CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Roosevelt's Kelson Okimoto pitched a six-hitter and the Rough Riders beat Leilehua in the OIA tourney yesterday.
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Rough Riders advance in OIA Red
When the sun is over Punchbowl, the Roosevelt Rough Riders are just about the only team that won't be blinded by the light.
Kelson Okimoto scattered six hits and shortstop Casen Tanabe sparked a 10-hit attack as Roosevelt ousted Leilehua 8-2 yesterday in the opening round of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference baseball playoffs at Stevenson Middle School.
Roosevelt (7-6) advanced to the quarterfinals and will visit third-ranked Pearl City today. The Rough Riders are one win away from a state-tournament berth, and by qualifying for the quarterfinals, they could lose and still have a shot at one of the OIA's five state slots.
Leilehua finished the season 4-9 in league play.
Tanabe went 3-for-3, including a bases-loaded triple, and Lowen Kahooilihala drove in two runs. Kahooilihala moved down to No. 9 in the lineup, but it wasn't a demotion.
"Lowen normally bats in the meat of the lineup, but Casen and Aaron (Yamane) have been getting on base more," coach Craig Arakawa said.
With the sun sitting behind Punchbowl -- and behind home plate -- the visiting Mules had trouble with liners and fly balls to the outfield.
"It was a home-field advantage," Leilehua coach Mike Kim said. "But they're a great team. (Okimoto) kept us off balance."
Despite some early struggles, Okimoto finished with four strikeouts and just two walks. "I had trouble placing the fastball and I didn't have my curveball," said Okimoto, a senior left-hander. "We moved the fastball and changeup around. The defense did everything."
Leilehua got on the board in the top of the second with a two-out single to right by Bret Watanuki, scoring Bronson Smithe from third.
The Rough Riders tied it in the bottom of the second with an unearned run. Tanabe singled and went to second when the ball squirted away from center fielder Joseph Lorenzo. A single to center by Kahooilihala brought Tanabe home.
Leilehua starter Brett Nakasone retired the first two batters in the third, but issued consecutive walks to Tyler Nitahara, Rylan Ikehara and Sean Matsumoto. Tanabe then belted an 0-1 pitch to deep center field, where Lorenzo's diving try near the Stevenson Middle School P.E. building came up short.
The bases-clearing triple gave Roosevelt a 4-1 lead. The normal tradewinds that blow in from the Koolaus were nonexistent yesterday.
"I didn't know it was going that far," Tanabe said.
The Rough Riders added a run in the fourth on Zac Hamasaki's sacrifice fly, scoring Kahooilihala.
They added three unearned runs in the fifth frame against reliever Desmond Ontai. Kahooilihala's triple down the right-field line scored Tanabe and Yamane for an 8-1 Roosevelt lead.
Leilehua managed one more run in the seventh on Darren Baccay's double to left, scoring Watanuki. Baccay got caught in a rundown, however, and was tagged out short of third base.
Arakawa was concerned about Leilehua's penchant for comeback wins, but Okimoto didn't let up.
"Toward the end, Kelson was getting ahead," he said.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
After going to the fence to catch a pop foul for an out, Kaimuki catcher Mikki Morihara charged and tagged out Kailua baserunner Krista Dumandan, who was attempting attempting to score from third base in the third inning yesterday. Kailua won 2-0.
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Leilehua (4-9) |
010 |
000 |
1 |
-- |
2 |
6 |
2
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Roosevelt (7-6) |
013 |
130 |
0 |
-- |
8 |
10 |
1 |
Brett Nakasone, Desmond Ontai (4), Darren Baccay (5) and Jayson Cabalce. Kelson Okimoto and Tyler Nitahara. W--Okimoto. L--Nakasone.
Leading hitters--Leilehua: Baccay 2-3, 2b, RBI. Roosevelt: T.J. Bae 2-4, 2b, RBI; Zach Hamasaki 2-3, RBI; Casey Tanabe 3-3, 3b, 2b, 3 RBIs, 2 runs; Lowen Kahooilihala 2-3, 3b, 2 RBIs, 2 runs.
Waianae 15, Kalani 6
Ben McQuown slugged a three-run home run in the sixth inning to help rally the Seariders past the visiting Falcons.
Bryce Tamatani's two-run single in the fourth staked the Falcons to a 6-3 lead before Waianae closed to within a run in the fifth inning. The Seariders exploded for 10 runs in the sixth, batting around before McQuown cranked his shot to left. Waianae travels to play Castle today.
Kalani (4-9) |
020 |
400 |
0 |
-- |
6 |
8 |
3
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Waianae (8-5) |
210 |
02(10) |
x |
-- |
15 |
13 |
3 |
Dylan Von Wiegandt, Dillon Matsuda (5), Peter Soares (6), Gavin Okada (6), Cody Hironaga (6) and Kiel Odo. Kalei Hensley, Daniel Madrano (4), Hensley (5), Edgar Pajarillo (7) and R.J. Tacgere-Bailey. W--Hensley. L--Von Wiegandt.
Leading hitters--Kalani: Wataru Noguchi 2-3, 2b, run; Okada 2-3; Jake Massey 2-3. Waianae: Tacgere-Bailey 2-5; Ben McQuown 4-5, HR; Aina Kalaola-Meyer 2-3; Joe Fredricks 2-4.
No. 10 Kaiser 8, Kapolei 1
Cal Tashiro led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run and Pono Meyer added a two-run shot four batters later as the host Cougars slugged their way past the Hurricanes.
Zach Wong went the distance for the Cougars, striking out five and allowing one unearned run. Kaiser takes on Aiea at Central Oahu Regional Park tonight.
Kapolei (3-10) |
000 |
010 |
0 |
-- |
1 |
5 |
1
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Kaiser (9-4) |
300 |
104 |
x |
-- |
8 |
13 |
4 |
Cristian Nazareno, Kalani Omoto (1) and Brandon Damas. Zach Wong and Bryce Marcouiller. W--Wong. L--Nazareno.
Leading hitters--Kapolei: Kalani Brackenridge 2-3. Kaiser: Cal Tashiro 2-3, HR, 2 RBIs; Pono Meyer 4-4, HR, 2b, 2 RBIs; James Kawashima 2-4, 2b, RBI; Landon Nakai 1-1, 2b, RBI.
Campbell 8, Moanalua 7
Consecutive misplayed bunts in the sixth proved disastrous for Na Menehune in a loss to the host Sabers.
Moanalua fielding errors on bunts by Allyn Oliva-Respicio and Kia Kapena led to two runs scored in a three-run sixth.
Down by three, Moanalua's Reid Matsumoto slugged an inside-the-park home run to right-center. Daniel Sugihara immediately followed up with a run-scoring single before Oliva-Respicio retired the side to secure the win. Campbell plays at Kailua today.
Moanalua (6-7) |
210 |
020 |
2 |
-- |
7 |
11 |
2
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Campbell (8-5) |
003 |
023 |
x |
-- |
8 |
10 |
4 |
Dae Yang Kim, Landon Yoshikawa (5), Kenson Miyagi (6) and Chris Liu-Saquid. Keanu Kapana, Charles Kaalekahi (2), Allyn Oliva-Respicio (7) and Cameron Howser. W--Kaalekahi. L--Miyagi. S--Oliva-Respicio.
Leading hitters--Moanalua: Reid Matsumoto 3-3, HR, 3 runs, RBI; Timothy Arakawa 3-4, 3b, 2 RBIs; Daniel Sugihara 2-4, 2 RBIs. Campbell: Keanu Kapana 2-2, 2 RBIs, run; Kaalekahi 3b, 2 RBIs; Kia Kapana 1-3, 2 runs.
BIIF
Keaau 7, KS-Hawaii 7, 8 inn.
The seesaw affair between the Cougars and the host Warriors went for naught as darkness put a halt to the extra-inning game with the teams tied 7-7.
Kamehameha squandered its opportunities throughout, committing five errors and stranding 13 runners on base.
Starting pitcher Blake Amaral kept the Warriors close, allowing only two earned runs and striking out six in a complete-game effort.
Keaau (7-2-1) |
200 |
302 |
00 |
-- |
7 |
10 |
2
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KS-Hawaii (7-2-1) |
212 |
002 |
0x |
-- |
7 |
9 |
5 |
Andrew Gouveia, Kaeo Schweitzer (3) and Liloa Lecker-Tolentino. Blake Amaral and Kolten Wong.
Leading hitters--Keaau: Keaka Pilayo 3-4, 2 RBIs, run. Kamehameha-Hawaii: Wong 3-4, 2b, RBI, run; Alex Gerken 2-3, RBI, 2 runs.
OIA RED WEST SOFTBALL
No. 1 Mililani 9, No. 3 Kapolei 3
Kristi Oshiro hit a two-run double to left-center field to drive in two runs in the sixth inning, and Jaimee Aiwohi singled to right-center to drive in two more as the top-ranked Trojans beat the Hurricanes at Central Oahu Regional Park.
Makani Duhaylonsod went the distance, striking out three.
Kapolei (7-5) |
000 |
030 |
0 |
— |
3 |
8 |
3 |
Mililani (11-1) |
003 |
105 |
x |
— |
9 |
9 |
0 |
Kahana Higa and Ashlyn Ashby. Makani Duhaylonsod and Rebecca Lee. W—Duhaylonsod. L—Higa.
Leading hitters—Kapolei: Tehani Kaaihue 1-4, RBI; Deja Manubag 2-4; Cherece Beyer 2-3, 2b: Dorian Acierto 2-3, 2b, RBI. Mililani: Kristi Oshiro 1-3, 2b, 2 RBIs; Chanelle Senas 2-4; Courtney Senas 2-4, 2 RBIs; Jaimee Aiwohi 2-4, 2 RBIs.
OIA RED EAST SOFTBALL
Kailua 2, Kaimuki 0
Amanda Vegas tripled to left field in the fourth inning and scored on an illegal pitch as the Surfriders beat the Bulldogs at Central Oahu Regional Park.
Kaimuki (5-6) |
000 |
000 |
0 |
-- |
0 |
3 |
1
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Kailua (7-4) |
001 |
100 |
x |
-- |
2 |
5 |
1 |
Genesis Fruen and Mikki Morihara. Jaelleen Johnson and Johnna-Lynn Pedro. W--Johnson. L--Fruen.
Leading hitters--Kaimuki: Fruen 2-3. Kailua: Amanda Vegas 1-2, 3b, run.