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Prep Beat

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Saturday, May 20, 2000

STATE BASEBALL NOTEBOOK

Farmers draw
big following

Molokai definitely will be the home-away-from-home team at tonight's state baseball final: several hundred of the estimated 2,100 fans overflowing Iron Maehara Stadium came from the Friendly Isle for last night's semifinals, and more are expected today.

But Kamehameha, and junior shortstop Bronson Sardinha in particular, will have a sizable following, too. And many don't have to travel inter-island.

"I've got about 100 relatives here, mostly from the Kihei area," Sardinha said. "So far just a few have shown up, but I think there will be more tomorrow."

Sardinha is the younger brother of Kamehameha alumni and current Pepperdine standouts Dane and Duke Sardinha.

Cyber-ball

Two Web sites offer updates on the tournament:

http://www.sportsHIgh.com The Hawaii High School Athletic Association site, which also has updates on the girls' state basketball tournament at the Stan Sheriff Center.

http://hawaiibaseball.rivals.com offers updates and interviews with players and coaches on the tournament and baseball in general in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific Rim.

Hot sticks

Castle's Colin Kaneshiro completed tournament play with six hits in 13 at bats. ... Kapaa's Micah Furtado hit his second triple in two games yesterday. ... Iolani's Blaine Umeda is 7-for-10, and his last at bat before the tournament was a home run at Aloha Stadium off Kahi Kaanoi in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship game.

Tough guy

Leilehua leftfielder Matt Cabalce was hit by two pitches in the Mules' fifth-place bracket game against Castle. Then Cabalce was shaken up after running hard into the chain-link fence chasing down Jason Taniguchi's fifth-inning three-run homer. After a 10-minute delay, Cabalce remained in the game.

Encore

Iron Maehara Stadium hosts one more game tomorrow before getting a well-deserved rest. College Bound 2000, a second-annual exhibition game featuring star players from Maui high school teams and other invited players, starts at 10:30 a.m.

Bullpen banter

Kamehameha goes for a possible three state championships in the space of seven days tonight, as the top-seeded girls' basketball team is favored to beat Kalaheo in tonight's final. The Warriors won the state boys' track championship last Saturday, with leftfielder Tyler Perkins providing some points in the sprints. ... A published report that Maui might host the state baseball tournament once every three years is premature, HHSAA spokesman Thomas Yoshida said, although a proposal will be considered at next month's athletic directors' conference. ... Expanding the tournament from 12 to 16 teams may also be discussed at the conference. ... Iolani coach Dean Yonamine is a nephew of Wally Yonamine, the former Japan League great from Maui for whom the tournament is named.

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By Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin