By Karen Neill
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On Saturday Jan. 25, the JV baseball team hit the ball out of the park in their match against the Campbell High School Sabers in the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) championships with a final score of 10-0. OIA champions, the JV baseball team finished their season with an undefeated record of 12-0.
“I really feel they stepped up their game and really played awesome baseball. Defensively we were solid and, as always, offensively we were hitting the ball,” said Head Coach Gainor Nitta.
The team played Campbell once during the season and won with a similar outcome of 10-1. “We hear about them, especially during the season,” said pitcher Sophomore Jace Nakama, “They are always a tough town to play, just the fact that they’re all big guys.” They feel however that playing against them beforehand helped them prepare for the championship. “Having the knowledge of playing them before kind of helped us know what was expected out of them and what our game plan was going into the game,” Nakama explained.
With such a large crowd watching, especially at a home game, the players felt an immense amount of pressure from not only their coaches but their community. Fortunately they used this to their advantage. “Playing under pressure is actually a better thing for us,” Nakama explained, “We like to play with a big crowd because it kind of gives us that intensity and that adrenaline going through your body. They made us play a little better.”
The team attributes their accomplishment to their ability to come together and work hard, while not forgetting to enjoy themselves. “I couldn’t have (asked) for a better crop of kids to coach. This year I decided to approach the season with a different mentality, have fun. Having fun brings out the best in their ability,” said Nitta. “No one was for themselves,” said pitcher Sophomore Jaydon Arakawa, “Everyone was a team player.”
As champions, the team redeemed themselves after last season, where they were unable to make it into playoffs. Nitta hopes his team learned that having fun can lead to success and to retain the championship crown next season, beginning a new legacy at MHS.
