Best of the West Classic swings into action today
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Best of the West Baseball Classic is back for its 10th tournament in Hawai'i, featuring a sparkling new venue, a few first-time Mainland teams and a refreshed spirit of commitment toward good will and fellowship.
The 10-team tournament for players ages 19 and under starts this morning with pool play games at Central O'ahu Regional Park and Hans L'Orange Park. Pool play will continue at both sites tomorrow and at Central O'ahu Thursday, then the tournament will take Friday off before the semifinals and finals at Aloha Stadium on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
The winner of the last two tournaments was West O'ahu, which is entered this year under a new name, "Hawai'i Wave." The other Hawai'i representative is Leeward, which is making its seventh appearance.
Hawai'i Wave features two University of San Francisco players — Royce Fukuroku and Cy Donald — who recently earned honorable mention on Collegiate Baseball newspaper's Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team. Fukuroku graduated from Maui High School and Donald from Mililani High School, both in 2001.
Pat McGuigan, the reigning Advertiser State Player of the Year from Mid-Pacific, also is on the Hawai'i Wave roster. McGuigan plans to join Fukuroku and Donald at USF next year.
Leeward's roster features several players from Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Kamehameha, including Tyler Perkins, who made The Advertiser's All-State first team for the third straight year.
Among the Mainland teams participating, the Ohio Storm brings perhaps the strongest tradition. The Storm, based in Cincinnati, is in its 35th year of operation and has had more than 2,000 players go through its organization.
The other Mainland teams in the tournament are Baseball Factory (Maryland), Hardtke (San Jose), the Hurricanes (Lakewood, Wash.), Scottsdale (Ariz.), Rincon Valley (Sonoma County, Calif.), Western (Southern California) and Phoenix.
The Storm, Hardtke, Hurricanes and Rincon Valley are making their debuts in the Best of the West Classic.
Baseball Factory is a college recruiting service that features prospects from across the nation. The Hurricanes draw players from the Seattle-Tacoma area. The Scottsdale team is made up of players from Desert Mountain High School.
"We've got good players, good teams, and the Central O'ahu park is beautiful," said Bill Berger, a Best of the West co-director.
Unfortunately, problems with sportsmanship plagued the championship bracket the past two years. Berger said steps have been taken, such as a coaches' dinner last night and a scrimmage/potluck between two teams yesterday, to prevent the same thing from happening this year.
"In the past it was tough for (teams) to meet each other before the games," Berger said. "They would fly in, and then all of a sudden they're on the field competing. Sometimes things would get heated. But we'll be keeping an eye on that, and hopefully we'll have a chance to socialize a bit.
"Everyone's here for the same reason," Berger said, "and that's to play baseball."
