Succeeding more on grit than girth, Waiakea’s baseball team isn’t necessarily one that stands out at an airport.
As luck would have it, the Warriors ran into one such team, Saint Louis, on Sunday morning as the were flying out of Maui.
“We look at these guys, they’re all monsters,” coach Chris Honda said. “They’re D-I prospects. This guy is going to (Washington), this guy’s going to Arizona State, then look at us.”
Yes, look at Waiakea now.
Many came out to do just that at Hilo International Airport, where Kedren Kinzie led the way, carrying the HHSAA Division I baseball championship trophy as the Warriors descended the escalator to greet an admiring crowd. Kinzie, a senior leader who provided the go-ahead two-run hit in Saturday night’s 3-2 win against Baldwin in the final, was a fitting choice as trophy holder.
Senior Justice Dorser would have worked as well.
If you had told him last week he would take home tournament’s Most Outstanding Player honor, “I wouldn’t have believed you,” he said.
The Warriors (11-0) didn’t have time to fully develop Dorser during the regular season – he pitched just twice, going one inning each time – so they simply unleashed him at the most crucial juncture of the season.
“Part of me thought I was going to be a cheerleader,” at the state tournament, he said, “but part of me thought that my coaches needed me, so I just stepped up.”
Twice.
Dorser, who came over from Keaau his junior year, earned the win in relief in the 5-4 victory against Saint Louis in the semifinals and again in the final. Relying mostly on his high-70s fastball, he set down Baldwin on six pitches in the fifth and struck out the side in the sixth, popping off the mound when he caught the third batter looking.
“The energy he brings to the team, it really brings us together,” senior catcher Elijah Ogawa said.
Ogawa and senior shortstop Mason Hirata were asked, considering Waiakea’s depth and Dorser’s low-profile during the season, how far down the list of players they would have ranked him as a potential HHSAA MOP before the tournament began.
Not far, they said.
“When it was his turn to perform, he didn’t disappoint,” Hirata said. “He came in and threw strikes. With all the pressure, he stayed relaxed and he played his game. He clutched up for us.”
Honda said he had confidence in Dorser after watching him pitch on the mainland, and he and junior Kaleb delaCuesta-Sato each executed a game plan that called for them to throw strikes, rely on their defense and let a stiff Maui wind knock down fly balls.
The Warriors also hadn’t relied on delaCuesta-Sato in tight spots coming into the state tournament. He threw a little softer than Dorser, but for the second consecutive game he came up just as big. Pitching into the fourth, the Warriors trailed only 1-0 when they finally got rolling against Baldwin in the fifth.
Igawa started the uprising with a leadoff walk, Kaden Oshiro’s bunt moved pinch-runner Toren Segovia-Tanonaka to second, and Hirata and Devin Garza each worked the count full against Davin Lewis in drawing walks and loading the bases. Kyson Wada hit a comebacker to Lewis, who wasn’t able to start what could have been an inning-ending double play. He took the out at first, Wada breathed a huge sign of relief and Segovia-Tanonaka tied the game 1-1.
“Before I swang the bat, I told myself, ‘Don’t hit into the double play. You’re going to mess up the game,”’ Wada said. “I hit this comebacker to the pitcher and I’m like, “Oh, no, you didn’t.’ But then he bobbled it, so I was like, “OK, this is a chance for our team to come back.”’
Next up was Kinzie, and with a two-strike count he hit a ball through the left side to score two.
“All the emotions, all the hours, all the time we put in, it finally paid off,” Ogawa said.
The seniors – the group also includes Dylan Honda, Yukon Yomono, Oshiro, Klayson Herolaga, Caisin Mateo and Reyn Segovia-Tanonaka – were freshman when Waiakea wielded a powerful lineup that featured Kala’i Rosario, who was drafted by the Twins, and Hawaii signees Safea Mauai and Stone Miyao. That team lost in the quarterfinals, top top-seeded Baldwin, after the 2017 and 2018 teams state runner-up.
Chris Honda called his team “scrappy,” and there was more to it than that.
“Definitely chemistry,” Hirata said. “The friendships we have on and off the field are unmatchable. We’ve been playing with each other for a long time and we just have great chemistry.”
The storybook state tournament wouldn’t have been complete without another seldom-used pitcher coming through when called upon.
Wada, who had only pitched one inning all season, was summoned to the mound after Dorser walked the first two batters in the top of the seventh. He needed all of six pitches to collect three outs, including Christian Dominno’s sacrifice fly with one out to make it 3-2.
“Honestly, I was just telling myself to throw strikes, because the crowd was so loud, the adrenaline was so high,” Wada said. “You kind of black out. You kind of do what you have to do.”
“I’m very, very proud, especially of our seniors. We’ve been through a lot during this COVID pandemic. I feel like we got what we deserved at the end, after all of our hard work.”
Along with Dorser, Wada, Kinzie, Ogawa and Dylan Honda, the winner in the quarterfinal victory against Kalani, were named to the all-tournament team.
The list of players who contributed to the bond that proved unbreakable would run much longer than that.
“It’s hard to explain it,” Dorser said. “They’re my brothers for life.”