Baseball
Dudoit brings continuity to Baldwin baseball team




Despite a change in leadership in the offseason, not much has changed with the Baldwin baseball team.

When longtime coach Jon Viela accepted the athletic director position at Kamehameha-Maui last April, he did so knowing that his days as Bears' head man were numbered. His players, however, made those last few weeks of Viela's reign count as Baldwin went on to capture the Division I state title.

It was the Bears' best finish in the state tournament since finishing as runners-up in both 2012 and 2010, and marked their first championship since 1995 and fifth overall.

Baldwin's fourth state crown, when it beat Mid-Pacific in the title game, came under current athletic director Kahai Shishido. Viela, a former University of Hawaii baseball player from 1988-91, served as an assistant under Shishido before taking over the program at his alma mater prior to the 2006 season.

Under Shishido, the Bears won the Maui Interscholastic League title 10 times and made the state tournament in all but one of his 15 seasons at the helm.

Baldwin captured seven consecutive league crowns under Viela, culminating in last year's state championship in his final game.

So when Viela was announced as the Warriors' new top athletic administrator last April, Shishido didn't have to look far for his replacement.

Enter Shane Dudoit.

The 45-year old Dudoit had been one of Viela's top assistants for the last seven seasons. The coaching career of the Molokai alumnus has served as a tour of Maui county.

"I started coaching in 1993-94 with Lahainaluna, then I went home to Molokai and coached there a few years and then I moved back to Maui," Dudoit said.

Prior to joining the Bears' staff, Dudoit had a highly-successful run at nearby St. Anthony, where he led the Division-II Trojans to the overall MIL title.

"I was at St. Anthony for five years and then when they made it so that we would only play the other D2 teams — Molokai, Lanai and Seabury — I called Jon and asked if he would have me on his coaching staff because, for me, I wanted to play the D1 teams and play the best competition," Dudoit said.

Dudoit, whose son, Haloa, was a key contributor on last year's Baldwin team, retired from the Maui Fire Department in December after 25 years and four months of service and has no regrets so far.

"It's fun. I love it," Dudoit said. "I retired from the fire department in December to take over and do this full-time."

For Dudoit, the blueprint has already been laid out from his predecessors.

"Not much has changed. We've got the same coaching staff as far as assistant coaches," Dudoit said. "Jon and Kahai provided me with the foundation to step in and keep the wheels turning. Our philosophy has always been about discipline and respect for the game. Jon and Kahai were the same way. A lot of it has to do with respect of each other, respecting your parents, being pono and doing the right things."

As far as the target on the Bears' backs this season? Dudoit hasn't shied away from that discussion with his players.

"We talk about it in the sense that everybody is coming after us with their best and if we allow ourselves to take off on a pitch and not be fully concentrated on what's going on, there's a very good chances that that pitch could come back and bite us in the okole," Dudoit said. "We try to make sure that every aspect of the game is covered and that we give ourselves a chance that when they come at us with everything, we can defend and make sure we make the play."

Baldwin, the No. 2 team in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings, improved to 5-0 over the weekend with a pair of wins over Kamehameha-Maui.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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