GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM University High School students Mandy Yoshizu and Richie Titcomb started a controversy by joining the Pac-Five baseball team.

Accepting the challenge

Richie Titcomb and Mandy Yoshizu
have been a big hit for the Pac-Five
varsity baseball team

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By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.com

Richie Titcomb and Mandy Yoshizu are feeling a bit challenged this spring.

But that's to be expected since they're two girls playing varsity baseball for Pac-Five.

Girls playing the grand old game at the varsity level is rare not only in Hawaii, but also across the country.

Not everyone agrees Titcomb and Yoshizu should be on the team.

"There was friction at the beginning," Wolfpack coach Randy Oyama said. "Some of the parents were concerned that one of the girls didn't belong, and some of the players had concerns that if girls were on the team, then we'd be looked at as a joke.

"So we had meetings with the parents and with the players and I expressed my views. I've never cut anyone and we can't afford to cut anyone. Anyone who isn't hurting the team should be allowed to play, and these girls have roles that they're responsible for on this team."

Oyama said the parents now have a better understanding of the situation and that the players are welcoming the girls more and more.

Senior catcher Colby Holt, a three-year starter, is one of the girls' biggest supporters.

"Some of the guys treat us as equals," Yoshizu said. "And if anyone says anything negative to us, Colby will tell them not to treat us that way and to treat us just as they would one of the other players."

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM "Some of my friends tried out last year when they knew I was playing JV." --Richie Titcomb, Pac-Five sophomore infielder.

Yoshizu, a junior backup first baseman and outfielder, went 4-for-9 in the preseason and had the opposing Kapaa Warriors cheering her performance at a tournament on Kauai.

"Most of them didn't expect me to get a hit," Yoshizu said. "So when I did, they were like 'Whoa, she got a hit.' "

Titcomb, a sophomore backup middle infielder, added: "But our team wasn't really cheering."

For Titcomb, playing against and with boys is nothing new. She did it in Little League and in park leagues and for the Pac-Five junior varsity a year ago.

She doesn't think it's that special that she's playing for the varsity, but she does encourage others to try.

"Start young, and it helps to have good coaches," Titcomb said. "Some of my friends tried out last year when they knew I was playing JV. One girl played for Kamehameha intermediate."

Added Yoshizu: "If girls want to play baseball, they should. Maybe if they see that we're playing, some girls might not be too scared to at least try out."

Yoshizu is meeting her share of boys on the field.

"Against Kaiser, when we were shaking hands, one guy tried to put a piece of paper with his phone number on it in my hand," she said. "I let it accidentally drop. During other games, guys start talking to me at first base."

Titcomb enjoyed one particular moment during Saturday's surprising season-opening victory over Mid-Pacific.

"Their catcher was kind of giving our batters a hard time, and sometimes when he got up, he would look over at the dugout and yell at our players," Titcomb said. "We yelled at him, 'Get back behind the plate.' So he kept looking at us and we screamed back, 'What?!' "

Oyama said Yoshizu has one of the best swings on the team and that Titcomb is solid defensively. Both play softball in the winter for the Junior 'Bows.

Yoshizu joined the Pac-Five baseball team because she saw how much Titcomb improved in softball this year after her JV baseball experience a year ago.

"The ball is so much bigger in softball so I think hitting the smaller ball now will help when I go back to softball," Yoshizu said.

She prefers first base over the outfield because fly balls in baseball are harder to judge than in softball.

Titcomb feels she's doing the job in the field, but needs to improve her hitting. Still, she's proud of the one RBI she collected in the preseason.

According to the two girls, some of the opposing coaches at the Kapaa tournament told Oyama that the girls shouldn't be playing.

"But then we showed them we could play and they changed their minds," Yoshizu said.

So far, Titcomb and Yoshizu are meeting this spring's challenge.

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