Kailua pitcher Ah Sam commits to ‘Bows

Hawaii baseball coach Mike Trapasso received an oral commitment from Kailua’s Bryce Ah Sam for the 2014 season this week.

Ah Sam, the first pitcher out of seven known commits, is one of five recruits from Hawaii expected to enroll next fall.

He joins Waiakea’s Kean Wong, Hilo’s Chayce Kaaua, Saint Louis catcher Iolana Akau and Mid-Pacific’s Marcus Doi to make up an impressive class of local talent.

UH has also received commitments from first baseman Jake Bauers of Marina (Calif.) H.S. and South Hills (Calif.) power-hitting lefty David Denson.

Ah Sam, a 5-foot-11 left-hander, committed to the Rainbows after he was clocked in the upper 80s — topping out at 91 mph — at a showcase event this month in California.

After meeting with the UH coaching staff on Wednesday, Ah Sam decided to make his commitment now.

"They offered me a scholarship and I told them I was going to commit, but they wanted me to go home and think about it," Ah Sam said. "But really, it didn’t take that long. It’s a dream to stay at home and play Division I baseball in paradise."

Ah Sam said he was also drawing interest from Oregon State, Washington and Santa Clara.

"I consider it an honor to stay home and play with guys like Jarrett (Arakawa) and Lawrence (Chew) and Quintin (Torres-Costa) and I grew up playing with Iolana and Marcus," Ah Sam said. "Some really big names from Hawaii have stayed home to play and I consider it an honor (to play) with them."

Ah Sam is playing in a tournament this week at Central Oahu Regional Park before starting his senior year at Kailua on Tuesday.

He struck out six in 51⁄3 innings and earned the win in the OIA championship game against Moanalua last April despite pitching less than 20 innings the entire season.

It was Kailua’s first OIA title since 2005.

» The Rainbows lost a 2013 recruit this month when pitcher Niklas Stevenson signed a free-agent contract with the Kansas City Royals.

Stevenson made his pro debut with the AZL Royals in the Arizona League on Tuesday, allowing one run on one hit in an inning of work.

Stevenson had been one of three incoming freshmen from the ABD Academy that had signed to play at Hawaii this year.

He was 2-1 with a 3.44 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 382⁄3 innings for the Bulldogs.

» Pitchers Kyle Dowdy and David Longville have decided to transfer after playing one season with the Rainbows.

Longville went 2-2 with a 4.18 ERA in 47 1⁄3 innings, while Dowdy finished 2-3 with a 3.06 ERA in 321⁄3 innings.

UH loses four of its eight pitchers who threw at least 30 innings last year, but will bring in six new hurlers in its 2013 recruiting class, including reigning Hawaii high school state pitcher of the year Torres-Costa from Waiakea.