Hawaiian dad takes a road trip across the country to watch his son play in the College World Series

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – On Father’s Day weekend, a local father took a cross country tour to watch his son play on college baseball’s biggest stage.

Kobe Kato and the Arizona Wildcats are in the middle of their quest for a national title in the College World Series, but Kobe’s father has made it worth every mile to see his son play in Omaha.

Kobe made his College Wolrd Series debut in the Wildcats’ tough 12-inning loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday night.

In attendance was Kobe’s father, Ryan Kato. This isn’t the first time Ryan has seen his son play ball, but it was the first game he had to drive nearly 1,400 miles to get there.

I keep joking with Tom, it’s like the Nationals Lampoos vacation, ”said Kato. “In my wildest dreams I never thought that I could do something like this.”

Kato and the father of another Arizona player decided to drive 21 hours from Tucson, Arizona to Omaha, Nebraska to see their sons compete on the biggest stage.

Kato takes in the whole road trip, an experience he doesn’t think you can find on the islands.

“From Hawaii, drive 15 minutes each way and you’re done, you’ve reached the ocean.” said Kato. “It was an incredible experience for me to visit seven countries in one day.”

Ryan has seen Kobe countless times at Aiea High School, where Kobe played baseball and football for the Na Ali’i, but he will never forget those games and the journey he made there – even for the best wildlife in the Midwest to see.

“We almost ran over a coyote.” said Kato. “The coyote was in the middle of the freeway eating Road Kill, we came down and all I see is the white of the coyote’s eyes, we missed it so much.”

After losing their opener against Vanderbilt, the Wildcats will now face ESPNU in a competitive game against Stanford on Monday at 7:00 a.m. Hawaii time.

Copyright 2021 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.