For ‘Iolani’s Shane Sasaki, baseball is right up his alley

He doesn’t remember the alley.

He doesn’t recall the exact score.

Shane Sasaki rolled a 260-something one day in bowling. That’s all he remembers. It was enough to stoke his interest in pursuing the game, so he kept at it for the ‘Iolani Raiders.

Then, it was over. Sasaki stopped his pursuit of the perfect game on the lanes at the end of junior year. Baseball, the sport he has played since kindergarten, took absolute priority. He says his bowling average was in the 150s, but this choice was about the future.

‘Iolani is soaring high with a 6-0 mark in the often-dreaded gauntlet of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. This spring, the Raiders are continuing to pummel opposing pitchers. Sasaki belted two home runs and drove in five runs in a 12-6 win over previously unbeaten Kamehameha last week. Teammate Micah Yonamine had a two-homer, seven-RBI game in a victory over Saint Louis the week before.

“We’re just competitive people, so we’re always wanting to have competition,” Sasaki said. “We just compete against each other. We’ve been together for so long, we’ve got a lot of experience at how to keep the motivation going, keep driving and pushing through.”

In ILH play, ‘Iolani has scored at least 11 runs in five games. The Raiders are 16-3 overall and ranked No. 2 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10 — they have scored at least six runs in 17 of those 19 contests.

The hit parade starts with leadoff hitter Shaydon Kubo and runs through Yonamine, then Sasaki, their cleanup hitter.

“He’s a special kind. Him and Micah Yonamine, those kind of guys don’t come around. They’re once every 15 years kind of guys,” ‘Iolani coach Kurt Miyahira said.

Sasaki is rated the No. 1 prospect in Hawaii by Baseball America — a defensive whiz who can throw, hit for average and hit for power. In league play, Sasaki is batting .591 with 13 RBIs and nine runs scored. The three homers along with three stolen bases, his lean, but powerful frame, all harken back to a similarly explosive center fielder of yesteryear: Eric Davis, a long-time bedrock of the Cincinnati Reds.

“(Kailua coach) Corey Ishigo said the same thing,” Miyahira said. “He’s got one of the best arms I’ve seen, easily. No question. And one of the best bat speeds. He reminds me of Mookie Betts.”

Kubo, a standout shortstop, remembers Sasaki’s defensive prowess as a center fielder as much as the offensive exploits.

“It was at Mililani during preseason. The ball was hit down the left-field line and I think our left fielder missed it, and Shane just so happened to be there,” he said. “From the fence, he grabbed it and threw it all the way to home on the fly to get the runner out.”

Sasaki was a Star-Advertiser All-State second-team selection as an outfielder last year with a .448 batting average (30-for-67), 21 runs scored and 14 RBIs. His on-base percentage (.486) and slugging average (.507) were solid enough, but it was clutch play at the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA state tournament that proved crucial. He batted 6-for-11 at states (.545) with four RBIs and four runs scored for the Raiders.

That was 20-plus pounds ago. Since the end of last season, when ‘Iolani ousted Kalani and OIA champion Mililani before falling to eventual champion Baldwin in the semifinals, the dedication has ramped up. In the offseason, Sasaki and his teammates made an unofficial pact to do all they could to get better.

“They’re in the weight room at 5:30 (in the morning) almost every day,” ‘Miyahira said. “It’s all on them. They’re getting after it and I’m proud of them, but we’re not done yet. We have goals to accomplish and we have to go and get it.”

Sasaki downed two protein shakes every day and hit the weight room diligently.

“The whole team, all the seniors, we put in work trying to pick up as much weight as we can before the season started,” said Sasaki, who stands 6 feet tall. “Just from last year, I gained 20 pounds. I’m 170-ish. We all picked up weight.”

The goal, he added, wasn’t just to bulk up.

“My speed is my game, so I work a lot on fast-twitch muscles. It’s different for each guy. I do a lot of leg work, more reps than heavy. I do squats, RDLs, single-leg RDLs,” he said, referring to Romanian deadlifts.

It was more than lifting iron, of course. In the past two summers, Sasaki spent a month in California playing against some of the top talent on the West Coast. His older sister, Kaleena, provided shelter last time, and Sasaki went up against major heat while playing for the San Diego Hustle.

“I loved it up there. They just throw harder. You know, in Hawaii, they know me more, so they know what I don’t like and like,” Sasaki said. “They’re not going to throw me things I like. On the mainland, they don’t know me, they’re going to throw me a fastball.”

The Raiders have been on the road a time or two in summer tournaments, including one in Japan. The down time during those trips brought a unique bond to the team. Kubo, the standout shortstop, has seen Sasaki’s competitive nature since they began playing together on ‘Iolani’s intermediate team.

“There’s a lot of funny memories,” Kubo said. “I remember he was playing cards with a group of friends and he wasn’t very familiar with the game. Knowing how competitive he is at everything, he started adding his own rules so he could win the game.”

“Shane is naturally good at a lot of things. If you give him time to practice it, he will become a natural. Shane could play any sport he wanted to, but he’s extremely passionate about baseball and can talk for hours about it,” Kubo added. “So yes, I believe Shane made the right career choice.”

Bowling’s loss is baseball’s gain.

SHANE SASAKI

‘Iolani baseball • Senior

>> Athlete: Mookie Betts. “He’s a similar athlete to me and he did bowling, and I did bowling, as well. My high score is 260-something. I was on varsity (bowling) until last year.”

>> Team: Boston Red Sox. “I really liked Hanley Ramirez.”

>> Favorite food at home: My mom’s chicken katsu curry.

“I just come home and it’s out there. She makes a lot of good things.”

>> Favorite food eating out: Gen BBQ.

“It’s a Korean barbecue place at Ala Moana.

>> Hobby: “I draw here and there. I drew baseball (scenes) when I was young, but it takes a lot of time.”

>> Movie: “Avengers: Infinity War.” “I’m a Marvel fan.”

>> TV show: “Friends.” “My mom (Robin) likes ‘Friends.’ I used to watch it with her. She has a huge season set (on DVD).”

>> Video game: Apex. “It’s kind of like Fortnite. We play Apex or (NBA2K). That’s one of my rituals. The day before a game, I’ll play at night. I started playing and we’ve been winning.”

>> Music artist: YBN Cordae. “My favorite song by him is ‘Kung Fu.’ “

>> Teacher: Miss Frith.

“She teaches entrepenuership. I had her class in eight grade. She likes baseball, too, and she likes the Yankees. We always talk smack.”

>> Motto: “It is what it is.” “My hitting coach, Collin Tanabe, used to say it to me.”

>> What mom says that you can’t forget: “ ‘Do your homework.’ I hear that every day.”

>> What dad (Keith) says that you can’t forget: “Go 110 percent.”

>> What your coaches say: “Figure it out.” “This wasn’t to me, but I can’t un-forget it. Micah Miyahira was batting. He looked at a pitch down the middle. And coach said, ‘Figure it out.’ Next pitch, Micah hit a home run.”