NAWILIWILI — Wednesday was Menehune Day! That proclamation was made by Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. and the Kaua‘i County Council during a special recognition for the achievements earned by the Waimea High School baseball and softball teams at the
NAWILIWILI — Wednesday was Menehune Day!
That proclamation was made by Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. and the Kaua‘i County Council during a special recognition for the achievements earned by the Waimea High School baseball and softball teams at the recent Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association, Division II state championships.
Waimea High School baseball, under the direction of head coach Michael Rita, came back from a 9-0 deficit against Kamehameha-Big Island to clinch the HHSAA Division II title with an 11-10 win for the state championship, placing five players on the state all-tournament team in the process.
Waimea High School softball, under coach Teddy Perreira, similarly came back on a rally, but fell short against Pac-5 to finish in the runner-up position.
“There were two outs and I thought I was going to be the third out,” said Krysta Kali, second base. “But I got a miraculous hit.”
That ignited the rally that brought the Menehune wahine to striking distance of the state title. Despite the runner-up finish, Waimea placed five girls on the all-tournament team, more than the eventual Wolfpack champions.
“My most memorable moment was making the pitching position all-star for both the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation and the state,” said Michelle “Shelley” Koerte.
Kaua‘i County Council chair Kaipo Asing said what the baseball team did was phenomenal, alluding to his background officiating sports on O‘ahu and his grandson working at Kamehameha Schools-Maui.
“They have all the resources, and to have a small team go up against someone like that and beat them says a lot,” Asing said.
Council member Dickie Chang noted that while Punahou clinched the Division I title on the 10-run mercy ruling, Waimea was in that same boat with a 9-0 deficit.
“But there was a lot of ball left to play,” said Michael Rita. “We told the boys to believe. The first game against Kaua‘i High School, they had a 6-0 lead before we beat them 8-7. They had to play ‘Waimea ball.’”
Council member Derek Kawakami, in addressing both teams, said the lessons learned along the championship road are valuable and will help the members in their later life.
Coach Lois Keamoai said tickets for the recognition lu‘au for the HHSAA Division II baseball team are still available by calling the school’s athletic office.
The lu‘au is scheduled for June 1 starting at 6:30 p.m. on the front lawn of the Waimea High School where many of the players from both teams had celebrated graduation last Friday. Cost is $10 each.
It took some getting used to being called an ‘alumni,’ as MarieBeth Watanabe, the softball third base, said, “I’m an alumni and I played third base for the Menehune,” to which council member Tim Bynum said, “A five-day alumni.”
For more information or tickets for the baseball recognition lu‘au, call Jon Kobayashi, Waimea athletic director, at 338-6804, or Shawn Ishihara at Ishihara Market in Waimea at 338-1751.
