Hajime Reed, a junior right-hander, plays for a Kadena team headed to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni this weekend to play against three other DODEA teams, including host Matthew C. Perry. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
It’s always an exciting time for Robert D. Edgren’s spring sports teams when the snow finally melts and the Eagles are able to play games on their home fields.
“Everybody finally gets to play outside, get on the fields and do all the things they’ve been practicing,” longtime Eagles baseball coach Brett Lehner said, adding specifically of his team: “We’re competitive this year. The kids have really put in a lot of work.”
Seth Low, Micah Magat, Parker Kuns, Mark Gillett and the Eagles baseball team takes a 6-3 record onto its home field, hosting Yokota, which has gone 6-6 so far this season.
Edgren’s softball team will also host two-time reigning Far East Division II champion Yokota. Zama’s boys and girls soccer teams will make the trip north to Misawa.
Unlike two seasons ago when the Eagles’ play flowed through freshman Hajime Reed, Edgren’s baseball team is more of a collective this season, Lehner said.
“If somebody’s having a rough day, then somebody else has a good day,” he said. “They play so well together as a team. Everybody collectively contributes so much. It’s really nice to see. Everybody’s doing what they need to do.”
This weekend also features Okinawa teams making self-funded trips off the island.
Kadena’s baseball team – featuring Reed, a junior who transferred to Okinawa last year – is traveling to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni to play Nile C. Kinnick, Matthew C. Perry and E.J. King.
The Panthers track team, meanwhile, is sending 40 athletes to Yokota for a meet with DODEA-Japan and Kanto Plain international schools.
Each of those Kadena travel events will involve homecomings:
-- Panthers baseball coach Frank Macias returns to Perry, where he taught and coached baseball and football for 12 years. Kadena (3-6) will face off against a Red Devils team (3-1) that the Panthers will play in next month’s Far East Division I baseball tournament.
“Chad (Kinnick coach Charles Stark) does a great job with those boys; they’re always tough,” Macias said, adding that the Panthers will also see King’s sophomore ace Jayden Arocho and Perry junior Aira Fujinuma.
“So we’re going to see some good baseball,” Macias said. “When you have the name Kadena on your chest, you have to expect everybody to bring their best game, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
-- Antonio Webster, a sophomore sprinter, never got the chance to run for Yokota, which he attended for one semester as a freshman before transferring to Kadena.
But he says he’s looking forward to returning. “I miss the school, the people, some of the coaches,” he said.
Kadena track coach Jason Spangler calls the Friday meet at Yokota a “great opportunity for our kids to gain more experience and raise their confidence level.”
“We’re happy to see what our competition is up there for Far East,” scheduled for May 21-23 at Yokota, Spangler said.
Over in Korea, all DODEA teams in all sports get back to competition following the spring break.
Humphreys hosts a track meet on Saturday and the Blackhawks boys (1-3) and girls (5-4) soccer teams also host matches Friday and Saturday.
Daegu’s soccer teams hit the road for matches Friday in Seoul and also a DODEA vs. DODEA showdown Saturday at Osan. The Warriors boys are 0-5 and the girls 3-3, while the Cougars’ girls are off to a strong start at 5-1. Osan’s boys have lost seven straight after winning their opener.
