Batter Up

Batter Up

Recap a memorable 2021-2022 season for the Damien Baseball Team and have a preview of the upcoming 2023 season

Damien's varsity baseball team has stepped up to the plate and is back for another season. Last season, the Damien baseball team won the 2022 HHSAA State Championship, the second baseball state championship since 2018, and the Monarchs are hungry for back-to-back titles. Lets recap the season and get an insight of how the 2023 season might fare.

2022 Season Recap

Although last season started going 0-9, the boys had to figure out a way to come back better. As the team bonded, the energy in the games started to flow and soon the boys were back on track. Ke Ali’i asked Jamieson how we stay motivated when things get tough, “I try to look at the end goal, we're here right now, but we gotta focus on getting better to be better.” On March 31, 2022 Damien faced off against Pac-Five in a very lively game. The team sparked and the boys got their first win, which was a great morale booster for the squads. April 9, 2022 was senior night for the baseball team. Many great highlights happened which resulted in a win over Iolani and a memorable day for the seniors. That game ended the regular season on a great note and now it was time to prepare for the state championship in Hilo, Hawaii.

Three Games in May

“Three games in May”, was a motto the boys focused on since the beginning of the season. Prepared for states, the boys went up to the Big Island and it was time to roll. Their first game early in the morning against Molokai resulted in a 8-2 victory. Then the next game against #1 seed KS-Hawaii won by mercy rule 12-2 in the 6th inning. Then lastly was the championship game against Waimea. The Monarchs scored a roaring 10 runs in the 1st inning which resulted in a 10-5 victory for the Monarchs.

Ke Ali’i asked Jamieson, a captain on the baseball team, how winning states felt. “Weight lifted off my shoulders, all that stress we went through.” “Through all the adversity me and my team battled through, we showed that our record doesn’t determine how we play.” He also talked about how “It’s hard to beat a team that never gives up and we were that team.”

Preview of the 2023 Season

The 2023 season is right around the corner and the boys are ready to play. With some pre-season games played, they are getting prepared for the upcoming ILH season and to win another state championship. Ke Ali’i asked how we feel about this upcoming season. “We have a lot of young guys so we gotta work on filling the shoes that our older guys left.” He also said “Pick each other up and keep each other accountable and that's how we are gonna keep that morale and chemistry this year.” Just recently, they went to Kauai to play in the Walter Souza Invitational. They played against Kapaa, Waimea, Island School, and Kauai. Overall, the boys are ready to play and compete with all the teams in the ILH.