In the last 20 years, Wapahani baseball has reached the state championship three times. Two of those teams were during the 2004 and 2014 seasons. The Raiders were the state runner-up in 2004 and the champions in 2014. Members of those squads found themselves on the same field as they were recognized before Friday’s contest with Alexandria-Monroe.
Yet, that was not the only special moment for the white and red as former Wapahani head coach – and current assistant coach – Brian Dudley was honored with the renaming of the Raiders’ field to ‘Coach Brian J. Dudley Field.’
“It’s about everybody that's helped me do this,” Dudley said. “It’s for the players and parents over the last 40 years.”
After the festivities wrapped up, the current Raiders took the field and looked to impress the home crowd. After seven innings, the white and red sent their fans home happy with a 4-2 victory.
“With how important the field renaming and all the past alumni [coming back], this was a big win,” Wapahani head coach Heath Dudley said.
The contest opened with offensive success for Wapahani as junior Nate Luce led off with a double. A few batters later, he was able to score on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the second, the Raiders once again hit the scoreboard as this time it was freshman Ethan Bragg who took home plate on a wild pitch.
While the Tigers bounced back with an RBI single and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch situation, Wapahani starting pitcher freshman Kayson Perdue started to find a groove. Coming into the contest, he knew how much this game meant to the program.
“I was nervous, being a freshman,” Perdue said. “...But the legacy is important.”
After the top of the third, he limited the Tigers’ chances of scoring as he pitched a complete game with six strikeouts. His teammates were right behind him as an RBI infield single from junior Brock Zickgraf and a sacrifice fly from junior Clay Estep gave the Raiders the edge they needed.
“He was better the second half of the game even than he was the first half, and he was pretty good the first half,” Heath said, “So he's gonna be a good one [going forward] for sure.”
Wapahani began the season with three straight losses, but the Raiders have bounced back and are now on a two-game winning streak. Add that in with the crowd size, this contest was a good test for the white and red.
“It simulates a county tournament finals, a sectional finals or a regional finals,” Heath said. “So the intensity was super important because it simulated what we want to do.”
While Brian is no longer the head coach of the Raiders, he still wants to make sure they are going in a positive direction. With the recent success and how Heath has coached the white and red so far, he believes they are on the right track.
“The program is still alive,” Brian said. “With how much we've improved in two weeks, it's awesome to see that this product is still here.”
The Raiders will look for three straight victories when they face Randolph Southern Tuesday, April 23. The first pitch is set for 5 p.m.
Contact Zach Carter with comments at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or on X @ZachCarter85.
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