Hard work, humble attitude paying off for Mililani’s Souza-Paaluhi

For 10 years now, Hawaii high school baseball players have moved on down the line to successful college careers with the University of Kansas.

Mililani outfielder Kaimana Souza-Paaluhi is the latest product about to go on Jayhawks coach Ritch Price’s 3,848-mile conveyor belt. First, the senior outfielder and captain will do his best to get his Trojans deep into the postseason this spring.

The Hawaii to Kansas mini-exodus started with Wally Marciel, the former ‘Iolani star pitcher, in 2006. Here’s a little about what Price said about coaching Marciel for a week at a Stanford camp, which turned out to be the coach’s first expedition into fishing for Hawaii ballplayers: “When the week was over, I thought he was a clean-cut, first-class, All-American kid from a great family.”

On Friday, while chatting with Mililani coach Mark Hirayama about Souza-Paaluhi and Souza-Paaluhi himself after a preseason game, it became evident that Price’s words about Marciel could easily be used for Souza-Paaluhi. The terms “work ethic,” “family,” “teamwork” and “leadership” were sprinkled in liberally by both.

“He’s got natural ability, but at the same time, he works hard and he’s humble,” Hirayama said. “He does all the right things. If he can put everything together, there’s no telling how far he can go. He’s a strong kid, and with the combination of his tools and his work ethic, he’s going to be able to adjust as the pitching gets better and give himself a chance to compete at the next level.”

Souza-Paaluhi, a left-handed batter, sent a bomb over the right-field fence at Les Murakami Stadium in the first round of the Division I state tournament last year to lead Mililani past Pearl City 3-1. The Trojans, however, were derailed by Mid-Pacific in the semifinals.

This year as a second-year captain and third-year varsity performer, Souza-Paaluhi will be a focal point batting third in the order and playing either center or right field.

“Oh yeah, the team’s going to rally around him,” Hirayama said. “For us, we need all 30 guys to be competitive.”

Souza-Paaluhi prefers center field, but has the arm strength to play right.

“In center, there’s more ground to cover and you feel like you’re the leader, and I know since I’m in the middle, I got my left fielder’s back, I got my right fielder’s back,” he said. “If they dive for a ball, I’ll be there.”

Baseball for Souza-Paaluhi started when he was 2 and living in Waianae.

“I used to set up the bases around my living room, hitting the ball, running around,” he said. “I was always a baseball guy ever since.”

He moved to Mililani in fifth grade, but says growing up in the heart of Waianae is where he learned respect and to be a better person. And he’s still growing as a person.

“I feel like I’ve really matured and the game has become more simple than when I was younger,” he said. “I come out here and have fun and not play for myself, but for my team and my community, my family, everyone around me.”

Add coach Price to that list pretty soon.

“I lost my grandpa (Adrian Paaluhi) recently,” he continued. “I’m dedicating this season to him, and so now I have much more to play for. He was a hard worker, trying to support his family, like my father (Adrian Paaluhi Jr.) does, too.”

Maturation at the plate is happening for Souza-Paaluhi as well, and it all comes back to that work-based mentality.

“More pitchers know who I am now, so they’re going to throw away from me or try to get me out of my comfort zone and try to make me chase pitches,” he said. “So I know I gotta be in the zone more, make sure it’s something I can handle and just be more disciplined.”

It figures that Souza-Paaluhi’s two favorite baseball moments are not grand, game-winning hits. One was when he threw an opponent out at first during his freshman junior varsity season. The other was when he got a hit off of major league prospect Ian Kahaloa of Campbell.

“I just threw with everything I had,” he said about the former moment. “Everybody started screaming and yelling. Our coaches were up and yelling. It was a rush to me and a great feeling.”

About the base hit against Kahaloa, who is in the minors after being drafted in the fifth round by the Cincinnati Reds in 2015, he said, “… it’s like you’re facing a big-league pitcher. You don’t know how to react. You’re like, ‘Whoa, I just hit him.’ ”

THE HIGH SCHOOL TOP 10

Voted on by coaches and media statewide. First-place votes in parentheses. Ten points for first-place votes, nine for second, etc.

Boys Volleyball

Also receiving votes: Waiakea 11, Maryknoll 9, Kalaheo 6, Hilo 5, Waipahu 5, Saint Louis 3, Leilehua 2, Waianae 2, Seabury Hall 1.

Baseball

Also receiving votes: Moanalua 19, Pearl City 11, Hilo 8, Kalani 8, Waiakea 8, Kaiser 3, Maryknoll 2, Kamehameha-Maui 1.

Softball

Also receiving votes: Mid-Pacific 13, Nanakuli 13, St. Francis 8, Leilehua 5, Aiea 4, Moanalua 4, Lahainaluna 3, Kailua 2, Kamehameha-Hawaii 1, Waianae 1.

Top Performers

Tyler Ohata, Punahou soccer
The Buffanblu goalkeeper was named the Most Outstanding Player of the state tournament.

Michael Watson, Radford soccer
Watson scored four goals in a 5-1 win over Hilo in the Division I first round of the state tournament.

Makana Srivongsana, Kaiser soccer
Srivongsana scored three goals in a 5-3 win over Moanalua in the state D-I first round.

Shandon Hopeau, Kapolei soccer
Hopeau scored two goals, including one on a penalty kick in overtime in a 2-1 win over Kealakehe in a state D-I quarterfinal. He also scored one goal in a 2-0 first-round win over Mid-Pacific and two goals in a 3-1 semifinal win over Kalani.

Justin Perry, Hawaii Prep soccer
Perry scored in double overtime to lift Ka Makani to a 2-1 Division II semifinal win over Pac-Five.

Kalen Halvorsen, Punahou soccer
Halvorsen scored the winning goal in the 53rd minute in Punahou’s 2-0 victory over Kapolei in the D-I state final. The Buffanblu won their 19th state championship in the 43rd year since the tourney began in 1974.