Male Athlete of the Week: Nakea Hanohano, Kamehameha baseball
Nakea Hanohano didn't get much of a chance to show his stuff as a junior last year, but the Kamehameha outfielder is making the most of his shot this season.

The 5-foot-10 senior, and No. 3 batter in the lineup, has been on a torrid hot streak at the plate all year and last week was no exception.

Hanohano batted .500 (5 for 10) in his team's three games last week — all victories — with four runs batted in and three runs scored.

In last Tuesday's 5-2 win over Punahou, Hanohano went 3 for 4 at the plate. He drove in Logan Salcedo for the game's first run in the top of the third inning and scored one of four Warrior runs in the top of the seventh, when they pulled ahead for good.

The win put Kamehameha back in the win column after it saw a seven-game win streak snapped with a 6-2 loss to Saint Louis just three days prior.

The Warriors parlayed the win over the Buffanblu in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Crusaders Thursday. Hanohano went 0 for 3 in that game, but rebounded in a big way two days later with a 2-for-3 effort in Saturday's 10-0 five-inning win over Maryknoll.

Hanohano had a pair of doubles with three RBI and two runs scored and also drew a walk against the Spartans.

"He came up clutch in all of those games," Kamehameha coach Tom Perkins said of Hanohano. "He played a big role, made a couple nice catches out there, but it was the fact that he kept us in the game and made a couple clutch hits driving in runs when we had guys in scoring position. That's why he's there, that's why he's our third batter. He was a big part of getting us through last week."

It's a far cry from Hanohano's limited role on the team last season, when he registered just one official at-bat.

"He was injured for most of the last year," Perkins said. "He had some arm problems so kind of preserved him a little bit last year and saved him for this year. He was taking care of his arm. He was throwing, but he wasn't throw hard, but we had high hopes for him. He's looked a lot better this year. His arm is strong and accurate and he's hit the ball well."

That's quite the understatement.

Through Kamehameha's first 13 games this season, all Hanohano has done is put together an Interscholastic League of Honolulu-best .425 batting average. He also leads the league in runs scored (13) and is tied with teammate Logan Salcedo for the most hits (17) in ILH play. Hanohano also ranks second in doubles (4) and third in runs batted in (10).

"He's doing a great job in there. He did well this past summer in (American) Legion ball. He got stronger and got his confidence back in the fall league and played pretty good again," Perkins said. "I think Nakea feels comfortable now and he's been coming around nicely."

Hanohano started the year out in right field, but has since moved to center.

"I think he's found a home there," said Perkins, who noted that Hanohano can also play some infield and even pitch, if need be.

"He's not a regular pitcher, but he's got a good arm. He's got good velocity, a decent off-speed pitch with his slider and he doesn't mind pitching a couple of innings, (but) we'll use him only if we have to because he's real valuable to us in the outfield," Perkins said.

Kamehameha ascended to the top spot in this week's ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings and improved to 11-2 with Tuesday night's 7-0 win over Iolani.

Hanohano and the Warriors will conclude the ILH first round against Punahou at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Mid-Pacific at 3 p.m. Saturday. Both games will be played at Ala Wai Field.

Kamehameha, Campbell move up in rankings
by NICK ABRAMO on MARCH 27, 2017
Kamehameha’s starting pitcher Hunter Breault has the Warriors on the cusp of a No. 1 ranking in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Top 10. Photo by Bruce Asato/Star-Advertiser.
Kamehameha’s starting pitcher Hunter Breault has the Warriors on the cusp of a No. 1 ranking in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Top 10. Photo by Bruce Asato/Star-Advertiser.
Kamehameha was a big mover in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Baseball Top 10 poll released today.

The Warriors (10-2), by virtue of their 1-0 victory over Saint Louis on Thursday, climbed three spots to No. 2 in the rankings.

The result was upheld after Saint Louis protested the game believing Kamehameha ace Hunter Breault threw more pitches than he was allowed in the new pitch count rule implemented this year.

Baldwin, the defending Division I state champion, remained at No. 1 where it has been all season, and Campbell and Saint Louis dropped one spot each to Nos. 3 and 4.

Waiakea of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation also made a big push — from No. 8 to No. 5.

Two new teams entered the poll — Mid-Pacific at No. 9 and Hilo at No. 10.