[ HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL ]
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Campbell baseball coach Rory Pico said pitcher Tristan Bailey has a "bulldog attitude on the mound."
Pitcher perfect
Campbell junior Tristan Bailey is
the ace of the Sabers' pitching staff
It is a long way from Ewa Beach to Vero Beach, but one Bailey brother has already made the jump from schoolboy chucker to professional baseball pitcher.
Tristan tidbits
Name: Tristan BaileyPosition: Right-handed pitcher
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 180 pounds
Class: Junior
2003 record: 5-2
ERA: 1.60
Two-sport star: Bailey was named to the OIA West's first team in basketball this year.
Another seems to be on his way.
Campbell High School right-hander Tristan Bailey has lots of time to dream about himself in the Dodger blue that big brother Chad wears this spring -- or some other pro uniform. He's got two more years of high school baseball, and then the honor-roll student wants to pitch in college. The pros can wait.
But it should also be said that Chad is Tristan's inspiration, and Tristan is methodically working his way to catch and pass his older sibling, a 2001 Campbell graduate.
At the same time, Tristan is proud of Chad.
"He's my best friend, that guy. He worked with me in the summer, taught me a slider," Tristan said at the Sabers school field before practice this week. "But you could say one of my goals is to out-do him."
Campbell coach Rory Pico said Tristan's targeting of Chad is healthy.
"I think he has, I wouldn't call it a chip, but something to prove, being the little brother," Pico said. "He sees Chad as someone to look up to and at the same time try not to match, but exceed."
Tristan possesses a four-pitch arsenal, including a fastball in the low- to mid-80s, an improving changeup, an overhand curve and the previously mentioned hand-me-down slider.
"I'm most comfortable with the fastball, but I think the slider's my strikeout pitch now," Tristan said.
Scouts and coaches say Bailey is good at keeping his deliveries down and can throw the breaking balls for strikes consistently -- keys to success for pitchers at any level. Pico said he also has the right emotional makeup for the middle of the diamond.
"I like to call it a bulldog attitude on the mound. Mentally he's strong and doesn't get fazed," Pico said. "He's a laid-back kid off the field, but he seems to have that little extra when he needs it."
Ian Pantorilla has been Bailey's catcher since they were freshmen, and has known him seven years.
"He can blow it past a lot of guys, but he has the other pitches, too, and knows how to use them. He likes to perfect things, or at least keep making them better. He's an all-around athlete, multi-talented," Pantorilla said.
Bailey started at wing for the Campbell basketball team in the winter. He scored 18.2 points per game, second only to Kalaheo's Sam Wilhoite in the Oahu Interscholastic Association.
Bailey said basketball is good for him as a pitcher because the running improves his stamina. His coaches agreed playing both sports helps more than it distracts.
"He can handle it because he has very good work habits. He takes his pitching very seriously, he does what needs to be done," pitching coach Michael Hermosura said. "He's getting stronger in the weight room, does a lot of running and really does the pitching drills. And he's a good student."
Pico said he doesn't worry about Bailey's focus.
"He's a good kid. And he's dedicated. He always asks for extra ground balls, or for more work on his cuts," he said. "I've seen him around the community, running on his own on days after he pitches. I never have to question those things with him. The work ethic part is there. He's the first guy to volunteer when we have fund-raisers and stuff like that, too."
Pico hopes it rubs off on the rest of the Sabers. The former Campbell and University of Hawaii infielder is in his first year as head coach, and his team could contend in a traditionally tough OIA West after going 7-3 last year and losing in the first round of the playoffs. The league season begins next week.
"There's a lot of baseball talent out here, but we lose a lot to the private schools and our numbers are down," said Pico, who has 10 returnees among his 16 players. "But I think they're pretty confident. One of our strengths is pitching, because we have three pretty good guys battling for the second spot after Tristan."
Sophomore left-hander Channon Coloma, senior Brandon Tanigawa and Pantorilla are the contestants for No. 2.
Although he's too humble to ever say it, everyone knows who No. 1 is. He's the guy who averaged a strikeout an inning last year. The guy with a pitch for every occasion and a brother in the pros. The guy who they don't laugh at when he says he might pitch at Cal-State Fullerton, LSU or Texas in two years.
"My main goal is trying to keep batters off-balance this year," Tristan Bailey said. "I know I can't go up there and just throw fastballs all day."
