The Hilo High softball team features 28 players, enough to field three separate teams.
“We’ve got one pitcher, and we’ll see what we’re made of on Friday,” said first-year coach Gary Ahu.
That lone ace is sophomore Hauoli Kapili, whose first sport is soccer.
She’s taking pitching lessons from Leilani Southward, the first UH-Hilo softball coach in 1988.
“She’s getting her fastball over the plate, and she’s pretty consistent,” said her mother Noelani Kapili, who’s also a Viking assistant coach. “Her job is to throw strikes and let the defense work.”
Kapili estimated that 17 are rookies, who have never played before. The roster is a mix of nine returnees and others with limited experience.
Ahu has been here before. He sprouted Kamehameha into greatness, starting the eight-year BIIF Division II title run in 2012.
He was an assist to Hilo girls basketball coach Cliff Kawaha and transitioned to softball to replace Amber Waracka, whose team lost to Kealakehe in the BIIF semifinals last year.
“They’re all very excited in learning how to play,” Ahu said.
If roster size counts for anything, the Vikings lead the league in enthusiasm.
They host Honokaa and face a tough test in Dragon junior ace Tehani Epenesa on Friday.
Kuuipo Kapili, a freshman, will catch her sister.
Junior Makana Huddleston will start at first base, senior Angie Wright at second, freshman Kiana Agpalza at shortstop, and sophomore Jennie Silva at third.
Sophomore Lydia Krail and junior Kimber Uemura will be in the outfield. Junior Faith Krauss and a pair of senior soccer players Caneel “Booboo” Corpuz and Kaimana Macomber will see playing time.
The Vikings are starting five freshmen and sophomores, and there’s potential in players like Agpalza, who grew up playing baseball. Agpalza was on the Hilo Pony 13 team that won the World Series over the summer.
“They’re learning to play together as a team,” Kapili said. “They’re lucky to have coach Gary. They’re learning about strategy and being smart on offense and defense.”
So far, Huddleston and Silva have been the most consistent bats in the preseason.
“They don’t get intimidated by a pitcher who throws fast pitches or pitchers who throw junk,” Kapili said. “They know how to wait in the box for their pitch and how to execute.”
The Vikings had a brief but dominant run from 2012 to ’14, claiming a title three-peat.
Since then, Kealakehe and Waiakea have emerged as the best as the league’s Division I teams.
“We’re learning and have a lot of heart,” Kapili said. “We may surprise some people, depending on how we play as a team.”
If nothing else, at least the Vikings have more than enough depth to keep searching for solutions.
