Future 'Bows eager to play in summer league
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
Future Hawai'i Rainbows Jesse Moore and Matt Sisto missed yesterday's workout with the Oahu Paddlers of the Hawaii Collegiate Baseball League. But they had a valid excuse.
Moore graduates Monday from Mission Bay High in San Diego and Sisto from Cypress High in Anaheim on Tuesday. Both said they will be here the day after they graduate.
"I'm pretty excited," Moore said in a telephone interview. "I'm ready to get acclimated to the culture and atmosphere and to get ready to play baseball out there."
The league's fourth season starts today with three games at Patsy Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park. The Aliis play the Paddlers on Field 1, the Waves play the Menehunes on Field 2 and the Surfers take on the Paniolos on Field 3. The games start at 11:30 a.m.
Another UH recruit on the Paddlers' roster is Yavapai JC transfer Kirby Yates, a 2005 graduate of Kaua'i High.
Yates said he was uncertain of his availability because he will be taking online courses to obtain his associates degree that is required to transfer to UH.
"I'm not a 100 percent sure," Yates said. "Maybe I'll throw here and there."
Yates enjoyed a solid season at Yavapai, finishing 7-5 with a 3.79 earned run average with 72 strikeouts to 30 walks in 78 1/3 innings. The right-hander sat out the 2007 season recovering from Tommy John elbow surgery.
Meanwhile, Moore will have little time to celebrate with friends after graduation, but the experience he will gain from playing with other collegians makes it worthwhile.
"It's going to be hard, but I'm going to come back for three weeks after playing in the summer league," Moore said. "But I want to put myself in the best situation for baseball and I think this is the best situation for me."
Moore played shortstop for Mission Bay, which was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the California Interscholastic Federation San Diego Section tournament.
His classmate is Nick Croce, a catcher who also signed with UH. Croce was one of two UH recruits drafted last week (the other was Kamehameha-Hawai'i's Kolten Wong). Croce was taken in the 45th round by the Atlanta Braves. Croce is not playing in the HCBL.
Sisto, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound right-hander, said he is looking forward to pitching in HCBL. Inflammation in his elbow limited him to just seven innings for Cypress High. He played about 10 games, but mostly at first base.
"I'm good to go," Sisto said in a telephone interview. "I just started throwing. I pitched in a game last week."
He was touted as a possible draft pick, but went untouched, possibly because of his elbow issues.
"It was depressing," Sisto admitted. "But in the end, it's probably a blessing. I get to go to school in Hawai'i. It's going to be awesome. The main goal is to get to the (College) World Series. That's what we're striving for."
Although he was a November signee with UH, he took his recruiting trip here in March during the Fresno State series. He was impressed by the fan support.
"The fans are awesome," he said. "It must be so exciting to play out there. They love the players."
The HCBL has players from around the nation at various collegiate levels. Besides UH, Hawai'i Pacific and UH-Hilo also have players participating. Players from Hawai'i at Mainland colleges are also on the rosters.
Former Hawai'i Pacific coach David "Boy" Eldredge is coaching the Paddlers. He completed his fourth season at Southern Utah, which has three players in the league, including 2007 Kamehameha Schools graduate Mitchell Kauweloa, an outfielder. However, NCAA rules prohibit coaches from coaching their own players on summer teams, so Eldredge is on a different team from his players.
Other coaches in the league are the Menehunes' Steve Gewecke, the Waves' Ikaika Dupont, the Aliis' Carl Fraticelli, the Paniolos' Mark Hirayama and the Surfers' Adam Millan.
The league will hold games at three different sites: CORP, Kailua High and Les Murakami Stadium. The regular season is 35 games with a tournament to determine the champion. The regular season ends July 24. The tournament runs July 26 to 29. There are no admission charges at all sites.
The league will hold a scout day on July 3, when players will be tested and evaluated by scouts. An all-star game is scheduled for July 4. Both events will be at Murakami Stadium.
Most of the players arrived here Wednesday. Each of the league's six teams had a one-hour workout yesterday at Punahou School.
Visiting players are housed at Kalo Terrace Apartments near the University of Hawai'i.
For information, including schedules, visit the league's Web site at: http://www.hawaii-cbl.com.
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| HAWAII COLLEGIATE LEAGUE ROSTERS
HAWAII ALIIS
Coach: Carl Fraticelli
Pitchers: Nicholas Alexander (Hawai'i Pacific), Roy Ferdin (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), Brad Frasco (Saddleback JC), Billy Garafalo (Murray State), Marc Harmon (Murray State), Jake Hovis (Point Loma Nazarene), Steve Johnson (Cerro Coso JC), Ryan Juran (Duquesne), Tyler Loehr (Wayne State), Mike Miller (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), Sean Stewart (College of New Jersey), Cody Winslow (William & Mary). Catchers: Spencer Brandes (Jacksonville State), Timmy Hughes (Holy Cross). Infielders: SS Brian Bonin (CW Post), 1B Steve Bralver (Emory), 3B Trey Crain (Rice), 3B Ryan Toniolo (Wofford), SS Grason Wiggins (Louisville), 2B Sean Wilson (San Francisco). Outfielders: Jonathan Ahearn (Gardner-Webb), Scott Hong (UC Irvine), Ken Jacobi (Binghamton), Makana Kitamura (Hawai'i Pacific), Kurt Stenhauer (Point Loma Nazarene).
KAMUELA PANIOLOS
Coach: Mark Hirayama
Pitchers: Cameron Bayne (Concordia), John Beauchamp (Nicholls State), Mike Cassady (California), Taylor Cragin (Texas Christian), RT Ebesu (Hawai'i Pacific), Jonathan Forman (Duke), Ian Horkley (Davidson), Joe Kelly (Catawba), Nate Monroy (Massachusetts), Brandon Roberts (Charleston Southern), Justin Sylvester (Wayne State), Derek VerHagen (Texas Christian). Catchers: Bobby Emamian (Qunnipiac), Kirk Erickson (Stanford). Infielders: SS Michael Garza (Stanford), 3B Justin Loyd (Massachusetts), 2B Paul Malaguti (Wheaton), 2B Alex Trojan (Wayne State), 1B Kalin Virgil (Portland). Outfielders: Jake Johnson (California Baptist), Mitchell Kauweloa (Southern Utah), Andrew Passerelle (Iona), Matt Sanford (Southern Utah), Waylen Sing Chow (Nevada).
KAUAI MENEHUNES
Coach: Steve Gewecke
Pitchers: Robert Cuizon (Yavapai JC), John Degerman (Los Angeles Pierce JC), Chris Finneran (Yale), Toby Inouye (Hawai'i Pacific), Nicholas Kostaras (Wheaton), Ashkon Kuhaulua (San Diego City College), Dan Lazarou (Hill College), Daniel McDaniel (Hawai'i Pacific), Eric MGough (Charleston Southern), Robbie Nelson (Menlo), Ken Stanley (Glocester), Ryan Torrey (Concordia), Taylor Wohlwend (North Carolina-Asheville). Catchers: Mike Moriarty (Post), Adrian Turnham (Princeton). Infielders: SS Kenneth Avila (Northwestern), INF Garrett Derooy (Centenary), 1B Hilton Ianniciello (Virginia Wesleyan), 3B Brian Moon (Stanford), 1B Curtis Wagner (Santa Clara). Outfielders: Jon Broscious (Princeton), Kaohi Downing (Point Loma Nazarene), Matt Ellis (San Jose State), Kyle Haskin (Portland), Jake Williams (Wofford).
OAHU PADDLERS
Coach: David "Boy" Eldredge (Southern Utah)
Pitchers: Robert Anders (Cedar Valley), David Chow (Hawai'i Pacific), Matt Chymbor (Wentworth Institute of Technology), Daniel Cox (Hawai'i Pacific), Frank Duran (New Mexico State), Jace Findley (Hill), Charles Grosser (Cal State Monterey Bay), Justin Karn (Iona), Jon Sargent (Wesleyan), Matt Sisto (Hawai'i), Christian Stephenson (Hawai'i-Hilo), Micahel Strachmen (Fairleigh Dickinson), Kirby Yates (Yavapai/Hawai'i). Catchers: Dalen Isom (undecided), Brandon LaRosa (Bucknell). Infielders: 1B Mickey Brodsky (Cornell), 2B Tim Deering (Centenary), 3B Nick Farinacci (UC Irvine), SS Jesse Moore (Hawai'i), 3B Keahi Pilohia (Santa Barbara City College), SS James Williamson (William & Mary). Outfielders: Zo Angulo (Rhode Island), Kola Kaluhiokalani (Princeton), Marc Navarro (UCLA), Austin Pearce (Portland), Mike Tansey (Stony Brook).
WAIKIKI SURFERS
Coach: Adam Millan
Pitchers: Mike Barbot (Stony Brook), Forest Cannon (George Washington), Christopher Davis (George Washington), Joe Duffy (Quinnipiac), Mike Guglielmo (Diablo Valley), John Holley (Hawai'i-Hilo), Scott Holstein (McNeese State), Matt McGaha (Murray State), Jake Potters (Adelphi), Mike Powers (Troy), Robert Whitenack (SUNY at Old Westbury), Justin Yoo (Pierce). Catchers: Jake Cox (Charleston Southern), Justin Nuehart (Southern Utah). Infielders: 1B John Avanzino (Bucknell), 1B Matt DeJesus (Cal State Monterey Bay), 3B Garrett Ellis (Santa Clara), SS Chris Lizana (Loyola-New Orleans), SS Brandon Lodge (UCLA), INF Bill Torre (Duquesne). Outfielders: Tommy Gale (San Jose State), Eric Mruczek (Sienna), Steve Soldi (Holy Cross), Brian Witkowski (Stony Brook).
Coach: Ikaika Dupont (Hawai'i Pacific)
Pitchers: Nick Backes (Southeastern Louisiana), Mike Frongello (Davidson), BA Garner (Hawai'i Pacific), Charlie Gausepohl (Biola), Derek Grace (Hawai'i Pacific), Danny Iglesias (Long Island), Keven Inman (Pepperdine), Brad Jesernig (Pepperdine), Justin Rodriguez (Biola), Kris Ruepke (Texas-San Antonio), John Worthington (Hawai'i). Catchers: Michael Beattie (Charleston Southern), Daniel Miller (Murray State), Marshall Nishimura (Hawai'i Pacific). Infielders: 3B Nick Fox (Point Loma Nazarene), 1B Paul-Michael Klingsberg (Pepperdine), 1B Cory Maguire (Grand Valley State), SS Daniel Meyer (Northwestern State), 2B TJ Pilla (Fairleigh Dickinson), INF Randy Wells (St. Mary's). Outfielders: Andy Ernesto (Army), Dustin Grace (Alderson Broaddus), Kevin Markovich (College of Martin), RW Zeller (Pepperdine). |
Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.
