FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kamehameha's David Parrow pitched to a Pac-Five batter yesterday at Ala Wai Field. The Warriors won 10-6.
Kamehameha lead-off batter Keoni Ruth can hurt you in many ways, and he showed a few of his offensive skills yesterday in a 10-6 baseball victory over Pac-Five at Ala Wai Field. Kamehameha wins
as Ruth sets paceBy Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comRuth went 2-for-4, but he hit the ball hard all four times and scored three runs. Aside from his two singles in the first two innings, he crushed balls to first base and right field and reached on two Wolfpack errors.
"In previous games, I was on my front foot a little bit too much," Ruth said. "So I worked in the batting cage today and took it over on to the field. I just tried to sit back and make good contact."
Ruth, Kahe Santos, Ryson Mauricio and Baba Merino all hit RBI singles as Kamehameha (3-1) cruised to a 5-0 lead after two innings.
It looked like the victory would come easy, but Pac-Five (1-2) finally showed some life and scratched back to make it 6-3 in the fourth on a double by Owen Simmons, singles by Paul Nishimura and Nick Fujii, three stolen bases and two Kamehameha errors.
"They're scrappy and Randy (Oyama, Wolfpack coach) has them believing they can win," Warriors coach Vern Ramie said. "They're ready to compete."
Kamehameha staved off the Pac-Five comeback by increasing its lead to 10-4 after five. Merino cracked his second RBI single in the fourth, while Mauricio delivered a two-run base hit to go along with JP Kennedy's sacrifice pop-up in the fifth.
"We're not really a power-hitting team," Ramie said. "But we do have a lot of guys who can make solid contact."
Still, the Wolfpack didn't go quietly, scoring two runs in the seventh on RBI groundouts by Simmons and Nishimura.
"We were showing signs of coming back," Oyama said. "We cut it in half at one point. So I'm not really upset the way we played."
The Wolfpack helped Kamehameha with five errors, and only six Warriors runs were earned.
Reliever Brandon Ogimi was the winning pitcher. He went 1 2/3 innings and allowed just one run. Starter David Parrow was lifted in the fourth.
"It was his first time out and he was doing well," Ramie said. "But he got into a bit of trouble. We could have kept him in, but we wanted to give some other guys an opportunity and see how they look."
Losing pitcher Tyler Inouye faced seven batters in a long first inning.
"He didn't start off as well as I would have liked," Oyama said. "That's unusual for him. He usually throws strikes. But Kamehameha battled him and fouled off a lot of pitches. He probably threw 30 pitches in that inning and then they got to him in the second."
Ruth, who is headed to the University of San Diego on a baseball scholarship, thought the Warriors played a solid game.
"I think today, more than any other game, we made the routine plays," he said. "That's what Coach has stressed on us."
At Ala Wai Field
Pac-Five (1-2) 000 310 2 -- 6 6 5 Kamehameha (3-1) 141 130 x -- 10 12 3 Tyler Inouye, Nick Miyamoto (2), Paul Nishimura (4) and Colby Holt; David Parrow, Brandon Ogimi (4), Kanekoa Texeira (6) and Baba Merino. W -- Ogimi.
Leading hitters -- Pac-Five: Jacob Meller 2-4; Owen Simmons 2b, RBI. Kam: Keoni Ruth 2-4, 3 runs, RBI; Ryson Mauricio 2-3, 2 runs, 3 RBIs; Merino 2-3, 2 RBIs.
DAMIEN 6, MID-PACIFIC 5
Elijah Souza's inside-the-park two-run homer in the second gave the Monarchs a 6-1 lead.At Ala Wai Field
Mid-Pacific (1-2-1) 010 103 0 -- 5 6 0 Damien (2-2) 420 000 x -- 6 7 1 Chris Freshour, Harrison Kuroda (1) and Kip Masuda and Jeff Mizokawa (3); Chase Masuda and Nick Zieser.
Leading hitters -- Mid-Pac: Kevin Whalen 2-4, RBI. Damien: Elijah Souza 2-3, HR, 2 RBIs; Sean Michael Stultzman 2 RBIs; Raymond Alapai 2 RBIs.
IOLANI 5, PUNAHOU 4
Kahiwa Letman drove in Travis Nishioka with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh as the Raiders improved to 4-0.At Iolani
Punahou 003 100 0 -- 4 10 0 Iolani 020 110 1 -- 5 7 4 Shaun Kiriu, Kasey Ko (6) and Robert Kurisu. Eric Muraoka, Jon Sakoda (3), Wally Marciel (5), Dustin Goto (7) and Kala Ka'aihue. W -- Goto.
Leading hitters -- Pun: Michael Lam 2-4, 2b; Mark Veneri 2-3, RBI; Landon Nakata 2-4, 2b, 2 RBIs; Kyle Kabei 2-3, RBI. Iol: Travis Nishioka 3-3, 2 runs, RBI; Kahiwa Letman 2-3, 2b, HR, 3 RBIs; Shawn Agustin 1-2, HR, RBI.
SAINT LOUIS 11, MARYKNOLL 1
Ryan Sasaki's three-run homer sparked the Crusaders' offensive onslaught.At Ala Wai Field
Reid Nakamura, Peter Kirst (4), Kory Kawaguchi (4) and Kawika Calizar; Ed Apostle, Bobby George (5) and Jowen Thornton-Murray, Pono Moises (5). W -- Apostle.
Leading hitters -- Mknl: Calizar 2-3. StL: Johnny Gentry 3b, RBI; George 2-3, 3b, 2 RBIs; Thornton-Murray 2-3; Ryan Sasaki 2-3, HR, 4 RBIs; Travis Gonzaga 2b, RBI.
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