The Black and Gold 1977
Jayvee Baseball
Strong pitching and clutch hitting enabled the Junior Varsity Tigers to win the OIA Eastern Division title for 1977. First year coach John Matias led his team to an overall 8-2 record. Matias, who has played in the major leagues and with the Hawaii Islanders, was assisted by Fred Kuhalua of the California Angels organization.
Southpaw Gary Nishikawa opened the season by tossing a one-hitter in the Tigers' 4-0 win over Farrington, then went on to squeak by Kaimuki, 3-2 on an error by the Bulldogs' third baseman.
Nishikawa picked up his second win on his three-hit performance against Kalaheo as the Tigers won 3-1.
Catcher Alvin Ponce made his debut as a pitcher and promptly no-hit the Cougars 7-0. The Tigers then went on to smash Kalani 10-4 to earn sole possession of first place and followed with a 2-1 win over Castle on a lone single.
A week earlier, the Tigers had beaten Kailua, 10-3, and now had to face them in the OIA East Championship. Asa Asato's three for four performance combined with Gary Nishikawa's four-hitter helped the Tigers breeze by the Surfriders, 8-1.
The wind, rain and Peter Kendrick seemed to stifle the Tigers in the OIA Championship as Radford upended the Tigers, 8-1. Kendrick who allowed just two hits, struck out sixteen Tiger batters.
The overall season was great for the young Tigers and they should be a big help to next year's varsity team.
McKinley High School Class of 1977
40th Reunion Summer 2017
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