HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Pac-Five third baseman Tony Onitsuka went to the air for a wide throw as Kamehameha's Aaron Nichols stole third.
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Kirst helps Wolf Pack down Warriors
Peter Kirst's fingers were bleeding, but he didn't mind.
Kirst pitched six innings and struck out 10 last night to lead Pac-Five to a 4-3 victory over Kamehameha in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu baseball game at Aloha Stadium.
Kirst tried to keep his hand clean, and his baseball pants also had blood smeared on them.
"That's what happens when you snap the ball (on a curveball). It literally tears the skin," Kirst said. "My curve was breaking really good, and my fastball was working because I was able to keep it low. All of their hits were when I threw high."
Pac-Five is off to a 1-0 start and Kamehameha is still looking for its first win at 0-2.
"This is definitely something new for Pac-Five," said Wolf Pack coach Todd Koishigawa, whose team hasn't been a serious ILH contender for the last few years. "We've got a well-rounded team. We've got some pitching and we can put the ball in play. As long as we keep our heads inside our helmets, we'll be OK. We made some mistakes, some serious baserunning (mistakes), but the good thing is that they're all correctable."
The Wolf Pack made three baserunning gaffes, including two in the fifth to stall a potential multi-run inning, and two fielding errors.
Kendal Tanigawa pulled through for Pac-Five's winning hit in the top of the sixth. With the score tied at 3, he drilled a single to right-center field to score Tony Onitsuka.
The Warriors couldn't answer. Parker McCready singled off Kirst in the sixth and stole second, but that was as close as Kamehameha came to tying it up. Kirst struck out the side in the sixth and reliever Onitsuka fanned two and hit a batter while finishing up in the seventh to earn a save.
"We had some opportunities, but didn't cash 'em in," Warriors coach Vern Ramie said. "It's a long season and there's a lot of games to play. We need to play better than we're playing now."
Pac-Five was happy with the start of its season.
"We stuck together as a team," said Kirst, before departing for the team bus after the game. "We're all from different schools, but when we go out there on the field, it's as a team."
At Aloha Stadium
Pac-Five (1-0) |
000 |
211 |
0 |
-- |
4 |
9 |
2
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Kamehameha (0-2) |
100 |
110 |
0 |
-- |
3 |
5 |
1 |
Peter Kirst, Tony Onitsuka (7) and Aaron Chilcote. John Worthington Jr., Waylen Sing Chow (5), Kapono Chang (6) and Stuart Kam. W--Kirst. L--Sing Chow. S--Onitsuka.
Leading hitters--P5: Ryan Taketa 3-4; Ross Yamato 2-4; Kama Moises 3b, RBI; Aaron Chilcote 2b. Kam: Sing Chow 3b.
Iolani 9, Punahou 6
Iolani erupted for four runs in the top of the 12th inning to knock off two-time defending champion Punahou in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu baseball game yesterday at Aloha Stadium.
Case Miyahira got the Raiders' 12th-inning rally started with a two-out triple and Brett Hasegawa and Chris Johnson pulled through with RBI singles to lead the rally.
"It was two good teams that went after it toe to toe," Punahou coach Eric Kadooka said. "They were able to push the runs over and we weren't able to answer. When it's Iolani and Punahou, it's got that little extra. They were able to wiggle out of a lot of things and had the perseverance to beat us. It was a long game with a lot of emotion."
The Raiders outhit the Buffanblu 17-12 and snuffed out Punahou's comeback attempt in the bottom of the 12th.
Reliever Kelsey Outram, Iolani's third pitcher, came on in the ninth and went the rest of the way for the victory.
The only run he allowed came in the last half-inning.
At Aloha Stadium
Iolani (2-0) |
200 |
201 |
000 |
004 |
-- |
9 |
17 |
1
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Punahou (1-1) |
004 |
100 |
000 |
001 |
-- |
6 |
12 |
2 |
Wally Marciel, Jon Okada (7), Kelsey Outram (9) and Jarvis Nohara; Carl Graves, Jeeter Ishida (4), Paul Snieder (10) and Zachary Kometani. W-Outram. L--Snieder.
Leading hitters: Iol--Case Miyahira 2-6, 3B, RBI; Marciel 2b; Brett Hasegawa 3-7, 2 RBIs; Nohara 2-5; Pun--Maika Murashige 2-4; Matt Suiter 3-3, 2 2bs, RBI, Zachary Kometani 3-5, 3 RBIs.