For Kallen Miyataki, it’s all about building blocks, little ones.
For Kallen Miyataki, it’s all about building blocks, little ones.
You understand this and nod your head in agreement, because you see the singular path Miyataki is on. Not a lot of other trails or branches heading in promising different directions for him. To stretch the metaphor out of shape, he’s in a boxed canyon, in a jungle. The only way out is straight ahead and be sure where you step.
It’s a longstanding Vulcans’ tradition. Kele Coloma pitched for the University of Hawaii at Hilo from 1993-97, the span of time that included the transition to Division I baseball, and he was back Saturday for a hastily arranged alumni game.
“What an awesome experience,” Coloma said at Wong Stadium of his time playing for the Vulcans. “We played some of the best teams in the country, USC, lots of them, and every once in a while we could surprise you.
“We always knew if we were funded anywhere close to the level of the people we were playing, we could compete with anyone.”
In every sport at UH-Hilo, the lack of funding hangs like a heavy, dark cloud, always ready to burst. The burden is as foreboding as ever for the baseball program, in the third year of construction under the direction of Miyataki, the former player and assistant coach. His tempered, realistic approach might start showing a bit of a growth spurt this year, not that you would know it from the Pacific West Conference preseason poll that ranked the Vulcans dead flat last.
“Not a surprise,” said Miyataki, “I accept it and embrace it.”
It’s all fair and understandable. A team without much success the last few years, underfunded by conference standards, that’s the kind of team you pick at the bottom because they haven’t done anything yet.
“They see us and they think, ‘they have potential, but …’ and that’s where they stop,” Miyataki said. “It’s the curse of potential, which means, you could be good, but you aren’t good now.”
The Vulcans stand a chance to show some growth if they remember who they are. Under-funded teams lacking high=ly recruited talent must rely on the little things, the routine plays.
Miyataki has seen too many games thrown away by an infield error, by an outfield relay to the wrong base. The mix of talent and classes is such that this year Miyataki has good glove junior Edison Sakata returning at shortstop after a full season’s indoctrination a year ago. same story with centerfielder Michael Jenkerson and corner outfielder Jonathan Segovia, from Keaau high School. Each should contribute to an improved defensive team.
Segovia had three hits, including a double and triple to go along with three runs batted in Saturday in a 17-5 romp for the varsity squad. Pitcher Jordan Kurokawa, the ace of the staff, made 22 pitches in two innings and to say he breezed through the lineup would underestimate his dominance. Second baseman Jacob Grijalva had three hits and four RBI. The defense has the coach’s full attention.
“Sakata has been doing it, he stabilizes the infield,” Miyataki said, “and that’s where it all starts.”
It takes combinations of skills, all working together to win consistently in baseball, but from Little League to The Bigs, it can only begin with the small, routine components of the game. Catch the ground ball. Make a good throw. Hit the cutoff man.
“You can never find out how good you can be until you start making the routine plays on a consistent basis, game in and game out,” Miyataki said. “For the first time, for me, I think we are in a position where we can start building that kind of team. Making the routine plays doesn’t just give you a chance to win that game, it gives you confidence and nobody wins without confidence.”
The message appears to be sifting its way through the roster.
“We have to do those little things, they build up into big things,” said Jenkerson, “but I think we have better chemistry as a group this year, it feels like we’re all working together better than last year.”
Jeremy Dela Cruz, a kinesiology major, is taking some post grad classes at the school for his physical therapy career, but his eligibility is up so Saturday, he had a new perspective, from the alumni bench.
“They look better,” he said, “they look like they’re being guided in the right direction; it’s all about the little things, concentrating on making the easy plays, believing in the work ethic it takes to be successful.
“I think they have a chance,” Dela Cruz said. “I think they’re ready to start building it up.”
That would mean an improvement on the basement residence in the conference, a sign of upward mobility.
Miyataki will understand and embrace that, as well.
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