Bears, Sabers success apparent in both rankings, results




We unveiled our first Hawaiian Electric Diamond Power Rankings in the spring of the 2013-14 sports season, and we've ranked the top 10 baseball and softball teams in the state for each season since, seven seasons in all (counting this year). That's a grand total of 62 weeks of rankings for baseball and 64 for softball.

Curious to see what kind of trends would emerge when looking at all-time data of our Power Rankings, I decided to concoct a basic algorithm, looking at equally weighted average rank and total appearances in the rankings, to see if anything of note emerged.

The results were actually quite interesting, and I think makes for an interesting read.

BALDWIN TOPS IN CONSISTENCY AMONGST ALL DIAMOND SPORT TEAMS

The Bears are the lone diamond team to be ranked amongst the top 10 teams in the Power Rankings in every week of its existence, with an average rank of 3.74, good enough for second highest average overall to Mid-Pacific's 3.49.

Its safe to say that Baldwin's finishes in state tournament play since 2014 validate its top billing, with Division I state championships won in 2016 and 2018 and a third-place finish in 2019, to go along with quarterfinal appearances in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Baldwin entered state play as the MIL league champion in each of those years as well.

That 3.74 average rank would be markedly higher if calculations didn't include the 2014 and 2015 seasons, where the Bears average ranking was 5.95. In fact, over the last four years, Baldwin's average spot in the Power Rankings is 2.71, and would track even lower were it not for its placings in the first half of the 2016 season (Baldwin opened in the eighth spot, and landed at 8, 8, 9 and 7 through the first five weeks).

The longest streak at the top spot for Baldwin clocks in at 19 weeks, a stretch that started in the first rankings of the 2018 season and lasted all the way through the end of league play in 2019.

TOP BASEBALL TEAMS BASED ON AVERAGE RANK, APPEARANCES (2014-present)

 TeamAverage rankPtsWeeks rankedPtsTot
1 Baldwin 3.74 2 62 1 3
2 Miid-Pacific 3.49 1 49 5 6
3 Saint Louis 4.14 3 51 3 6
4 Campbell 4.20 4 51 4 8
4 Kamehameha 4.83 6 54 2 8
6 Punahou 5.07 7 45 8 15
7 Kailua 6.33 10 48 6 16
8 Mililani 5.59 8 41 9 17
9 Waiakea 6.34 11 47 7 18
10 Iolani 5.88 9 32 10 19
11 Pearl City 4.27 5 15 15 20
12 KS-Hawaii 7.20 13 20 12 25
13 Maui 7.65 14 31 11 25
14 Saint Francis 7.00 12 4 19 31
14 Hilo 8.44 17 16 14 31
14 Kalani 8.50 18 20 13 31
17 Moanalua 8.43 15 7 17 32
18 Waipahu 8.43 16 7 18 34
19 Kaiser 8.64 19 11 16 35
20 Roosevelt 8.67 20 3 21 41


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Mid-Pacific is the highest average ranked team to not win a state title. The Owls best finish came in 2015, where they lost to the Sabers in the Division I title game, 3-2. Mid-Pacific has never been ranked at the top spot for more than two straight weeks, but spent seven weeks at the number two spot in 2018.

Saint Louis won one state title during Power Rankings era (2014), and the Crusaders were ranked no lower than third in every week that season. The Crusaders' longest streak atop the rankings? Just two weeks straight. The 2020 edition of the Crusaders opened up as the number one team, as well.

Campbell, state champions in 2015, also reached the semifinals of the state tournament in 2014, 2016 and 2017. The Sabers spent seven weeks atop the Power Rankings in the 2014 season (finished third in final rankings) and finished the 2015 season as the number one team with a five week stint.

Kamehameha ranked second in total appearances and fifth in average rank all-time despite its best finishes being semifinal losses in state tourney play (2015, 2017). The Warriors ranked number one for four consecutive weeks in the 2017 season.

Punahou, the 2019 defending state champion, was ranked no lower than fourth during its title-winning campaign. Prior to its top ranking at the end of the 2019 season, the last time the Buffanblu were at the top spot of the Power Rankings was the first top ten of the 2017 season.

Kamehameha-Hawaii has the highest average ranking amonst all Division II squads statewide, with a rank average of 7.2 based on 20 appearances in the rankings. The Warriors were ranked as high as fourth during the 2019 season.

Maui claimed a Division I championship in 2017, and spent the final two weeks of the season ranked at number one. Excluding those two weeks in 2017, the highest ranking for the Sabers was sixth, with an average ranking of 8.1.



CAMPBELL SOFTBALL, QUEENS OF THE DIAMOND POWER RANKINGS

Since the start of our Power Rankings, the Sabers have only been unranked once (were amongst teams that just missed the cut in third rankings of 2014), and boast an average rank of 2.52, more than a full spot higher on average than Baldwin baseball.

The Sabers' success in the postseason speaks for itself, with Division I state titles won in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and semifinal finishes in 2014 and 2018, which equated to five straight semifinal appearances prior to a first round loss in 2019.

During the 'three-peat,' Campbell's average rank was a stellar 1.97, and the team was ranked no lower than fourth at any point during that stretch. The longest stretch at number one for the Sabers during the streak of state championships? Eight weeks.

Interestingly enough, that eight week period was not the longest period for the girls from Ewa Beach at the top spot of the Power Rankings. The Sabers opened up their 2019 campaign at the top spot and held steady all the way though the final rankings of the year, where Campbell eventually landed at the sixth spot after falling to Baldwin, 11-2, in the quarterfinals.

TOP SOFTBALL TEAMS BASED ON AVERAGE RANK, APPEARANCES (2014-present)

 TeamAverage rankPtsWeeks rankedPtsTot
1 Campbell 2.52 1 63 1 2
2 Mililani 3.67 3 60 2 5
3 Kamehameha 3.04 2 49 4 6
4 Maryknoll 5.48 6 54 3 9
5 Pearl City 5.28 5 47 5 10
6 Leilehua 4.39 4 38 8 12
7 Kapolei 5.58 7 40 7 14
8 Punahou 6.41 11 44 6 17
9 Iolani 6.56 12 32 9 21
9 Roosevelt 6.31 10 29 11 21
11 Waianae 6.00 9 21 15 24
11 Mid-Pacific 5.95 8 20 16 24
13 Kaiser 7.60 16 30 10 26
13 Saint Francis 6.59 13 22 13 26
15 Baldwin 7.93 17 27 12 29
16 Moanalua 6.91 14 11 17 31
17 Nanakuli 8.73 18 22 14 32
18 Hilo 7.25 15 8 18 33
19 KS-Hawaii 9.80 20 5 19 39
19 Kailua 9.33 19 3 20 39


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Mililani has ranked out of the top 10 only three times since the inception of the Softball Power Rankings, and the Trojans' average ranking of 3.67 is good enough for third all-time. The Trojans have fared well in state tournament play during the stretch, winning a state title in 2014 (2-1, over Campbell), a runner-up finish in 2015 (16-4 loss to the Sabers) and semifinal apperances in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The Trojans took the top spot heading into the final week of the 2014 season and finished at number one as well.

Kamehameha's average ranking of 3.04 ranks them second, though the Warriors' 49 total apperances rank fourth behind the Sabers, Trojans and Spartans. The Warriors made the state tourney four consecutive times (2014-2017), and logged semifinal appearances in 2015 and 2017. Kamehameha opened both the 2014 and 2015 rankings at number one, a spot it held for four straight weeks in both years.

Maryknoll has the third most appearances in the rankings with 54, but just the sixth highest average rank at 5.48. The Spartans have qualifed for the state tournament five times in the last six years, highlighted by a semifinal appearance in 2015 (lost to Mililani, 3-2). Maryknoll was ranked number one just once in the Power Rankings, during the week of Apr. 15, 2015.

Pearl City qualified for the state tournament five years in a row (2014-2018), and reached the semifinals in 2016 and 2017. The Chargers' 5.28 average ranking and 47 total appearances are fifth best in both categories. Pearl City reached the number one spot in the rankings three times in 2017 (weeks of March 12, Apr. 16, Apr. 23).

Leilehua, Division I state champions in 2018, rose to the top spot on three separate occasions for a total of five weeks during its championship season. The Mules were also ranked second for the final four weeks of 2019, where the hopes at a repeat fell short with a loss in the title game to Iolani. Leilehua's 38 total appearances in the Power Rankings place them just eighth overall, but an average rank of 4.39 ranks them fourth.

Iolani, the 2019 defending state champions, didn't ascend to the top spot until the week leading up to the state tourney, much like Maui baseball in 2017. The Raiders were in the top ten every week of their title winning season, but at an average rank of just 6.1. Iolani went unranked in 2018, but still place ninth in overall appearances with 32.

Saint Francis is the highest ranked Division II team all-time, with an average rank of 6.59 and 22 overall appearances in the Top 10, good enough for 13th in both categories. The Saints won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019, reached the title game in 2017 (lost to Aiea, 4-3), and had semifinal appearances in 2016 and 2014. Saint Francis ended the 2019 season ranked third and finished fourth in 2018.





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