For about as long as there’s been a Muramaru in the islands, there’s been a son, brother or father on the baseball field.

In the past 28 years, Dunn Muramaru’s imprint on the Mid-Pacific baseball program has been total and complete. With son Cal as a key part of this year’s­ ILH championship team, the Owls are heading back to the state tourney to defend their title this week. Their family’s connection to the game goes back a long way.

Roughly a century ago, Umataro Muramaru, a Big Island boy — from Paauilo, to be exact — roamed the outfield. A first-generation immigrant from Japan, he grew up in the plantation town on the Hamakua Coast, but got his education at MPI.

His son, George, also played baseball and roamed the outfield. He, too, grew up in Paauilo, but went to Honokaa High School. When George returned from WWII, he settled on Oahu.

Sons Dunn and Gordon continued the baseball legacy. Gordon, seven years younger than Dunn, played for coach Les Murakami at the University of Hawaii and was a member of UH’s 1980 College World Series team.

But the coaching career of Dunn Muramaru began long before the brothers headed off to college. He coached Gordon’s team in Little League. When Dunn became a coach at Kalani High School, his little brother was in the other dugout when the Falcons met Roosevelt.

"They had Ross Hayashi and they were 3-1. We hadn’t played a (regular-season) game yet," Dunn recalled. "(Gordon) was popping off before the game about how they’re going to kick our tails."

Kalani won the game handily.

"He never said a word about it after that."

They’ve outgrown the sibling rivalry, and George, now 92, still attends MPI baseball games. Dunn and Lynn, his wife, are both teachers. She teaches at ‘Iolani and he teaches at MPI, where son Cal has been another baseball lifer. It’s never easy being a son or daughter playing for a parent who coaches the team. But Cal had to earn his way into the starting lineup.

"In seventh grade, I was really small, 4-11 and 100 pounds, and I couldn’t hit. My dad showed me how to bunt," said Cal, who is now 5-7, 140 pounds and can bench press 210. "Just a way of getting on base."

Over the next few years, Cal enjoyed a growth spurt and kept taking his cuts at the batting cages. By sophomore year, he got his chance, though it wasn’t his dad’s idea.

"It must’ve been tough for him," Dunn said. "One of our starters got hurt and one of our coaches said, ‘Put him in left (field).’ I wasn’t sure about doing that, but we put him in and he went 8-for-11. He’s started ever since."

For Dunn, who began coaching at Kalani in ’76, arrived at MPI in ‘86 and has yet to take a break, time has brought some changes. The constant repetition and work grind hasn’t changed. On Mother’s Day, at least a dozen Owls from the varsity and JV programs were at Damon Field working out by mid-morning as Muramaru hit grounder after grounder. The longtime coach now picks his spots when he turns up the energy.

"I don’t yell as much. It’s too much stress on the body when you yell, not like when you’re younger," said Muramaru, a Chuck Leahey Award selection in 2009 and inductee to the MPI Hall of Honor in ’11.

Son Cal has noticed the difference over time. He’s a leader in the dugout, too, but in his own way.

"I’m more vocal. I don’t really give the speech or get people pumped out. I just give a positive vibe and lead by example," he said. "Sometimes, it’s hard because everybody’s down, some guys are sick. But I try to keep positive and hopefully that’ll carry us into the state tournament."

"He’s really spontaneous. He always likes to do something fun, always energetic and talking," teammate Cameron Igarashi said. "He keeps it positive, and that really helps the team."

With so many new starters — 13 seniors graduated from last year’s state-championship squad — the ride in 2014 has been exciting.

"Before it felt like a really young team and we wondered, how are we going to do this? But now it’s like everybody’s on the same page, we’ve created friendships," Cal said. "It feels like we’re all the same grade. The chemistry is there. My dad’s done a lot of different things to keep us at the level of last year’s team. We bunt more, hit and run, execute. It’s working really good for us this year."

Muramaru’s defense in center field — just one error in 19 games — is a major plus for the Owls. He’s batting .259, but is second on the squad in walks and first in hit by pitches. His on-base percentage is a healthy .377, which is why he bats second in the lineup. His elite bunting skills — Cal is a natural left-hander — also help move leadoff man Bryce Nagata, a .424 hitter, to the next base.

Cal has committed to play baseball at Puget Sound next season, where former Waiakea standout Kainoa Correa is an assistant coach.

"I hope he’s successful at whatever he does. I have to listen to him now," Dunn said. "Even times when I think he’s not listening, he’s listening."

Cal, who was named after Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, loves to practice.

"My dad always says do everything the right way," Cal said. "There’s no wrong way to do it. Just do it the right way, the way you’ve done it before. Repetition, repetition."