2012.
But it wasn’t easy. The Vikings scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh before Devin Midel slammed the door for a three-out save.
That game, more than any other, summed up what type of teammate Nakamura was.
There was always a good feeling about Nakamura whether he was on the mound or at the plate or just being in the dugout.
“David has always put in the hard work and has always been accountable for himself,” said Waiakea coach Rory Inouye, selected as the BIIF coach of the year. “Leadership-wise, he was always holding his teammates accountable and pushing his teammates to be better every day.
“In that second BIIF championship game with Cody pitching, he was the DH and encouraging along the lines of coaching him from the dugout. He was yelling tips and was, basically, Cody’s biggest fan from the dugout.”
Fatherly advice
Nakamura leaned on his dad Ray’s advice for his uptick in production as a two-way player.
“As a pitcher, I have improved my mental game a Jurassic amount over the past summer and season,” he said. “It’s important to be confident and believe in yourself. As a batter, I went back to what my dad would always tell me, ‘See ball, hit ball,’ and ‘Don’t be a toy soldier,’ or strike out looking.
“My dad was fairly mellow with me, and those were about all the words he would tell me about my batting whether I was 4 for 4 or 0 for 3 when I was young.”
Nakamura will hang up his cleats when he attends UH-Manoa, where he’ll major in civil engineering. He’ll also enroll in the Air Force ROTC to pursue his goal of becoming a pilot in the Air Force.
When the college classwork gets tough and he pines for firing fastballs, the first thing Nakamura will reminisce about his Waiakea teammates is the camaraderie they all shared, not the countless pitching gems.
“I will definitely remember the attitude of the people who didn’t get to see the field as much as others, and I aspire to be as selfless as they were,” he said. “They didn’t ever complain, worked just as hard as everyone else and always found a way to make everyone laugh.
“A few teammates that come to mind are seniors Micah Chinen and Nathan Yoshida. They were like two peas in a pod. And whether it was Micah playing pranks on Nathan or vice versa, their laughter and joy were contagious, and I will forever remember some of the laughs we’ve shared.”
Nakamura just produced another gem and, indeed, a good feeling as well.
All-BIIF baseball
Division I
First team
C: Jacob Igawa, Waiakea, 12
1b: Ryan Ragual, Hilo, 12
2b: Casey Yamauchi, Waiakea, 12
3b: Stone Miyao, Waiakea, 11
3b: Logan Respicio, Hilo, 12
SS: Maui Ahuna, Hilo, 10
SS: Trayden Tamiya, Waiakea, 12
OF: Micah Bello, Hilo, 12
OF: Kala’i Rosario, Waiakea, 10
OF: Donald Saltiban Jr., Hilo, 12
U: Khaden Victorino, Waiakea, 11
P: David Nakamura, Waiakea, 12
P: Makana Kaluau, Kealakehe, 12
Player of the year
David Nakamura, Waiakea
Coach of the year
Rory Inouye, Waiakea
Honorable mention
Waiakea: Cody Hirata, Safea Villaruz-Mauai, Reese Mondina, Brett Fujii, Devin Midel
Hilo: Dayson Urbanozo-Moses, Puukani De Sa, Ocean Gabonia, Nainoa Kane-Yates, Ryan Cabreira
Kealakehe: Kalani Piltz, Dennison Joaquin, Kawena Soares, Toby Estrella, Tupu Toafili
Keaau: Bryant Respicio-Mercado, Delvin Ongais-Kaiulani, Bronson Pili, Edward Oguma