It was a beautiful day to watch a baseball game. So I left Les Murakami Stadium in the fifth inning to go find one.
New Mexico was up 11-0 and the University of Hawaii team was showing no sign of making it a game.
There was another option, 16 miles and less than half-hour away on the H-1. Hawaii Pacific was hosting Felician (NJ) at Hans L’Orange Park in a doubleheader.
It’s hard to beat the home of the Rainbows, with Diamond Head in the background, for a more picturesque setting. But Hans L’Orange comes close, with the old sugar mill smokestack beyond the center-field fence.
Plus, while UH was going through the motions of one of its worst losses ever, 18-0, the Sharks were winning the first game of a doubleheader with an exciting prospect on the mound.
A scout had the same idea as I. After two innings at UH he’d seen enough and headed Ewa, because Brandon Bonilla might pitch.
The son of the retired slugger, Bobby Bonilla, saved HPU’s 6-5 first-game win. He allowed one hit in his one inning, but more importantly, his fastball was timed in the 90s again.
The report is that the 6-foot-4 lefty’s heater is consistently around 93, and Brandon himself said he has reached 97 recently. Bonilla also throws an effective slider and has added a split-finger fastball.
He’s at HPU as a graduate student, studying communications. His handshake rates 9.7, with the legendary Skippa Diaz’s being 10. His personality is upbeat, his smile wide.
“Who wouldn’t want to play baseball in Hawaii?” Bonilla says this after the second game, an 8-2 loss. But that is also HPU’s record, 8-2, and Bonilla has earned saves in three of the wins. He has yet to allow a run. Bonilla has struck out nine, walked one and yielded three hits in 51⁄3 innings.
He’s the top pitching prospect in the state. But why is he here?
Things didn’t work out at Arizona State out of high school, so he transferred to Grand Canyon and then he did not pitch his final year of eligibility there. Bonilla won’t say why, but others mention unhappiness with a lack of opportunities with the Sun Devils. Then there was an academic stumble at Grand Canyon, which he overcame and then graduated.
He was drafted in the 25th round by the Orioles in 2014, but did not sign.
“One of our guys from Arizona (Kyle Detwiler) told us about his situation in Arizona and we followed up,” HPU coach Garett Yukumoto said. “Sometimes it’s all about being in the right place at the right time.
“He’s getting the opportunity to pitch again, with a lot more reps. He’s healthy, and he definitely still has the skill-set to get drafted again. A lefty with that velocity, and three pitches.”
About four or five pro scouts attend most HPU games. Other Sharks get seen by these scouts, too.
“This is good for him, it’s good for our program,” Yukumoto said.
And Sunday at Hans L’Orange was good for fans who wanted to see something resembling competitive baseball.
When a team issues more walks itself in one game (17) than two teams combine for in a doubleheader (15), that alone tells you where you want to be.
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.
