KEAAU — Hawaii Prep first-year coach Jeremy Lustik probably didn’t see this one coming.
Keaau, with just 10 players, defeated the visiting Ka Makani 10-0 for a five-inning BIIF TKO victory on Saturday at the Cougars field, knocking out Hawaii recruit Michael Hughes after three innings.
Hughes had flashes of the arm talent that attracted the Rainbow Warriors with six strikeouts, but his lack of preparation also showed with four walks and five runs. He was a key member of HPA’s basketball team that played at the state tournament and logged little mound time.
“Michael, first and foremost, is an unbelievable athlete, extremely talented and coachable,” Lustik said. “He had points where he was brilliant and points where he really struggled. They did a great job of extending at-bats. They had a nine-pitch at-bat early in the game.That disrupted his approach, thinking I’m getting up there in pitches. He came out and finished on a real positive in his last inning.”
The Cougars have three players on academic probation, but coach Herb Yasuhara is used to thin rosters. He’s done his best coaching squeezing what he can out of limited personnel in the past.
Keaau (1-0) only managed three hits. Bronson Respicio-Mercado batted 2 for 2 and scored three runs. His brother, Bryant Respicio-Mercado scored four runs, Ricky Rapoza had two RBIs, and Jayten Kamakea had three RBIs.
Kamakea pitched four innings for the win. He allowed one hit and five walks. Justice Dorser pitched one scoreless inning.
Hudson Margold pitched an inning, walked three and surrendered three runs. Ry Bleckel recorded an out, walked two and allowed two runs.
Lustik moved with his wife and two kids from Colorado over the summer. He teaches math at HPA and coached more than 20 years of high school baseball in Denver. They have family in West Hawaii.
HPA’s previous coach, Kurt Simon, had to step down due to family reasons, and Lustik was a convenient fit.
“We’ve got some good baseball kids. We’ve got some good, physical kids,” he said.
Besides Hughes, senior Todd Hill and junior Nate Heymann will anchor the starting rotation.
Hughes will be a force at the top of the lineup. He hit in the No. 2 spot and went 1 for 3. Junior catcher Ikaika Apilado, Heymann and Bleckel will also be counted on to carry the offense.
The Respicio-Mercado brothers swing the most potent bats for the Cougars, and Bryant Respicio-Mercado and Ricky Rapoza provide leadership as seniors.
“Our junior catcher Ethan Santos has been working hard,” Yasuhara said. “The two pitchers who threw today (Kamakea and Dorser) we’ve got to rely on them. They throw strikes and have pretty good stuff.”
Ka Makani (1-1) are not that far removed from experiencing success at the state tournament. Their last appearance was in 2017. Hughes, Bleckel and Hill were on that team.
It’s a little tougher to develop a BIIF title contender at HPA because a special group of players need to arrive at the same time. The only BIIF title came in 2009.
But Lustik has seen how pipelines work and he knows all about the prominence of Hilo, Waiakea, and Kamehameha.
“Our HPA kids don’t have much game action,” he said. “In Colorado, the spring season alone it’s 23 games, and then you go into a summer season and play 40 to 60 games. The experience they get from that is crazy.
“I know on the Hilo side there’s an opportunity to play summer baseball or fall wood bat, which not a lot of our kids have done. That’s a way we can grow at HPA, try to give them more opportunity in the offseason.”
Wednesday
Honokaa 17, Kohala 7: Justin Birch hit and inside-the-park home run to help his cause in the mound, where he struck out seven as the Dragons won their opener in Kapaau.
Honokaa scored nine runs in the first two innings. Birch was 2 for 4 with four RBIs, and collecting two hits apiece were William Smith (two RBIs), Angel Barajas (RBI) and Waimea Ramos (double, two RBIs).
Birch worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing three hits, five runs and four walks. Chad Yanagisawa worked 2 1/3 innings.
Aukea Ka’aekuahiwi finished with two hits for the Cowboys and Quinten Hook drove in two runs. Jordan Alejandro pitched and inning and took the loss, though only three of the eight runs charged against him were earned. Kohala committed seven errors.
