HONOLULU — Surprised? That is not the right word, according to pitcher Payton Dixon.
Twelve Mid-Pacific Institute baseball players were removed from the storied Interscholastic League of Honolulu program in the preseason after a circulated social media video showed them give broadly offensive responses to a question about super powers they desired.
The player losses included two expected starters and several pitchers. And yet, the Owls have not just survived, but contended for a title in the ultra-competitive ILH. Behind a three-hitter from Dixon, MPI beat defending state champion Kamehameha 2-1 at Damon Field for a fifth straight victory and a half-game advantage in a four-way race for the league lead on Wednesday.
[Note: See below for more photos of the game.]
Mid Pacific stands at 9-3 with two regular-season games remaining. Kamehameha, Iolani and Saint Louis entered Thursday at 8-3.
Dixon told Spectrum News the late February video incident caused the team to come together stronger than before. So, a moment like Wednesday’s first-inning error that allowed Kamehameha to take a one-run lead was no big deal, in the grand scheme.
“It allowed us to build family and confidence in each other, so, I say no surprise with where we are right now,” said Dixon, a senior who is committed to play baseball at Nevada. “We knew we had it in us. It just took a little extra because of what happened. We always had each other’s back, even the boys who were in the video.”
Mid-Pacific cannot legally say what punishment was handed down to the student-athletes. But the Honolulu Star-Advertiser referred to the students as "expelled."
On Wednesday, some of the ex-players watched from beyond the rightfield fence, where they have appeared for home games.
They send frequent text messages of support, Dixon said.
“They’re always watching. If they’re not watching here, they’re watching at home. We check up on them constantly,” he said.
Veteran coach Dunn Muramaru acknowledged that, after losing a sizable chunk of the team, “expectations weren’t real high.”
The team held meetings before the season started to “make sure everybody was OK,” Dixon said.
Steadily, the team “raised the bar,” Muramaru said, especially with wins over Saint Louis (4-1 on March 26) and Iolani (8-4 on April 4).
The program's depth has been proven.
“We go team-first. That’s our style,” said Muramaru, who has guided MPI to state championships in three different decades. “The guys that got lost, they really hurt too, and they’re right behind us too. That support that they have helps us out too.”
The Owls rallied in the fifth inning Wednesday with a run-scoring double from first baseman Chandler Murray followed by a sacrifice fly by Noah Kubo.
The left-hander Dixon, who leaned on his curveball and his changeup, generated a series of pop flies that stayed in the park with the help of steady wind coming in from the outfield.
Kamehameha coach Daryl Kitagawa credited Dixon, who struck out four and walked one, for a well-thrown game and chalked it up to another day of unpredictability in the ILH. While the Warriors did not swing the bats or run the bases especially well, he thought his pitchers, starter Alakai Kiakona and reliever Elai Iwanaga, gave his team a chance to win.
What has been predictable for him was Mid-Pacific’s ability to keep playing at a high level.
“To be honest, for me, it’s not surprising because of the leadership they have with Coach Dunn,” Kitagawa said. “He’s a hall of fame coach for a reason. I knew that they, or he would find a way to get these guys to rally around each other as a team. Just hat’s off to Coach Dunn, he’s done a phenomenal job with his club – not only this year, but for all the years. But with the adversity they faced early in the season, to see where they are, again, hat’s off to them.”
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.