Outram helps Iolani muscle past Damien 7-0
If Iolani ace Kelsey Outram is still hurting from a strained back muscle he suffered on a recent California road trip, he sure didn't show it last night.
The junior threw a complete-game two-hitter and struck out nine to help the No. 2 Raiders defeat Damien 7-0 in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu baseball game at Central Oahu Regional Park.
At one point between the second and fifth innings, Outram retired 10 straight batters, and dominated the Monarchs with an effective mixture of crisp fastballs and timely breaking balls.
"He was tough, he was definitely on tonight," said Iolani head coach Dean Yonamine. "He strained something in his back when we were on the mainland because it was so cold and he didn't get warm properly. He's been feeling the effects of that in the last couple games he's pitched. But, everything was nice and loose (today), and he threw a lot of strikes, that's the main thing."
The Raiders (17-10, 6-2 ILH) struck first with four runs in the top of the second inning thanks to a fundamentally-sound offensive approach and two Monarch miscues. Brennan Nacario led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Lionel Fujioka's sharp single up the middle. Daniel Takami then singled to drive in Fujioka -- who had advanced to third after stealing two bases -- on a line drive to left field.
Takami then moved to second on a Rylan Morihara sacrifice bunt and took third when Damien starter Bryson Namba hurled the ball into center field on a botched pick-off attempt. Case Miyahira then reached on a walk and Namba induced Reyn Nagamine to fly out to deep right field. But right fielder Dylan Mopas slipped, dropped the ball, and the blunder allowed both Takami and Miyahira to score instead of ending the inning.
"That's how we need to approach things, and we can take advantage of what the other team gives us and hit with runners in scoring position," Yonamine said.
Iolani added two more runs in the fourth, and built a 6-0 lead when Miyahira laced a triple down the right-field line to drive in Takami and Morihara, who had singled and walked, respectively.
The Raiders added an insurance run in the sixth when catcher Grant Iwamoto's bloop single to left field brought in Takami -- who had reached after being hit by a pitch -- from third base.
Damien (3-5 ILH), fresh off Saturday's upset of Mid-Pacific, looked like an entirely different team. In addition to the two errors, Monarch pitchers Namba and Jonathan Awa combined to walk nine batters, and hit two more -- essentially giving Iolani 13 more outs to work with.
Brennan Alejo and Douglas Andrade were the lone Damien hitters to get hits -- both singles -- off Outram.
The game was delayed approximately half an hour due to very bright sunlight in dead-center field, which made seeing the ball nearly impossible. Umpires waited until it set behind the Waianae Mountain Range before allowing the first pitch.
At Central Oahu Regional Park
Iolani (6-2) |
040 |
201 |
0 |
-- |
7 |
8 |
2
|
Damien (3-5) |
000 |
000 |
0 |
-- |
0 |
2 |
2
|
Kelsey Outram and Grant Iwamoto. Bryson Namba, Jonathan Awa (5) and Darby Ventura. W--Outram. L--Namba.
Leading hitters--Iol: Case Miyahira 3B, 2 RBIs; Lionel Fujioka 2-3, RBI; Daniel Takami 2-3, 3 runs, RBI.
ILH Division II add
Kamehameha 48, La Pietra 29
High scorers--KS: Jamie Ferrigno 11. LP: Leah Kaina 7.