West Oahu champs rooting for Waipi'o
| • | Waipi'o Little League team ignites big-time excitement |
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Three years after becoming Little League world champions, the West O'ahu 'ohana hopes they will be rooting for another Hawai'i team when they gather tomorrow in Mililani for their annual reunion to watch the World Series championship game.
Waipi'o plays Lake Charles, La., in the U.S. title game today, with the winner advancing to play either Japan or Mexico tomorrow in the World Series final.
There are ties beyond baseball between the Waipi'o youngsters and the 2005 champions.
Waipi'o's Khade Paris and Keelen Obedoza, though younger, are acquainted with Vonn Fe'ao, Alaka'i Aglipay, Myron "Kini" Enos Jr., Quentin Guevara, Layson "Kaeo" Aliviado and Sheyne Baniaga of the West O'ahu team through the Waipi'o Panthers football program.
Also, Paris' stepfather, Shayne Mitsui, is a close family friend and Billy Obedoza is a calabash cousin of 2005 West O'ahu manager Layton Aliviado.
"You have to believe you can win and go out and play hard to do it because they have a chance, just like we had," said Michael Memea, whose walk-off home run clinched West O'ahu's 7-6 victory over a team from the Caribbean island of Curacao.
The Aliviado family will somehow find time today to follow the game. Layton Aliviado tonight will give his daughter, Lacie, in marriage to Andrew Ganigan Jr., son of the former pro boxer from Waipahu.
Layton Aliviado served as pitching coach for the current West O'ahu Little League team, which was beaten by Waipi'o in the state tournament. Aliviado believes pitching will be the key for manager Timo Donahue's team in its bid for the world title.
"It kind of fell in place for us because I had four (Aglipay, Enos, Guevara and Fe'ao) to throw," Aliviado said. "We had enough pitchers to take us home."
Waipi'o's run has been similar in some ways to what West O'ahu did in 2005. For example, neither team had to face their opponents' ace pitcher in the U.S. title game:
Both Hawai'i teams also had momentum-building turnaround plays: Christian Donahue stole third base on a throw back from the catcher to the pitcher and scored on a wild pitch to snap a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning of Waipi'o's 3-1 opening win over Shelton, Conn.; Baniaga hit a two-run homer in West O'ahu's 2-0 win over Lafayette, La., in 2005. The home run was West O'ahu's only hit in the game.
"You just have to play hard and hope the ball bounces your way because you need a little luck to do it," Enos said.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Zachary Rosete's family moved to the Mainland, but the other 11 players on the 2005 West O'ahu team are attending school here. All are still playing baseball. Some words they had about Waipi'o:
Zachary Ranit, 15, Campbell, sophomore: "Watching them brings back good memories for me."
Vonn Fe'ao, 16, Saint Louis, junior, varsity football: "Playing together means if somebody makes a mistake you don't get on them. To me, looks like they play together."
Quentin Guevara, 15, Waipahu, sophomore, varsity football: "I'm happy they have a good shot to do it but they're going to have to dig deep to do it."
Alaka'i Aglipay, 16, Punahou, junior, varsity football: "Waipi'o's defense is solid. I like the way they've been stopping hard shots at third and shortstop. With the U.S. teams, you can understand what kind of game they bring but the international teams are a lot harder to game-plan for because you don't know what they are going to do (in situations)."
Layson "Kaeo" Aliviado, 15, Saint Louis, sophomore, varsity football: "Waipi'o has a good chance, they just have to keep playing well together."
Harrison Kam, 15, Mid-Pacific Institute, junior: "This is when the nerves start to kick in, but you have to play hard and think no one's watching you."
Michael Memea, 15, Damien, junior, varsity football, basketball: "This shows how good baseball is in Hawai'i and the good coaches we have here."
Ty Tirpak, 15, Punahou, junior: "They're hitting real well and I hope they do it."
Myron "Kini" Enos Jr., 16, Saint Louis, varsity football: "They can do it." His father, Myron Enos Sr., who lost his job by following the West O'ahu team during its championship run, has been driving for Kamalii Trucking and Rental for nearly three years.
Ethan Javier, 15, Pearl City: "They got to stay focused. We had practice every day for a couple of hours and it helped us."
Sheyne Baniaga, 15, Saint Louis, junior, varsity football: "Waipi'o's lineup, one to nine, can all hit, but now they got to step it up some more to do it."
Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
