Colten Amai Nakagawa learned at a young age to tip his hat, walk off the mound and focus his celebrations with teammates.
“I always try to be classy. If I’m not, my dad will rip me,” the senior pitcher said.
Amai Nakagawa, a commit to UH, combined with Naden Nihipali and Austen Ahu on a six-hit shutout to lead Pac-Five in a 7-0 win over No. 3 Saint Louis on Saturday afternoon.
Occasionally gusty trade winds had no effect on Amai Nakagawa, who allowed four hits over five innings, striking out five with just one walk. The crafty southpaw was the major component in his second win over the Crusaders this spring. On March 11, he pitched four scoreless innings as the Wolfpack hung on for a 7-5 win.
This time, he went five frames with 56 strikes in 76 pitches.
“He’s a tough one,” Saint Louis coach Benny Agbayani said. “Colten is a good pitcher.”
A consistently tight strike zone for both teams didn’t seem to matter to Amai Nakagawa as Pac-Five ended a five-game losing streak. The Wolfpack also halted a seven-game win streak by Saint Louis, the longest run of victories by any team in the ILH this season. Saint Louis averaged 8.6 runs per game during the streak and had not been shut out since Feb. 28 against Maui.
“It’s great to get a win. Early in the game I was able to locate my fastball and all my off-speed pitches,” Amai Nakagawa said of his curve, slider and changeup. “I had really good command. I had a good feel in the ’pen. I have to give props to my guy behind the plate, Thomas Mitchell. He got those runners when we needed it.”
Mitchell assisted on two putouts, one on a quick pickoff throw from home plate to first base in the third inning, and another on a throw to second base on a Saint Louis steal attempt in the fourth.
The sterling performance by Amai Nakagawa with an error-free defense behind him was memorable, but he also credits home cooking.
“Whenever my mom cooks something the night before, it’s delicious. I heat it up the next day at school for lunch,” he said. “Normally she makes me something with chicken.”
Amai Nakagawa yielded to Nihipali, who pitched the sixth inning, allowing one hit while fanning one batter. In the seventh, freshman Ahu moved from left field to the mound and retired all three batters he faced, waving to the Crusaders dugout as the final out was recorded.
The game had no bearing on the Crusaders, who have second place and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming double-eliminations locked up. At 9-4 with one regular-season game left, they trail Kamehameha (12-1) and are well ahead of Punahou (6-6-1). However, Ahu’s wave was not appreciated by the Crusaders. When his older brother, shortstop Alika Ahu, flung the ball high in celebration, the Saint Louis bench was irate. During handshakes, Agbayani questioned Pac-Five’s coaches.
“I just got tired of it. The bad etiquette of the game. Showing up our guys,” said Agbayani, who played professionally for 17 years, including five seasons in MLB. “At Saint Louis, we would’ve been penalized for that (by the ILH). I said (to Pac-Five’s coaches), ‘You shouldn’t be teaching that.’”
After getting a response from Wolfpack coaches, Agbayani erupted and was restrained by two of his assistant coaches before meeting his team for a postgame meeting. Pac-Five coach Reyn Sugai left immediately after the postgame handshakes.
Pitching coach Kelly Meguro likes the poise of his ace pitcher.
“Colten is quiet, to himself. He does whatever he needs to do to get in the right mindset. He’s always confident in his pitches,” said Meguro, who entrusts his pitching staff with game closures. “There’s a competitive nature between the teams. Both sides are going to talk. The waving part by Austen, gesturing towards the other dugout, that’s never a good thing from our standpoint. We’re going to correct that. He’s young.”
After Jandon Perreira, their No. 3 starting pitcher, went three innings, junior Klay Gostling, sophomore Makanimamua Kahalioumi and sophomore Levi Perry got substantial work on the mound. There was a fair amount of chirping between dugouts, but there was no unusual behavior on the field.
Not until postgame.
Pac-Five went 4-3 in the first half of the regular season, then entered Saturday’s contest with a five-game losing streak. That includes one-run losses to Maryknoll and Mid-Pacific, and a two-run loss to ‘Iolani on Wednesday.
