Even though he's left-handed, Kubasaki has played Luka Koja at shortstop, where coach Jason Welte said he's performed "flawlessly." (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa – Luka Koja rolled his eyes and looked skyward in frustration.
The Kubasaki sophomore left-hander had been just one out away from closing the Dragons regular season with a no-hitter. The Dragons had already made a mess of Kadena’s senior night, leading 19-0, and were hoping for as perfect an ending as possible.
Then, ping! Panthers outfielder Kayden Connolly stroked a Koja delivery on the ground past Kubasaki second baseman Nick Adams into center field for Kadena’s only hit.
Koja first learned of what he almost did from Connolly himself, who got thrown out at third base trying to steal, then told Koja as the teams came off the field.
“I came so close,” said Koja, who finished the regular season 5-0 with 40 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings and a 1.79 ERA.
But that’s OK, he said. With the Far East Division I Tournament upcoming – on the Dragons’ home of Camp Foster – he said he has something else to shoot for, Kubasaki’s first title since 2013.
“It’ll motivate me for my next start,” Koja said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The Dragons open their bid for a first Far East tournament title in 10 years against Nile C. Kinnick at 8 a.m. Monday.
It's one of two DODEA-Pacific Far East baseball tournaments ongoing Monday-Wednesday, the other the Division II Tournament hosted by Osan.
The D-I tournament features one day of pool play, two pools with three teams each, followed by a single-elimination playoff with consolation games. The D-II is a straight double-elimination tournament featuring seven teams.
Koja has been the ace of a Dragons staff that has five pitchers, three of them primary options. Koja is also third in batting on the team, at .424, with a .538 on-base percentage, 11 RBIs and a team-leading 21 stolen bases. Overall, Kubasaki went 15-7 during the regular season.
Even though he’s a lefty, Dragons coach Jason Welte puts him at a variety of positions – even shortstop and second base, usually foreign territory for a lefty.
“He’s the epitome of a utility player,” Welte said of Koja. “I can play him at six different positions and he has performed flawlessly at all of them. I can put him anywhere and he can get the job done.”
Four Dragons players batted .400 or better this season, led by Adams at .455. Welte’s son, Andrew, batted .400 and led the team with 10 extra-base hits and 24 RBIs, with 18 steals to boot.
Right-hander Levi Miller went 2-0 with 12 strikeouts in seven innings this season for the Korea champion Blackhawks. (Claire Miller/Special to Stripes)
Junior Kierstyn Aumua, a three-year starter at second base for Zama, batted .400 this season, fifth on the Trojans' stat sheet. (Remi Sherratt/Special to Stripes)
Third baseman Kayden Connolly of Kadena, trying to tag out Kubasaki's Ryder Beaudoin in a game on March 22, broke up Luka Koja's no-hit bid during Friday's final regular-season game. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
What it will take to reach the D-I mountaintop, Welte said, is “teamwork, 100-percent teamwork. Something we’ve worked on all season. I believe the Dragons have the best teamwork throughout Far East.”
The Dragons have already faced three of their Far East foes, splitting two games at American School In Japan and beating St. Mary’s twice, along with nine victories over Kadena. Nile C. Kinnick and Korea champion Humphreys are also due to play D-I.
The Blackhawks are led by Eric Ji (.588, 8 RBI, 10 SB), Brandon Borelli (.500, 26 SB), Levi Ramos (.458, 16 RBI, 13 SB) and staff ace Christian Whiting (3-0, 2.80 ERA, 18 strikeouts in 10 innings).
One of the teams Kubasaki beat during the season is Division II favorite Zama; the Trojans lost 6-4 to the Dragons during Kubasaki’s four-game road trip at ASIJ in late March.
It's a Zama team as good as any since the Trojans won the Kanto Plain regular-season title in 2003, and also the first time Zama beat both ASIJ and St. Mary’s in the regular season, including a two-game sweep of the Titans. The Trojans went 13-3 during the season.
But the losses had one common denominator – errors, said Trojans coach Dirk Schmiedel. In a 7-6 home loss to ASIJ, the Trojans committed six errors, five more against Kubasaki and two in a 7-5 loss at Yokota.
Still, playing against Division I teams benefited the Trojans, Schmiedel said. “It reinforced the notion that if you want to compete at a high level, you have to put the work in. They’ve put the work in and it has paid off,” he said of a 6-2 record against D-I teams.
“It’s also allowed them to stretch, to test themselves,” Schmiedel said. “More often than not, they’ve risen to the challenge and made exceptional plays.”
The Trojans were given a first-round bye in the double-elimination D-II tournament, but will not be short of stern challenges from other foes.
Yokota (9-7-1) brings Casey Bumpers (.586, 10 extra-base hits, 12 RBIs) and Dylan Tomas (.472, nine extra-base hits, 10 RBIs, 10 SBs) to the table, among others.
Second-seed Osan (5-1) hopes to send retiring coach Jason Winkle out with a banner, led by Adam Rutland (.556, 8 SB) and John Ganske (.500, 10 SB), among others. Ganske and Rutland each went 2-0 on the mound.
