CaneFires power
By Al Chase
past Sharks, 9-6
Star-BulletinThe West Oahu CaneFires finally unleashed some of their big guns. Manager Tom Lawless' team used a three-home-run, six-run second inning en route to a 9-6 victory over the Honolulu Sharks in a Hawaii Winter Baseball game at Hans L'Orange Park yesterday afternoon.
The win put the brakes on the CaneFires' six-game losing streak and salvaged the final game of the three-game series with their Outrigger Division rival. The Sharks scored 23 runs in winning the first two games.
Honolulu took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Damon Minor homered on a 2-2 pitch over the right-field fence.
West Oahu answered in the bottom of the inning. Mike Barrett started the six-run outburst with a 375-foot line shot over the left-center field fence.
After a single by Jim Chamblee and a walk to So Tsutsui, Terrance Long drilled a ball over center fielder Norman Hutchins' head that hit the fence and kicked toward right field. Long raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
Tadahito Iguchi followed with a single and the league's top hitter, Nobuhiko Matsunaka, sent a one-strike pitch 360 feet over the right-field fence for the CaneFires third homer of the inning.
Matsunaka was 3-for-4 with four RBI and raised his average to .467.
Barrett, also 3-for-4, raised his average to .393, which will keep him among HWB's top 10 hitters.
By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Robert Fick of the HonoluluSharks is caught off first base
by the West Oahu CaneFires' Nobuhiko Matsunaka after
a throw from catcher Mike Barrett during yesterday's
game at Hans L'Orange Field.
"I'm here to get some at-bats and work on my hitting and defense at catcher and third base," said Barrett, in his third season of professional ball after being picked in the first round by the Montreal Expos in 1995.He was converted from shortstop to catcher after his first season in the minors and is the batterymate of some teammates who don't speak much -- if any -- English.
"It's a different style of game in Japan," Barrett said. "I know in the Expos organization they like to get batters out with the fastball, but the Japanese pitchers like to get batters out with off-speed stuff."
In Hawaii Winter Baseball, the interpreter is as much a part of the team as any player, coach or manager.
In the dugout after Minor's home run, Barrett, West Oahu starter Hiroshi Yamada and the interpreter sat down for a discussion.
"We had a little talk about not throwing the fastball down the middle on certain counts because American hitters would be looking for it," Barrett said. "We talked about not trying to trick the batter, we just want to get him out and location (of the pitch) was the best way to do it."
It was the first time Barrett caught Yamada in a game, although he had worked with him in the bullpen.
Yamada gave up one hit in each of the next three innings, but was never in trouble and earned his first win of the season.
"He's a good pitcher and we got in a groove after the home run," Barrett said.
Barrett said it takes him a little longer to get a "read" on his pitching teammates from Japan.
"They are quieter and don't show a lot of emotion," he said. "What I have to do is find ways to keep them motivated."
Stars 2, Stingrays 1: At Hilo, four Hilo pitchers combined on a seven-hitter as the Stars completed a three-game sweep at Francis Wong Stadium.
Paul O'Malley pitched the first five innings and gave up five hits and Maui's first-inning run on an RBI-single by Brian Richardson. Relievers Chad Ricketts, Dave Lundberg and Trevor Schaffer finished, allowing one Maui runner to second base.
The Stars came back in the bottom of the first on run-scoring singles by Billy Deck and Ric Johnson.
NOW A SCOUT: After five years as a bird dog for Kansas City, former University of Hawaii shortstop Eric Tokunaga has been hired as a full-time scout by the Royals.
"My goal is to work my way up so I can be an international scout," Tokunaga said.
Hawaii Winter Baseball
W L Pct. GB Honolulu 5 4 .556 -- West Oahu 3 6 .333 2
W L Pct. GB Maui 6 3 .667 -- Hilo 4 5 .444 2No games scheduled
West Oahu (Shinji Kurano, 0-0) vs. Hilo (Takao Inoue, 0-2), 6 p.m., Francis Wong Stadium.
Maui (Jake Viano, 0-0) vs. Honolulu (Motoyuki Akahori, 1-0), 6:55 p.m., Rainbow Stadium.
Honolulu West Oahu ab r h bi ab r h bi Hutchins cf 4 2 2 0 Long cf 5 2 2 3 Castro ss 5 1 2 2 Iguchi ss 5 2 2 0 Fick 3b 4 0 1 1 Matsunaka 1b 4 1 3 4 Minor 1b 4 1 1 2 Bates rf 5 0 1 0 Johnson dh 4 0 1 0 Barrett c 4 2 3 1 Kapler rf 3 0 1 0 Whitaker lf 4 0 1 0 Glendenning lf 4 1 1 0 Chamblee 3b 4 1 2 1 Hara c 1 0 0 0 Shibahara dh 4 0 0 0 Pierzynski c 2 0 0 0 Tsutsui 2b 3 1 1 0 Abernathy 2b 4 1 2 1 Totals 35 6 11 6 Totals 38 9 15 9 Honolulu 010 000 023--6 West Oahu 061 000 02x--9DP--Honolulu 1 (Abernathy-Minor), West Oahu 2 (Iguchi-Tsutsui-Matsunaka, Chamblee-Tsutsui-Matsunaka) LOB--Honolulu 6, West Oahu 7.2B--Castro, Glendenning, Abernathy, Matsunaka. HR--Minor (1), Long (1), Matsunaka (1), Barrett (1).
IP H R ER BB SO Kawahara L, 0-1 3 8 7 7 2 2 Chapman 3 4 0 0 0 3 Iriki 2 3 2 2 0 2 Yamada W, 1-0 5 5 1 1 2 3 Grundy 3 2 2 2 2 0 Lisio 1 4 3 3 0 0Balk--Kawahara, Grundy.Umpires--Creek (plate), Nelson (bases).
T--2:41. A--1,081.
Maui 100 000 000--1 Hilo 200 000 000--2Julio Manon, J.J. Pearsal (6), Scott Randall (6) and Jay Jones, Casey Snow (6); Paul O'Malley, Chad Ricketts (6), Dave Lundberg (8), Trevor Schaffer (9) and Dave Schmidt. W--O'Malley (1-0). L--Manon (0-1).Leading hitters--Maui: Brian Richardson, 2-4; Mike Metcalfe, 2-3; Joe Funaro, 2b.
Hawaii Winter Baseball
1997 Roster & Schedule
