Southern Utah down to last at-bat

Ask Mitchell Kauweloa where he’d be right now without Southern Utah and he can only shake his head.

"I don’t know," the 2007 Kamehameha graduate said. "I’m lucky to be here."

Bryson Kenolio graduated from the same high school three years later and would be fighting just to get a look from college baseball coaches.

"I’d have to walk on somewhere," he said. "I lucked out on this one."

Thanks to the work put in by head coach David Eldredge, Southern Utah has become a saving grace for many local kids hoping to further their baseball careers in college.

As many as 11 Hawaii kids have played on a single Thunderbirds team in the eight years Eldredge has been in charge, including five that will contribute in 2012.

That all will come to an end after this season. The school announced last month that it would discontinue its baseball program.

Currently a member of the Summit League, Southern Utah is moving to the Big Sky Conference, which doesn’t sponsor baseball as an official sport.

Eldredge tried to get the baseball team into another conference, including the Western Athletic Conference, but only received interest from the Great West Conference.

Southern Utah eventually received an invitation, but school officials decided instead to cancel the program.

"I had a clue about this a year ago that we needed to find a new conference, but when the Great West invited us, I thought we were good," Eldredge said. "Obviously to my surprise, the trustees didn’t feel like it was a level conference and that wasn’t good enough."

Eldredge was still recruiting and working on upcoming schedules into December before he was told the decision to cancel the program had been made.

"It’s been a good place to get our local boys an opportunity, so we’re kind of a little disappointed about that," said Eldredge, a Punahou alum. "Some of our top players are being recruited by some bigger schools who want them to sit out this year.

"It’s been a challenge but we’re hoping to make the most out of this year."

For the seniors such as Molokai graduate Justin Neuhart and Kauweloa, this was it no matter what.

But for others, including Kenolio, who is a sophomore, the decision has changed the entire focus of his season.

Suddenly, winning games for the school isn’t the only thing on Kenolio’s mind. It’s now become a three-month tryout to simply be able to continue his career.

"My future could really depend on my success this season," said Kenolio, who is both a third baseman and a right-handed pitcher. "This season could be my last, you never know."

As the team prepares for the season opener next week at Saint Mary’s (Calif.), a lot of unknowns exist.

But if there’s any hope the kids can draw on, all they have to do is look west.

Pac-12 member California announced late in 2010 that it would disband the baseball program after last season due to financial pressure caused by rising athletic department expenses.

A group came together to raise money, but the team was also able to advance to the College World Series, and the program was officially reinstated the week of the tournament in Omaha, Neb.

Granted, it’s a long shot for a smaller school like Southern Utah, but as Kenolio put it, what else do they have to lose?

"It’s really a shot in the dark right now, but the whole University of California Berkeley story is something we’ve talked about," he said. "If we really do well and go to regionals or something, maybe a conference will take us and keep the program going."

With so much riding on every game, it will be as pressure-filled of a season as any of the kids on the team could have expected when they chose to play for SUU out of high school.

Considering what the program has meant to kids from Hawaii, however, they also know how important keeping that opportunity open for others really is.

"I never really heard of Southern Utah until I got a call from (coach Eldredge)," said Kauweloa, who plays both infield and outfield. "He really gives guys from Hawaii a shot to play Division I baseball and that’s going to be kind of a bummer for Hawaii boys wanting to make a career out of baseball.

"I don’t really know of any other coaches with Hawaii connections like he has. I got lucky that he gave me a chance."

Tragically, it’s a chance that might not exist for future local high school graduates.