HHSAA BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
Rain plays havoc with baseball tourney
Waiakea, Kaiser advance to quarterfinals
By Fred Guzman
Special to the Star-Bulletin
WAILUKU, Maui » The scheduled start of the game was delayed by 62 minutes because of rain. Its conclusion will be delayed until this morning, weather permitting.
HHSAA BASEBALL
At Iron Maehara Stadium
Seeds: 1. Aiea. 2. Kamehameha. 3. Baldwin. 4. Kamehameha-Hawaii.
YESTERDAY
Game 1: Waiakea 3, Moanalua 2
2: Kaiser 10, Waimea 3
TODAY
3: Kailua vs. Punahou, 9 a.m.
4: Castle vs. Maui, 11:30 a.m.
6: Game 3 winner vs. Kamehameha-Hawaii
7: Kaiser vs. Kamehameha
8: Game 4 winner vs. Aiea
9: Waiakea vs. Baldwin
TOMORROW
5: Losers of Games 3 & 4
10: Moanalua vs. Waimea
11: Losers of Games 6 & 8, 12:30 p.m.
12: Losers of Games 9 & 7, 3 p.m.
13: Winners of Games 6 & 8, 5:30 p.m.
14: Winners of Games 9 & 7, 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
15: Winners of Games 10 & 5, noon
16: Winners of Games 12 & 11, 2:30 p.m.
17: Losers of Games 14 & 13, 5 p.m.
18: Winners of Games 14 & 13, 8 p.m.
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That was the water-soaked solution arrived at by state high baseball tournament school officials last night after rain suspended play in yesterday's first-round game between Punahou and Kailua at Iron Maehara Stadium. The Buffanblu were leading the Surfriders 6-3 going into the bottom of the fourth at the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball Tournament.
"The Punahou-Kailua game will be resumed at 9 a.m. and the next (between Maui High and Castle) will follow immediately after that," HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya said.
No admission will be charged for the first two games. The stadium will be cleared, and admission will be charged for the four quarterfinal games in their scheduled order.
Two games were completed yesterday, with Waiakea defeating Moanalua 3-2 and Kaiser beating Waimea 10-3.
Consolation bracket games were tentatively scheduled to be played tomorrow, most likely at nearby Maui High School.
"The field is unplayable, according to the umpires, particularly behind the first-base area," Amemiya said. "The teams were having difficulty running the base paths, and the fielders were having problems defensively because of the condition of the field."
Amemiya noted that the last time a state baseball tournament was impacted by rain was "about 10 years ago," and that the championship games in the past
two state softball tournaments were played on Sundays because of adverse weather conditions.
Punahou jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on RBI singles by Bucky Aiona and Paul Snieder, followed by Zachary Kometani's sacrifice fly.
Kailua rebounded with three of its own in the top of the second on RBI singles by Rayner Yokoi and Preston Nakata sandwiched around a run-scoring wild pitch.
But Punahou added a pair of runs in the bottom of the second on the second of Aiona's three RBI singles and a double by starting pitcher Jeeter Ishida.
The Buffanblu picked up another run in the third when courtesy runner Colin Viloria scored on a fielder's choice.
Waiakea 3, Moanalua 2
Seemingly headed for a first-round victory, the OIA runner-up Menehunes found out that a 2-0 lead was not enough against the Warriors.
Waiakea erupted for a trio of runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to earn a berth against third-seeded Baldwin. Moanalua was relegated to the consolation bracket, next facing Waimea.
Waiakea's Scott Ichinotsubo triggered the comeback with a leadoff double to left and Kevin Sagawa was hit by a pitch. Both runners advanced on an infield grounder, and Ichinotsubo came home on Kevin Seaver's sacrifice fly. Jarom Lee and Kekoa Yockman followed with run-scoring singles to left.
Darren Takasaki, a 6-4 senior right-hander, went the distance for the Warriors, limiting Moanalua to a pair of infield hits.
The Menehunes scored both of their runs in the fifth on a pair of errors, a hit batsman and a single that allowed John Estores and Kekoa Lee to cross the plate.
Moanalua (11-3) |
000 |
020 |
0 |
-- |
2 |
2 |
1 |
Waiakea (10-2) |
000 |
003 |
x |
-- |
3 |
6 |
3 |
Michael Amorozo, Jared Coloma (6), Peter Arakawa (6) and Wayde Iwanaga. Daren Takasaki and Rory Inouye.
W--Takasaki.
L--Amorozo.
Leading hitters--Waik: Scott Ichinotsubo 2b; Kekoa Yockman 2-3, RBI.
Kaiser 10, Waimea 3
The KIF champions proved no match for Kaiser as the Cougars amassed 10 hits and 10 runs while capitalizing on three Waimea errors in the opening three innings.
Kaiser will face second-seeded Kamehameha.
The game was delayed by rain for 33 minutes with one out in the top of the fifth. Once play resumed, Kaiser came within a dropped fly of ending the game via the mercy rule. Brenden Hew followed with an RBI triple to deep center, keeping the contest alive.
Junior right-hander Toby Inouye went six innings for Kaiser, allowing five hits and one unearned run. Inouye had five strikeouts while walking three.
Randy Austin came on in relief in the seventh to close out the game, but not before allowing a pair of unearned runs.
Offensively, Kaiser was led by Nainea Baird, Colby Ho and Jarryd Maeda. Baird had three hits and three RBIs. Ho had a pair of hits, scored twice and drove in two. Maeda had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run.
Kaiser (12-2) |
361 |
000 |
0 |
-- |
10 |
11 |
3 |
Waimea (11-2) |
000 |
010 |
2 |
-- |
3 |
6 |
4 |
Toby Inouye, Andy Uehara (7) and Jarryd Maeda. Kelly Batis, Bradley Frasco (2) and Brenden Hew.
W--Inouye.
L--Batis.
Leading hitters--Kais: Colby Ho 2-2, 2b, 2 RBIs; Kahanu Chan 2b, RBI; Maeda 2-4; Nanea Baird 3-4, 2b, 3 RBIs. Waim: Hew 2-4, 3b.