Hawaii baseball standout riding momentum of breakout season into Cape Cod League

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A number of Hawaii baseball standouts made an impact across the country this season. Among those to break through for a stellar year is Aiva Arquette.

After an injury plagued freshman season, the Huskies slugger quickly made up for lost time and engineered an outstanding sophomore campaign that saw him land earn All Pac-12 first and defensive team honors.

“It was a big step for me as a player and as a person,” Arquette said. “I just wanted to continue my path and my journey, the best way i can, which is just learn as much as possible from my older guys on the baseball team and to give back to the freshmen coming in.”

Huskies head coach Jason Kelly took over the program just as Arquette was entering his freshman year and says priority one was convincing him not to transfer.

“On the offense, you just kind of saw bat speed, just exit velocity, every time he hits the ball, he hits it really really hard,” Kelly said. “The physical nature of him is just something that if you were to build somebody on MLB The Show, it would look a lot like Aiva Arquette.”

And his talent landed him a spot in the famed Cape Cod League- the century-old New England showcase that features the nation’s best collegiate stars.

The Cape is almost a pipeline to Major League Baseball as nearly 30% of current Major Leaguers have played in this league.

“Just to see what they have and kind of show my abilities in that travel ball circuit, which is really nice and to see how I stack up against them,” Arquette said.

By the end of his sophomore year, Arquette was hitting leadoff for the Huskies and coaches see him taking on an even bigger role as a team captain.

“A lot of kids say they want to be the man and they want the ball in those moments, they want to take the big shot, they want that at bat,” Kelly said. “Aiva truly does and you get a different level of intensity from him.”

Athletic prowess runs in the family as not only is Aiva a baseball star, but he’s also a former Gatorade player of the year in basketball.

His sister Adriana led Kamehameha to a girls volleyball state title and was just inducted into the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Hall of Honor.

“We got blessed by the genes,’ Arquette said. “My mom is 6′1, my dad is 6′1. We got lucky, but me and my sister really work hard. My sister, really really works hard at her craft.”

With Aiva entering his junior year and Adrianna playing at the University of Hawaii-Manoa next season, expect the Arquettes to keep adding to highlight reels.

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