Tuesday, June 16, 1998
Island Movers hope
By Al Chase
for good wood
Star-BulletinThere will be wood bats in use at Rainbow Stadium this summer.
Alaska Baseball League officials have decided to put wood instead of aluminum in the hands of its hitters for the 1998 season. It will be thud instead of ping when a batter makes contact.
"I think a lot of the kids are really excited about it," said Tom Gushiken, who coached the Hawaii Island Movers to their first Alaska Baseball League championship last summer.
"We won't have to worry about too many balls getting lost this year. I like it. I think it's really good for the kids."
Gushiken is serving in a transitional role this summer, helping new head coach Kallen Miyatake put the roster together.
Miyatake, an assistant baseball coach at the University of Hawaii-Hilo, started practice yesterday at Rainbow Stadium in preparation for Friday's 6 p.m. opener against the Oahu All-Stars.
The Movers' roster has 14 players who played their high school ball in Hawaii.
NCAA rules limit the number of players from any one college or university on a summer team to four. University of Hawaii Rainbows with the Movers are pitchers Ikaika Baptista and Ian Jones and outfielders Sean Takamori and redshirt Derek Honma.
Several Movers had successful collegiate seasons on the mainland.
Lon Yamaguchi (New Mexico) was 12th in the WAC this past season with a .385 batting average. He had 25 doubles, 20 home runs and drew 52 walks. Yamaguchi was the designated hitter on the all-WAC tournament team.
Dane Sardinha hit .263 with 13 home runs during his freshman season at Pepperdine and was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team. Gregg Omori (U. San Francisco) set a school record for total bases (135) in a season and also was picked for the Freshman All-American team. Right-hander Chris Gossert (USF) was an honorable mention selection.
Danny Kimura was the second leading hitter for the Nebraska Cornhuskers with a .340 average. He led the team with 97 total bases and tied for the home run lead with eight.
Santa Clara pitchers David Battagin and Mark Williams compiled 2-0 and 2-3 won-lost records, respectively. Kevin Okimoto hit .290 with 41 RBIs for the Broncos.
The Alaska Baseball League is back to six teams this summer with the return of the Mat-su Miners and Kenai Peninsula Oilers.
TICKETS: Single-game admission is $3 for adults, $2 for senior citizens and students. A set of 24 season tickets, good for any game, sells for $50. For ticket and general information, call 832-4805.
UPDATES: UH right-handed pitcher Ken Mackenzie is playing for a Florida team that barnstorms from one tournament to another. UH left-hander Troy Yoshimasu decided to concentrate on school and will not play baseball this summer.
With university (local high school) affiliations Hawaii Island Movers roster
Pitchers: Ikaika Baptista, Hawaii (Kamehameha); David Battagin, Santa Clara; Chris Gossert, U. San Francisco (Waiakea); Ian Jones, Hawaii; Billy Jacobsen, Stanford; Joe Williams, Texas Tech; Mark Williams, Santa Clara; Ryan Yamamoto, U. San Francisco (Iolani).
Head coach: Kallen Mitatake. Assistant coaches: Kevin Takahashi, Daryl Masanda.
1998 schedule
June 19: vs. Oahu All-Stars, 6 p.m. 20: vs. Oahu All-Stars, 4 p.m. 21: vs. Oahu All-Stars, 3 p.m.June 23: vs. Hawaii Stars, 6 p.m. 24: vs. Hawaii Stars, 6 p.m.
June 27: at Anchorage Bucs. 28: at Anchorage Glacier Pilots. 28: at Anchorage Bucs. 29: at Anchorage Bucs.
June 30: at Peninsula Oilers (Kenai, Alaska). July 1: at Peninsula Oilers. 2: at Peninsula Oilers (2). 3: at Peninsula Oilers.
July 4: at Anchorage Bucs. 5: at Anchorage Glacier Pilots. 5: at Anchorage Bucs. 7: at Anchorage Glacier Pilots. 8: at Anchorage Glacier Pilots. 9: at Anchorage Glacier Pilots.
July 12: vs. Fairbanks Goldpanners (2), 2 p.m. 13: vs. Fairbanks Goldpanners, 6 p.m. 14: vs. Fairbanks Goldpanners, 6 p.m. 15: vs. Fairbanks Goldpanners, 6 p.m. 16: vs. Fairbanks Goldpanners, 6 p.m. 17: vs. Fairbanks Goldpanners, 4:30 p.m.
July 19: vs. Mat-su Miners (2), 2 p.m. 20: vs. Mat-su Miners, 6 p.m. 21: vs. Mat-su Miners, 6 p.m. 22: vs. Mat-su Miners, 6 p.m. 23: vs. Mat-su Miners, 6 p.m. 24: vs. Mat-su Miners, 4:30 p.m.
July 26: vs. Kita Kyushu U., Japan, (2), 2 p.m. 27: vs. Kita Kyushu U., 6 p.m. 28: vs. Kita Kyushu U., 6 p.m.
Aug. 1-4: Hawaii International Championship Tournament with Kansai, Hiroshima, Portland, Korea and the Island Movers.
Home games at Rainbow Stadium.
