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Looking out Hawaii Pacific baseball coach Allan Sato knows firsthand the taste of a Sea Warrior victory over the University of Hawaii, but none of his players past or present does.
for big brother
Hawaii Pacific wants to end
a long streak of losing to HawaiiBy Brandon Lee
blee@starbulletin.comThat's because the last time HPU managed a win over the Rainbows was 16 years ago, when Sato was on the mound. The Sea Warriors' seventh-year skipper was an HPU pitcher from 1983 to '86.
In 1985, Sato became the first Sea Warrior to earn a victory over the Rainbows. The following season, while HPU participated in its first UH Rainbow Easter Tournament, he turned the trick again, pitching a 1-0 shutout over the host Rainbows.
Nearly two decades later, Sato, with his two victories over UH, remains the only HPU pitcher ever to win a game against the Rainbows. He still ranks third all-time on HPU's career win list (with 18) and second in strikeouts (167).
"Since the time I was an assistant after (playing) and then a head coach, I've wanted our pitchers to beat the big brother (UH)," said Sato, who stayed on as a Sea Warriors assistant coach in 1987-88, and came back in 1996 to assume the head job after a stint which included working as a UH assistant under Les Murakami.
"It's been a while since we beat them," he said. "But every chance we get, we give it our best shot. For (my players), pride is on the line."
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Pride will once more be on the line for Division II independent HPU (17-16 record), as its next shot at UH comes next Friday as part of the 27th Easter Tournament. Held at Les Murakami Stadium, the tournament begins Monday and runs through Sunday.Hawaii-Hilo -- which participates as a Division I school like UH in baseball -- will also be at the tournament, and the Sea Warriors begin play on Monday against the Vulcans. Unlike with the Rainbows, HPU beat Hilo just last year.
"For my players, the thing is they're looking at these programs that are supposed to be better," Sato said. "These are gonna be games that they're up for."
Sato said that his players should also be up for their other four tournament games, because the field is completed entirely by quality teams. Besides its opener against Hilo (8-25-1) and game against UH (7-16), HPU will play Division I San Jose State (17-8) on Tuesday, 11-time former NAIA national champion Lewis-Clark State (16-6 entering play yesterday) on Wednesday, 2001 NAIA champion Birmingham-Southern (13-11) on Thursday, and Division I UC Riverside (15-10) next Sunday.
HPU was winless at the tournament last season. With their record barely over .500, the Sea Warriors hope to at least pick up a few wins next week to give them a boost going into the final stretch of their schedule.
After the tournament, HPU ends its regular season with an 11-game roadtrip in California, playing four Division II West Region teams. As an independent, the Sea Warriors basically have to win-out on the road swing to realistically attract postseason consideration.
"Winning a couple games in this tournament is real important," Sato said. "It would give us a measuring stick of how far this team has come and it would help us get excited about the upcoming roadtrip ... I would (even) take two losses (against UH and Hilo) if we can win the other four."
Still, don't believe the games against the state's other two collegiate teams -- particularly the one against UH -- don't carry a little bit of extra importance, especially for the Sea Warrior players. They know that their coach had his own toe on the rubber the last time HPU beat the Rainbows, and they also would like to earn the unofficial title as Hawaii's best by beating both UH and Hilo.
The desire to beat UH may even be stronger in two particular players than in the others. One of them is the only one in his fourth year of trying to beat the Rainbows and the other is a former UH player who transferred to get more playing time.
"I would love to beat (UH), to have something I could join Coach with," said senior pitcher Keola McCallum, who, in his fourth year with HPU, could be the starter against the Rainbows next week. "I've always held a grudge against UH. I've always felt we were better than them and we could beat them. This is what we practice and play for."
At the beginning of this month, senior second baseman Wade Taguchi established the Sea Warriors' career home run mark (15). The slugger came to HPU after his spending his freshman season at UH.
Said Taguchi of a potential win against Rainbows: "It's a totally different team, different coaching staff than when I was there. (But) it would still be special, more for me coming to a smaller school and being able to beat a bigger school. There's more satisfaction for me in that."
Indeed, little brother sounds ready for his next chance.
HPU Sports