Stacy Kaneshiro | SL

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Royce Tashiro (left) and Austin Ramos-Ladia (right)

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To play baseball for the Waialua Bulldogs, you have to do it all.

Despite suiting the minimum number of players their last seven games, the Bulldogs are in the thick of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II race. The Bulldogs lost a heartbreaker, 8-7, to Kalaheo Saturday night in a statewide-televised game. Yet, Waialua, at 6-2, is in second place, two games behind first-place Kapolei.

The Bulldogs played with just nine players, the minimum allowed without forfeiting. That means no substitutions, no courtesy runners for the pitcher and catcher, no pinch runners, no pinch hitters, and, of course, no warming up relief pitchers.

You can fit the roster on the back of a T-shirt and not have to squint to read the names. There are 13 names on the shirt, but one is injured and three others are academically ineligible, Waialua coach George Hatchie said.

"It's tough," Hatchie said. "Not all of them are talented. We try to work around with who've we got. We've played seven games with nine players."

Hatchie hopes to get the other players just before the end of the regular season. The top six teams in Division II advance to the OIA tournament with the top three making the state tournament.

"The three players we need to get back are our key players," Hatchie said.

The players do not see the lack of players as a handicap.

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Waipahu's Russell shows off versatility

The difference between first-place Pearl City and tied-for-fifth-place Waipahu is experience.

The Chargers and second-place Mililani have set players in the "up-the-middle" positions – catcher, shortstop, second base and center field – considered key to contending.

The Marauders are lacking in depth up-the-middle, so sometimes junior shortstop Kobie Russell has to catch, if he doesn't pitch.

"We have him at shortstop, pitcher, wherever we need him," Waipahu coach Jared Abreu said. "He was catching for us a couple of games earlier. That's the dilemma I have. Live with this guy (at shortstop) and we'll be all right or put him back there (behind the plate); he'll shut down the running game, but up-the-middle we'll be kind of…"

Russell, a 6-foot junior, said baseball is his future. He said he accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Hawaii-Manoa last year.

"I've been contacting them ever since my freshman year," said Russell, who has been a starter since he was a freshman. "Since it was an in-state school, I wanted to try to get a college early."

Russell requested a meeting with UH coaches and met them during a UH game. "They met my family and that's when everything happened. They asked, ‘Would you want to be a Warrior? Because we know you have the potential to play at the next level.' I was surprised. I really didn't think sophomore year I would get (offered)."

Russell has been hot of late. He is 6 for 10 with six RBI in his last three games, all against the top three West teams (Pearl City, Mililani and Campbell). He is batting .346 with a double and triple with two steals.

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Big sis

Kaiser's younger twins – Precious and Primrose Aholelei – have an older sibling on the team in senior pitcher Seli. With three sisters, the Cougars look like they lead the OIA in that department.

Scoring Tips

Since ScoingLive relies on stats provided by teams so everyone can enjoy how their children have fared in baseball and softball games, we'll occasionally provide some scoring tips.

In a certain game recently, there was a runner on first base and the batter hit a liner to one of the gaps. The batter, seeing that there was an extra-base opportunity, wasted little time heading toward second base. But the runner on first, not as fast perhaps or just hesitated, was thrown out at third, as the batter reached second safely. The obvious call would be to credit the batter with a double. It is actually scored a single. (See MLB rule 9.06). The rationale is that the preceding runner needs to advance the same number of bases for the batter to earn the same credit. Since the runner was out at third, he is credited with advancing one base, so the batter is credited with one base or a single.