HONOLULU — Eleven BIIF baseball players were named to ScoringLive’s Division I and Division II All-Hawaii teams, with even more receiving honorable mentions.
Waiakea High School senior Josh Ward and Hilo High School senior Devin Saltiban were placed on the DI First Team.
Saltiban was one of the Vikings’ top hitters, and it is no secret that he has attracted plenty of attention from MLB scouts. This week, he will participate in the 2023 MLB Draft Combine.
Ward was the Warriors’ starting catcher, and one of the team’s most consistent hitters — recording his season best outing against Konawaena High School in March, when he went two-for-three with a homer and three RBI.
On the DII First Team were Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i players Dylan Hanson, Dominic Christensen and Shiloh Santos — as well as Honokaa High School’s Aiden Joaquin.
The special thing about Joaquin is that he’s the only player on the First Team whose team didn’t make it to the state tournament. The UH-Manoa commit made it on the list because of his showstopping regular-season performance — which saw him lead the state with five home runs on the season. He was also a force on the mound, ending the year with a 2.13 ERA.
Hanson also set his bat ablaze more than a few times. His most noteworthy outing was during game three of the BIIF semifinals against the Dragons, when he hit two homers for five RBI. He terrorized pitchers, batting .471 — and also terrorized batters, pitching 19.6 innings with a 1.07 ERA.
Christensen was even more consistent at the plate, batting .527. The starting catcher helped lead the Warriors’ defense.
Santos had one of the most impressive progressions of the season. He started off barely touching the box — then, by the end of the season, became one of KSH’s top hitters.
During the BIIF
championship against Konawaena, he batted five-for-six with three RBI.
Hilo’s Mekenna Wakakuwa was the only BIIF player to make the DI Second team. The BIIF was highly represented on the DII second team — with KSH’s Noah Palea and Kaohu Kawelu, as well as Konawaena’s Taven Hiraishi and Trez Uemoto earning placements.
Honorable Mentions
Waiakea: Isaiah Justo, Ivor Brooks, Loren Iwata, Kaleb Wada, Clemson Julian, Devin Garza.
Hilo: Dylan Villanueva, Koa Marzo, Journey Leialoha, Legend Lancaster, Jaylon Geraci.
Honokaa: Isaac Derego, Kinohi Lindsey, Josyah Umeda.
Konawaena: Maika Akamu, Jaeden Meyers, AJ Blanco.
Pahoa: Donivan Lynch.
KSH: Kekama Robello.
