Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
Had to listen had no choice
I did not believe the information
Just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom boom
“Son, ” he said, “grab your things,
I’ve come to take you home.”
— Peter Gabriel, “Solsbury Hill”
Hawaii Kai’s Everett Lau will wrap up an adventurous college baseball career this weekend when his UC San Diego team plays a four-game home series against Cal State Northridge.
But no matter how special his final games are, it will be hard to match Lau’s experience from last weekend when the Tritons took a “trip” to play Hawaii at Les Murakami Stadium.
We are talking special with a capital S.
A little background: Lau, a former ‘Iolani standout and 2016 high school graduate, went off to play at College of San Mateo for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. And then, in 2019, it was on to Auburn and the daunting Southeastern Conference. That’s the school where amazing, nationally known athletes Bo Jackson, Charles Barkley and Frank Thomas hail from, just in case you didn’t know.
UC San Diego’s Everett Lau of Hawaii Kai connected with a pitch in a recent game.
(UC San Diego athletics photo by Derrick Tuskan).
Moving on to 2021, Lau was back at it for the Tritons. And although a hamstring injury early in the season put a damper on his hot start, it didn’t get the best of him.
That extra year gave Lau the amazing opportunity to play in front of friends and family in Hawaii — against the UH Rainbows for those four games last weekend at Les Murakami Stadium.
And what a glorious weekend it turned out to be for Lau, who got to play against his pal Matt Campos, a UH senior who was the shortstop when Lau played third base at ‘Iolani. Lau also got to catch up with three other former ‘Iolani Raiders — UH pitcher Trevor Ichimura, second baseman Aaron Ujimori and catcher Blake Hiraki.
“It’s an awesome experience to come home and play on the same field as other ‘Iolani alumni,” Lau said Sunday after the Tritons’ third victory in the four-game series. “I saw four of them on the field at one point, which was cool to see. And Campos … that’s my boy. And being able to share this opportunity with my teammates is something I won’t forget. It was a blast.”
One memorable moment fell right into place for Lau and Campos. With a runner on third and two out in the bottom of the ninth with UH trailing 3-2 in the series finale, Campos came to bat and hit a ground ball to Lau at second base to end it.
“I almost threw it away,” Lau admitted. “But HIS last at-bat at the stadium came to ME.”
After going 0-for-3 in the opener, Lau came on strong with a double and an RBI single in the Saturday doubleheader.
“Got the jitters out for sure,” he said. “Being home and playing in front of everybody, it was just such a cool experience to soak in.”
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MORE from BedrockSportsHawaii.com’s Nick Abramo:
>> Hawaii Kai’s Kaile Halvorsen And Santa Clara Conquer Florida State For NCAA Division I Soccer Championship
>> Living The Baseball Dream: Catching Up With Joey Cantillo, Kobe Kato And Everett Lau
>> ‘Iolani’s Everett Lau Is a Multi-Faceted Athlete
>> How Does One Begin To Explain Colt Brennan’s Death And Hawaii’s Sorrow? It’s Not Easy
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Mom Emelene, dad Robert, brother Emerson and aunties and uncles were among the family and friends who were at the Les to watch Everett’s homecoming. His grandmother, who he calls Popo, watched on TV.
“I was fortunate that it happened at all, coming back and being able to play in Hawaii,” Lau said. “We (the Tritons) were a D-II team in 2020. Hawaii was not on the schedule and that was supposed to be my last year.”
Yes, it was providential — like the man in the aforementioned Peter Gabriel song: “I did not believe the information. Just had to trust imagination. My heart going boom boom boom.”
And then the eagle telling him: “Son, grab your things,
I’ve come to take you home.”
UCSD coach Eric Newman told Bedrock Sports Hawaii that he was impressed with how Lau handled the hamstring injury that kept him out of action for about a month.
UCSD infielder Everett Lau will wrap up his collegiate baseball career this weekend.
(Image credit: UCSD athletics).
“Everett had been hitting leadoff for us and was strong out of the gate before the injury,” Newman said. “He got back as quickly as he could. I’m proud of the way he handled the adversity. He battled and worked his way back in the lineup as one of our trusted guys, a guy who plays good defense and plays the game hard.”
And that return to the lineup came with a big bang.
“He missed four straight series, so late in the game when we were losing big on a Friday night, I figured I’d get him in as a pinch hitter so he can see some pitches and get back into the swing of it,” the coach said. “He goes up and hits the first pitch over the fence. I go, ‘I thought you were going to see some pitches.’ He hadn’t seen live pitching in a month. I also told him that if he hit it fair, to go 70 or 80 percent on the base paths. So, there he is just trotting around the bases and the whole team is yelling ‘Slow down!!!!’ ”
Lau, who graduated in the winter and will walk at the UC San Diego ceremony June 13, may continue his education in law.
The well-rounded athlete who also has competitive experience in bowling and inline hockey hasn’t ruled out continuing on to pro baseball.
“I’m going to enjoy my last week (of baseball season) before I go out and do future life things,” he said.
Everett Lau through the years
2016 ‘Iolani (senior year)
>> Third base
>> .462 average
>> 10 doubles
>> 3 home runs
>> 15 RBIs
2017 College of San Mateo
>> Infield
>> .381 average
>> 9 doubles
>> 4 triples
>> 32 RBIs
2018 College of San Mateo
>> Infield
>> .381 average
>> 17 doubles
>> 2 triples
>> 4 home runs
>> 45 RBIs
2019 Auburn
>> Second base and designated hitter
>> .25o average
>> 2 doubles
>> 1 home run
>> 8 RBIs
2020 UC San Diego
>> Third base
>> .303 average
>> 4 doubles
>> 1 triple
>> 1 home run
>> 11 RBIs
2021 UC San Diego (with four games left)
>> Third base, second base
>> .229 average
>> 3 doubles
>> 1 triple
>> 3 home runs
>> 15 RBIs
