BASEBALL
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Todd Nagamine, left, congratulated Mid-Pacific teammate Derek Tan after Tan scored against Punahou yesterday.
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MPI’s Muramaru gets 400th victory
Although he'd just reached a coaching milestone, Dunn Muramaru wasn't about to take credit for the latest addition to his career win total.
Mid-Pacific third baseman Michael Arakaki's RBI double in the bottom of the seventh gave the second-ranked Owls a 3-2 win over No. 3 Punahou yesterday, capping a rally that sealed Muramaru's 400th victory and left the veteran coach shaking his head.
"These guys just amaze me," said Muramaru, who accumulated those wins over 10 years at Kalani and the last two decades at MPI.
"I just go over there," he said, nodding toward the third-base coaches box, "and these guys play the game. ... I'm not doing anything, this is a special group of guys."
It was Punahou that looked to be on the path to a dramatic win when the Buffanblu tied the game in the sixth inning on Zachary Kometani's RBI single, then went ahead in the seventh on Harrison Ishida's towering home run to center.
But, as they've done throughout the Interscholastic League of Honolulu season, the Owls shrugged off the setbacks to score twice in the bottom of the seventh and improve to 11-1 in league play. MPI, hunting for its first state tournament berth since 2004, remains tied with top-ranked Saint Louis atop the ILH standings.
"I looked in the dugout (after Ishida's homer) and it was kinda like, 'OK, we're down one,' " Muramaru said.
"We always feel we can come from behind," said MPI catcher Aaron Fujiki. "We just trust in each other and it happens like that. They're going to get on, we're going to move him over and the next person's going to drive him in."
That's exactly how the Owls produced the tying run. With momentum tilting toward Punahou, Easton Torigoe was hit by a pitch to lead off the seventh and advanced to second on Mikey Nagamine's sacrifice bunt. Derek Tan, who had a double and a triple earlier in the game, then singled up the middle to drive in Torigoe with the tying run.
Nick Tasaka reached on an error, putting runners on first and second for Arakaki, and the Owls' eighth-place hitter ended the game with his drive into the right-center-field gap.
"I was looking for a fastball away because he threw me away the whole at-bat," Arakaki said. "I got the fastball and I just dropped my hands on the ball."
MPI starter Dane Kinoshita shut out the Buffanblu through five innings, striking out three and giving up four hits before being lifted in the sixth. The Owls' rally gave reliever Matthew McDaniel the win.
The outcome overshadowed a gritty effort by Punahou right-hander Reece Kiriu. The senior twice worked out of bases-loaded jams to keep the Buffanblu in the game, but couldn't escape the Owls' final rally.
The loss closed a rough weekend for the four-time defending state champion Buffanblu, who dropped to 7-4-1 with back-to-back losses to Iolani and MPI.
Punahou (7-4-1) |
000 |
001 |
1 |
-- |
2 |
5 |
4
|
Mid-Pacific (11-1) |
000 |
100 |
2 |
-- |
3 |
7 |
0 |
Reece Kiriu and Zachary Kometani; Dane Kinoshita, Matthew McDaniel (6) and Aaron Fujiki. W--McDaniel. L--Kiriu.
Leading hitters--Punahou: Matthew Suiter, 2b; Harrison Ishida, HR. Mid-Pacific: Derek Tan, 3-3, 2b, 3b, RBI; Michael Arakaki, 2b RBI.
No. 1 Saint Louis 12, Iolani 5
Danny Higa went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs and scoring twice to lead the Crusaders' balanced scoring attack past the Raiders at Ala Wai Community Park.
Saint Louis pounced early, knocking out Iolani starter Sheldon Lee with a seven-run second inning. The win keeps the Crusaders atop the ILH standings.
Iolani (6-6) |
202 |
000 |
1 |
-- |
5 |
7 |
7
|
Saint Louis (11-1) |
070 |
320 |
x |
-- |
12 |
9 |
4 |
Sheldon Lee, Trent Miyashiro (2), Breland Almadova (3), Ronnie Hirokawa (5), J.R. Bunda (6) and Grant Iwamoto. Kyle Watase, Jordan Akau (3), Noah Siegfried (5) and Keoni Haina. W--Akau. L--Lee.
Leading hitters--Iolani: Almadova 2-4, 2 runs; Brennan Nacario 2-4, 3b, 2 runs, 2 RBIs. Saint Louis: Danny Higa, 2-4, 2b, 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Tamatoa DeMello 2-4, RBI, 2 runs; Moses Samia 3b, RBI, 2 runs.
Kamehameha 11, Pac-Five 4
Piikea Kitamura and Kalei Hanawahine had three RBIs apiece as the hard-hitting Warriors routed the Wolfpack at Ala Wai Community Park.
Pac-Five employed five pitchers to no avail as Kamehameha amassed 15 hits.
Patrick Akana pitched in relief of starter David Lee to pick up the win.
Kamehameha (6-5-1) |
052 |
010 |
3 |
-- |
11 |
15 |
1
|
Pac-Five (2-11) |
101 |
020 |
0 |
-- |
4 |
6 |
0 |
David Lee, Patrick Akana (2) and Ila Nakamura. Jordan Kumasaka, Tyler Moon (2), Ryan Ueunten (2), Joey Maekawa (3), Shayne Nakata (5) and Reid Morihara. W--Akana. L--Kumasaka.
Leading hitters--Kamehameha: Keanu Carmichael 3-3, 3b, 3 runs, RBI; Piikea Kitamura 3-4, 3 RBIs, 2 runs; Kalei Hanawahine 2-4, 2 2bs, 3 RBIs; Makana Ramie 2-4, 2 3bs, 2 runs; T.C. Campbell 3-4, 3b, RBI, 3 runs. Pac-Five: Travis Ogimi 2-3, RBI, run.
Damien 8, Maryknoll 2
The Monarchs built a five-run lead in the first and D.J. Andrade pitched six solid innings to earn the win against the Spartans at Ala Wai Community Park.
Travis Derby paced Damien, hitting 3-for-4 and driving in two while also pitching in the seventh to secure the victory.
Maryknoll (0-11) |
100 |
100 |
0 |
-- |
2 |
9 |
2
|
Damien (4-8) |
510 |
101 |
x |
-- |
8 |
10 |
1 |
Craig Shoji, Gavin Oyadomari (4) and David Nishiki. D.J. Andrade, Travis Derby (7) and Darby Ventura. W--Andrade. L--Shoji.
Leading hitters--Maryknoll: Josh Arakaki 2-4, 2b, run; Matt Guzman 3-3, 2b, RBI; Travor Saiki, 2-3, 2b, run. Damien: Andrade 3b, 3 runs; Derby 3-4, 2b, run, 2 RBIs; Chris Wakazuru 2-3.
BIIF
Hilo 3, Kamehameha-Hawaii 1
The Vikings scored all three runs in the first inning and held on to defeat the host Warriors.
Dustin Devera and Anson Arakaki had two hits each to lead Hilo's batters.
Makana Cazimero went 2-for-2 at bat for Kamehameha in the loss.
Hilo (5-1) |
300 |
000 |
0 |
-- |
3 |
7
|
KS-Hawaii (4-2) |
001 |
000 |
0 |
-- |
1 |
8 |
W--Kendal Ushijima. L--Makana Hirota.
Leading hitters--Hilo: Dustin Devera 2-4; Anson Arakaki 2-4. Kamehameha-Hawaii: Kolten Wong 2-3; Russell Kackley 2-3; Makana Cazimero 2-2.