Hawaiian softball team showcased power, community at Top Gun Invitational in KC

At Shawnee’s Mid-America Sports Complex — one of seven facilities in use during the Top Gun Invitational softball tournament — the first thing once notices isn’t the warm-up of fastballs whizzing around the diamond, nor the 90 degree Kansas heat or cold cups of beer sweating on picnic tables.

Not even the noise of players starting to cheer each other on for the upcoming game.

It’s a group of spectators wearing the same shirt: dark, with a picture of a girl front and center. Big orange 22s on the sleeves. Another big 22 covering the back, but that one’s made from a collage of the girl’s best moments in softball. Soccer, too.

The girl’s name is Kayla Whaley, class of 2025 and outfielder No. 22 for Lady Knights (LK) Black Hawaii team, a premiere softball program from the Islands.

The team’s website proclaims LK Black Hawaii is “Hawaii’s top travel club for softball prospects,” and perhaps this claim isn’t unfounded. Entering the weekend, coach Josh Danz and the club’s advisor, former major-league pitcher Paul Ah Yat, had led the squad to seven wins and just one loss in Top Gun’s 16U Maverick division. Of the 76 teams in the Maverick 16U pool, LK Black placed ninth.

LK Black has come a long way, in more ways than one. Asked about LK’s motivation to travel, Danz cited a lack of competitive Hawaiian tournaments, along with a lack of college scouts available to travel thousands of miles to the Islands.

“We want to compete. Obviously (we) want to show that we can play with the best teams here,” Danz said.

To save on time and travel costs — about $1,500 per player, per tournament — the team flies to the mainland once and competes in tournaments for most of the summer. This year’s Top Gun Invitational is LK’s second tournament — the team played first in California.

From here, they’ll head to Colorado for another, then back to California for two more tournaments before finally heading home.

But the competition seems to be worth it.

“When East Ppowers meet West Powers, it’s always gonna be a battle,” a recent post on the team’s Instagram reads. This is especially the case with the prospect of college recruitment on the line, as much of Hawaii’s softball talent looks to join Mainland teams — catcher and shortstop Kezia Lucas, class of 2025, has already committed to the University of Arizona.

“Being able to play at the next level, that’s always been a big goal,” shortstop Sheyzelle Iokia said.

For LK Black, the level of talent and competition in these battles is different.

“On the island, you’d know everybody and it’s more fun playing against people,” Iokia said. “But up here, I feel like the competition rises more and more.”

Pitcher Jerrell “Ori” Mailo brought up the Kansas heat and just-as-hot pace of the game, citing faster pitches as one of the main differences between those “East vs. West Powers.”

As an “East Power,” LK’s best asset is power itself, according to Danz.

“We’re really known for (it),” Danz said. “We preach power, we preach swinging, preach getting in the gym. When we do hit, it’s a different animal when the ball’s coming at you.”

Power also surfaces as a cornerstone for the culture of this Hawaiian team — particularly, a powerful desire to be with and there for each other.

To support the team, LK parents and family members take time away from work as they travel with the girls. And instead of booking their own hotel rooms, some share Airbnb rentals and cook meals together, Wilz Whaley, Kayla’s father, said.

This sense of closeness was apparent at the Mid-America Sports Complex, too. Though unrelated — biologically speaking — kids on the team freely referred to the women in the stands as “aunties.” The adults in the stands were “brother” and “sis” to each other, too.

The Lady Knights batted first to start Friday’s game. Huddled in the shade of their dugout, helmets on, the girls readied for the first pitch: “Make ‘em bounce, kid!”