[ HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS ]
Kamehameha baseball coach Vern Ramie summed up the Warriors' victory over Roosevelt last night in one word -- whew. Warriors fend off Riders
By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comThe Warriors advanced to tonight's state championship game by holding off the Rough Riders 5-4 in a semifinal contest at Les Murakami Stadium. They will play Mid-Pacific, which beat Kailua last night.
The game will be the fourth regular-season or postseason meeting between the teams. Kamehameha defeated MPI in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship game last week.
"Sometimes getting there is the hardest part," Ramie said.
Kamehameha jumped out to a 4-0 lead early in the game only to see Roosevelt tie it in the fifth. The Warriors scratched out the go-ahead run in the sixth and stifled another Rough Rider rally to escape with the win.
"We knew we were in for a battle," Ramie said. "Roosevelt's a scrappy bunch and we knew they wouldn't give up and would mount a charge at some point during the game."
Roosevelt, making only its second appearance in the state final four, had the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position in the sixth, but came up just short in its bid to upset the top-seeded Warriors.
"I can't say enough about this team and how they stuck in there all the way through," Roosevelt coach Kerry Higa said. "That's how we've been winning ballgames, by hustling and staying together. We just fell one hit short."
Kamehameha took advantage of three walks by Roosevelt starter Brandon Loo to take a 3-0 lead in the first inning. JP Kennedy scored Tyler Perkins with a sacrifice fly to center for the Warriors' first run. Zach McAngus and Aaron Fuller followed with RBI singles.
"We had a little tough time settling down," Higa said. "Some calls didn't go our way and we didn't adjust in time. By the time we adjusted the damage already happened."
The Warriors added another run in the top of the fifth when Shannon Kahale singled home Keoni Ruth.
Kamehameha starting pitcher Isaac Kamai cruised through the first four innings, giving up just one hit and a walk before the Rough Riders came to life in the bottom of the fifth.
Loo led off the inning with a single, and Jared Furtado and Derek Shigano reached on two Warrior errors to load the bases with nobody out. Corey Higa then drilled a shot down the third-base line for a three-run triple to cut Kamehameha's lead to 4-3.
After a pop out, Cameron Kimura grounded out to third. Higa broke for the plate on the throw to first and Kennedy's throw was wild, allowing Higa to score the tying run.
"He's been like that all year," Kerry Higa said. "He's the best we have as far as getting on, stealing bases and making things happen. That just shows his character."
Kamehameha reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth with a run off of Roosevelt ace Chris Mols, who replaced Loo on the mound.
Nick Freitas walked and moved to third on McAngus' single. Fuller followed with a sacrifice fly to left to put Kamehameha up 5-4.
McAngus and Fuller were a combined 4-for-5 at the plate with three RBIs.
"Our kids battled and hung in there," Ramie said.
"We got a couple of clutch hits with the bottom of the order coming through."
The Rough Riders tried to battle back with two out in the bottom of the inning. Pinch hitter Brandon Morimoto singled to right. Shigano then sent a flare to right to move Katsuya Kobori, running for Morimoto, to third.
The Warriors brought in Kahale, their top starter, to face Corey Higa. After a wild pitch allowed Shigano to advance to second, Kahale blew a fastball past Higa for a strikeout to end the threat.
"When I saw him coming in I had a smile on my face," said Ruth, the Warriors' shortstop. "I always have confidence in Shannon. All year he's been dominating and I knew he'd get the job done."
Kahale hit Mols with two out in the bottom of the seventh to put the tying run on base. But he got Blake Isobe to ground out to Ruth to end the game.
Kahale threw 18 pitches in an inning and a third to earn the save and said he'll be ready for tonight's championship game if needed.
"I feel great," Kahale said. "I was waiting this whole tournament and it's finally my turn."
Kamehameha played without regular left fielder and cleanup hitter Kahe Santos. The junior was forced to sit out after being ejected from Thursday night's quarterfinal game with Waianae for his part in a bench-clearing altercation.
"We had Jason Afong step in for him and did a fantastic job," Ramie said. "That's one of the things that has been great about our team throughout the season, we have guys that step up when they need to."
Kamehameha (17-4) 300 011 0 -- 5 6 3 Roosevelt (12-4) 000 040 0 -- 4 6 2 Brandon Loo, Chris Mols (6) and Kevin Fujii; Isaac Kamai, Shannon Kahale (6) and Baba Merino. W -- Kamai. L -- Mols. S -- Kahale.
Leading hitters -- Kamehameha: Zach McAngus 2-3, RBI; Aaron Fuller 2-2, 2 RBIs. Roosevelt: Corey Higa 3b, 3 RBIs.
Mid-Pacific 10, Kailua 0
The Owls didn't give the Surfriders a chance for a miracle comeback by scoring in each inning to knock off the defending state champions.
The game was called after six innings due to the 10-run rule.
After being burned by Kailua's 11th-hour heroics in last year's state championship game, Mid-Pacific kept the pressure on the Surfriders from the start.
The Owls scored single runs in the first two innings and plated three in the third. Keven Whalen's two-run triple highlighted the rally.
The Owls added three more runs in the fourth on just one hit. MPI scored on an error and two hit batsmen with the bases loaded.
MPI had a chance to end the game in the fifth inning. Troy Hanzawa tripled and scored on Isaac Omura's single to give the Owls a 9-0 lead. The Owls loaded the bases with two out, but Kailua reliever Christopher Mahelona struck out Justin Pate to end the inning.
The Owls needed just two batters in the sixth inning to put the game away. Blake Kaneshiro walked and Ryan Leong doubled down the third-base line to score the clinching run.
MPI starter Patrick McGuigan struck out three and walked none in a complete-game performance.
Kailua (12-4) 000 000 -- 0 4 3 Mid-Pacific (18-5) 113 311 -- 10 11 2 Chad Kajiyama, Jason Moore (4), Christopher Mahelona (4) and Cody Texeira-Vickery; Patrick McGuigan and Matt Inouye. W -- McGuigan. L -- Kajiyama.
Leading hitters -- MPI: Troy Hanzawa 3b; Isaac Omura 3-4, RBI; Ryan Basco 2-4; Keven Whalen 3b, 2 RBIs; Ryan Leong 2b, RBI.
Consolation games
Baldwin 7, Mililani 6
Mililani 200 13 -- 6 8 1 Baldwin 000 25 -- 7 10 2 Craig Sato, Trey Brown (4), Anson Oda (5) and Shawn Saito. Jon Honda, Shaun Saiki (5) and Meade Tabata. W -- Saiki. L -- Brown.
Leading hitters -- Mililani: Chris Balatico 2-3, 3b; Saito 2-3, 2 RBI; Jordan Mikami 1-1, 2b, 2 RBIs; Sato 1-2, RBI. Baldwin: Shevis Shima 2-2, RBI; Chad Nikaido 2-4, 2b, RBI; Ryan Racadio 1-2, 3b; Royce Miyazono 1-1, 2b, 2 RBIs; Guy Nishiyama 2-2; Joey Tam Ho, 1-1, 3b, 2 RBIs; Saiki 1-1, RBI.
Waianae 7, Hilo 5
Waianae (12-2) 043 000 -- 7 6 0 Hilo (11-5) 101 300 -- 5 8 1 Yohe Akai, Chad Rodrigues (4) and Dillion Guzman. Brett Kimura, Kiana Trask (3) and Matthew Hassenritter. W -- Rodrigues. L -- Kimura.
Leading hitters -- Waianae: Chevy Teves 1-2, RBI; Calvin Uyechi 2-3; Cid Moses 1-2, 2b, 2 RBIs; Keone Taaca 1-3, 2b, 2 RBIs; Akai 1-1, RBI. Hilo: Lamaur Madrid 2-2, RBI; Jeremy Kaaukai 2-3; Reyn Shimooka, RBI; Kiana Trask 1-3, RBI; Ikaika Naipo 1-1, RBI.
Aiea 4, St. Joseph 2
Jared Matsuoka, Brent Yonesaki (4), Ross Akimoto (6), Matt Yoshimura (7) and Aaron Asher. Che Doran, Davin Feary (6) and Ben Bautista. W -- Yonesaki. L -- Doran.
Aiea (0-0) 031 000 0 -- 4 10 0 St. Joseph (0-0) 000 000 2 -- 2 7 1 Leading hitters -- Aiea: James Miyashiro 2-2; Ricky Takushi 3-3, RBI; Bryan Tucker 1-2, 2b, 2 RBIs. St. Joseph: Robert Correa-Midel 1-3, RBI; Feary 2-4, RBI; Doran 2-4.
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