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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, June 18, 2002

Mid-Pacific's McGuigan best of the state's best

KILA KA'AIHUE
Iolani
First base
GEOFFREY SAY
Moanalua
Second base
ZACH McANGUS Kamehameha
Third base
JORDAN TOM
Castle
Shortstop
SEAN ORTIZ
Maryknoll
Outfield
TYLER PERKINS
Kamehameha
Outfield
MATT TERUKINA
Roosevelt
Outfield
BRYAN TUCKER-SALAS
'Aiea, Outfield
MATT INOUYE
Mid-Pacific
Catcher
DANE AWANA
Wai'anae
Pitcher
DUNN MURAMARU
Mid-Pacific
Coach of the Year

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Pitcher Pat McGuigan, the Advertiser's All-State Player of the Year, joins a wall of honor of past Mid-Pacific standouts.

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

For those who wonder what Greg Maddux might have looked like as a high school pitcher, Mid-Pacific Institute's Pat McGuigan provided a pretty good image this past season.

Instead of a blazing fastball, McGuigan used pinpoint control, good movement, unpredictable changes in speeds and a cerebral approach to get batters out and limit his pitch counts.

"He does a lot of things well for a high school pitcher," Iolani coach Dean Yonamine said. "He's mostly a sinker-slider guy who throws a lot of first-pitch strikes and gets a lot of ground balls. He hardly gives up walks, and he holds runners on because he gets it to the plate in 1.1 seconds or less. In high school, if you do all those little things well, you can be successful."

For doing all those things and more, McGuigan was named the Advertiser's All-State Player of the Year after voting by a 12-member panel of coaches, officials and members of the media.

McGuigan, a senior right-hander, went 5-1 in the regular season with four saves. His ERA was 0.79, with 40 strikeouts and 11 walks in 53¡ innings. McGuigan added two wins and a save in the state tournament, including a relief victory in the championship game against Kamehameha.

"When runners are on base, that's when he really gets tough," said MPI coach Dunn Muramaru, who was named All-State Coach of the Year. "He has good composure; he's our stopper."

Two prime examples of that came during the Interscholastic League of Honolulu season. Against Iolani, McGuigan gave up six hits but stayed locked in a scoreless duel for seven innings with Chris Loo, who was pitching a two-hitter. McGuigan finished with an eight-inning shutout victory, as the Owls finally broke through with nine runs.

That win helped Mid-Pacific complete a perfect ILH first round, but in the second-round opener, the Owls were stunned by a 3-2 loss to previously winless Pac-Five. Less than 24 hours later, McGuigan pitched a one-hitter to help MPI bounce back and defeat St. Louis.

"He always seems to have the same temperament," Yonamine said. "He never gets too high or too low."

Muramaru said McGuigan's calm confidence rubbed off on teammates.

"When I took (starter Ryan) Basco out of the state championship game and brought Pat in, Basco just said, 'OK,' " Muramaru said.

Said Basco after the game: "I always feel good handing it over to Pat."

McGuigan, who will pitch for the University of San Francisco next season, is joined on the All-State first team by his catcher, Matt Inouye. An outfielder two years ago, Inouye blossomed this season into the consensus choice as Hawai'i's best catcher because of his rifle arm, quick release and fluid footwork.

"In 24 games, our opponents only had 16 (steal) attempts," Muramaru said. "That is defense right there, because it makes it easy on us. If the other team can't run, they have to sacrifice, and it's harder for them to advance runners."

Inouye was also the Owls' offensive leader, batting .438 with three home runs and 26 RBIs from the No. 2 spot in the order. He signed with Hawai'i but also was selected late in Major League Baseball's amateur draft two weeks ago.

ILH champion Kamehameha was the only other school to place two players on the All-State first team — center fielder Tyler Perkins and third baseman Zach McAngus.

Perkins, a senior, made the first team for the third straight year after using his sprinter's speed to make big plays on offense and defense.

"He is always a threat," Muramaru said. "With him, a walk turns into a double and a double in the corner turns into a triple."

McAngus, who will play for Air Force next year, came up with clutch hits during the Warriors' ILH title run and exhibited the same cat-quick defense that made him a first-team All-State soccer goalkeeper.

Iolani first baseman Kila Ka'aihue and Maryknoll center fielder Sean Ortiz also represented the ILH on the All-State first team. Ka'aihue, a repeat selection, batted .352, drew 14 walks and was one of the state's most feared hitters.

"I think almost everybody pitched around him," Muramaru said. "That's the one guy you didn't want to hurt you."

Ka'aihue, selected in the 15th round by the Kansas City Royals, has signed with Nebraska.

Ortiz, a senior, posted staggering numbers. He batted .500, with nine RBIs from the leadoff spot. Ortiz also was 18-for-18 on stolen base attempts, had a .638 slugging percentage, a .614 on-base percentage and batted .714 with runners on base. With runners in scoring position, he was 6-for-6.

Defensively, Ortiz did not commit an error all season.

The O'ahu Interscholastic Association had five representatives on the All-State first team — Moanalua second baseman Geoffrey Say, Castle shortstop Jordan Tom, Roosevelt outfielder Matt Terukina, 'Aiea center fielder Bryan Tucker-Salas and Wai'anae pitcher Dane Awana.

Say batted .514 with two home runs, and Tom hit .405 with five home runs and 26 RBIs (including preseason and playoffs). Both are seniors.

Terukina, another senior, batted .625 with two home runs, 12 RBIs and eight stolen bases. He also helped the Rough Riders earn an OIA Eastern Division co-championship and finish third in the state tournament, their highest showing in at least 16 years.

Tucker-Salas batted .500 and applied pressure on defenses with his daring base running. He was a catalyst during Na Ali'i's run to an eventual co-championship in the OIA West.

Four outfielders were named to the first team because of a tie in the voting.

Awana, a senior left-hander, went 5-0 in the regular season with 50 strikeouts in 39 innings and an ERA of 0.90. He helped lead a modest-hitting Seariders team to an OIA West co-championship.

Rounding out the All-State first team is Maui senior Allen Castro, who was selected as a utility player. In the regular season, Castro went 5-0 as a pitcher with a 0.60 ERA and 48 strikeouts. He also was the Maui Interscholastic League batting champion with a .500 average.