By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Thad Estrada (29), greeted after a home run Friday night,
was the state baseball tournament MVP.
Repeat for resilient Raiders
By Cindy Luis
Star-BulletinPoint to a throwing error in the sixth inning that allowed the tying run to score. Point to an error in judgment by the umpire that put that runner aboard with what would be the tying run.
But if there was a true turning point in Saturday night's state championship baseball game at Aloha Stadium, look to the play that opened the top of the sixth. A strikeout by Iolani's leading hitter, shortstop Keoni DeRenne, was a rallying point for the Raiders in successfully defending their title with a 7-5 victory over Punahou.
The senior co-captain went into the Wally Yonamine Foundation/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Tournament with a .561 batting average. Against the Buffanblu, he was 1-for-5, including being called out on strikes on a check swing in the sixth.
"I told the rest of the team to keep their heads up and not to give up," said DeRenne, who has accepted a baseball scholarship to Arizona. "Even though we were facing a great pitcher in Justin Wayne, I told them we could hit him, that we could come back.
"It happened. We got a key hit from Jeff (Iwashita) in a key situation and (reliever) Danny (Kimura) was great. He's done a heck of a job the whole year and came through when we needed him."
After DeRenne struck out, Gregg Omori was ruled to have been hit by a pitch by Wayne and was sent to first by plate umpire Alan Kimoto. Replays showed -- and Omori later confirmed -- that Punahou coach Pal Eldredge was right in claiming it was the bottom of Omori's bat that was hit.
"The kid stood at home plate. If he'd got hit, he'd have already gone to first base," said Eldredge. "It's THE toughest call for a chief (umpire) to make. The call went in their favor. It turned out to be the inning they scored the three runs.
"That's the way it goes. We had them, we had our chances. Can't ever put a loss down to one play."
A walk to Kimura put runners at first and second, but a strikeout by Scott Tajima had the Buffanblu four outs away from their seventh state title. Punahou third baseman Scooter Martines made a tough play on a shot by Thad Estrada. But the throw was wide of the outstretched glove of first baseman Keenan Sue, as Omori scored to tie it at 5-5.
Two pitches later, Iwashita blasted a triple to left-center that scored Kimura and courtesy runner Brent Wong with the go-ahead runs. The Buffanblu came back in the sixth with runners at the corners but Kimura, the fifth Iolani pitcher, shut down the threat, retiring the final five Punahou batters he faced.
"We call Kimura 'The Rock,' he's a real solid guy out there, a quiet leader," said Iolani coach Dean Yonamine. "He wanted the ball and I had to tell him to be patient, that he didn't have 4-5 innings in his arm, that we'd get him the ball when we needed him at the end.
"I can't say enough about our seniors. They wanted it so badly, from back in October. Even when we were down 3-0, they kept telling our younger guys, 'Don't worry, we'll come back, we'll score runs.' This (title) is even sweeter than last year's because, from Day 1, everyone had us marked."
The Raiders (23-1), ranked nationally all season, are seventh in the latest Baseball America prep poll. Yonamine said he tried to downplay the pressure and, in spite of the expectations locally and nationally, the team didn't crack under the weight.
The victory broke a tie with Punahou for most state titles. The Buffanblu, the only team to beat the Raiders during the regular season, finished at 18-7.
"I told the kids before the game that, no matter what happens, I'm really proud of what they accomplished," said Eldredge. "It was a storybook season, going from 3-4 to finish 15-3. I told them that no other Punahou team I've been associated in my (29 years) of coaching at the school has ever done something like this. I have nothing but pride for them."
All-Tournament Team
IF: Keoni DeRenne, Iolani; Gregg Omori, Iolani; Spencer Yates, Kauai; Brandon Kotake, Hilo; Bryce Uegawachi, Kaiser.
