Prep Beat

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Friday, March 28, 1997

DeRenne
stars for Raiders

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

Keoni DeRenne had one of the best days of his prep career in leading defending state champion Iolani to a 9-7 victory over Punahou yesterday at Ala Wai Field.

The 5-foot-6 shortstop, rated one of Baseball America's top 50 prep players, went 4-for-4 with a three-run homer, two doubles, a single and four RBIs.

But it was his respect for Punahou right-hander Justin Wayne that made his day.

The tall Stanford-bound recruit is Mr. Heat in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu these days. His deliveries average in the mid-80s and occasionally reach the high 80s.

He beat St. Louis on Saturday with 14 strikeouts.

"Justin's probably the best pitcher we're going to face all year and we had to do something to get our bats ready to face him," said DeRenne, an Arizona recruit.

"So, a few hours before the game, I had my friend, Kimo Saito, stand 30 feet away from me in the Iolani batting cage and fire away just so I could see a good live arm and get the timing down. He threw me a good 38 to 40 pitches."

DeRenne got three of his hits off Wayne, who took the loss. He scored three times -- twice against Wayne.

But it was after Wayne left the game that DeRenne belted his homer over the right-field fence, 330 feet deep.

"It was a curve ball inside that I waited on," said DeRenne. "God and the wind helped carry it out."

Iolani head coach Dean Yonamine, whose team is now 2-0, shook his head. "I think that was the best all-around game I've seen Keoni play in the six years I've been watching him," he said.

DeRenne also made several outstanding plays from short to first, robbing Punahou players of infield hits.

Yonamine said he told his players the same thing he told them when they beat Kamehameha and all-star right-hander Lanakila Niles, 6-4, Saturday at Aloha Stadium.

"I said that if we sit back and take strikes, then the guy is going to eat us alive. We had to come out, be aggressive, hit, run, and bunt," he said.

Greg Omori, who had a double and a triple off Wayne, said he was only able to hit fastballs.

"He's a real good pitcher and he gets strong in the later innings, so you can't wait to go after him." said Omori. "His slider is really hard to pick up."

Punahou first baseman Scooter Martines, a Texas Tech recruit, legged out a rip to deep left that rolled past the outfield for a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. That made the score, Iolani 5, Punahou 3.

Ryan Yamamoto got the win for Iolani. Akoni Ah Yat pitched one-third of an inning and picked up the save after Punahou (1-1) rallied for four runs in the seventh.

Iolani		003	024	0--9    16	1
Punahou		100	020	4--7    12	0

Ryan Yamamoto, Danny Kimura (5), Erik Yamamoto (7), Akoni Ah Yat (7) and Scott Tajima; Justin Wayne, Nick Torres (6), Kent Okihiro (6) and David Sugihara. W--Kimura. L--Torres.

Leading hitters--Iolani: Corin Korenaga, 2-5, 2 RBIs; Keoni DeRenne, 4-4, 2 2b, HR, 4 RBIs; Gregg Omori, 3-4, 2b, 3b, 2 RBIs; Mike Colosimo, 3-3. Punahou: Scooter Martines, 2-4, HR, 2 RBIs; Scott LaFountaine, 2-2, 2b; Matt Shido, 2-3, 2 RBIs; Blair Suzuki, 3-4, 2b, 3b, RBI.

Kamehameha 10, Maryknoll 4: At Joey DeSa Field, Manahakalani Cambra went 2-for-3, with a double and two RBIs.

Dane Sardinha, Shane Chan, and Paki Lum also paired hits for Kamehameha (1-1).

Kevin Higa went 3-for-3 for Maryknoll (0-2).

Kamehameha	312	010	3--10	10	0
Maryknoll	001	003	0-- 4	7	4

Robert Webster, Ludrigo Sanchez (3), John Koko (4), Dakanay Kea-alii (5), Gingao Allay (6), Ekolu Smith (6), Adrian Contreras (7) and Dane Sardinha; Rob Richards, Jon Teraizumi (5) and Dale Ibara. W--Webster. L--Richards.

Leading hitters--Kamehameha: Shane Chan, 2-2; Manahakalani Cambra, 2-3, 2b, 2 RBIs; Dane Sardinha, 2-4; Jesse Aloy, 2-3; Paki Lum, 2-3. Maryknoll: Kevin Higa, 3-3, 2b; Aaron Rauckhorse, 2-4; Blake Nakahara, 2-3.

Mid-Pacific 19, Damien 2: At Mid-Pacific, Duke Hom went 2-for-2 with two doubles and five RBIs to lead the Owls' (2-0) romp.

Mid-Pacific rapped out 15 hits to Damien's (1-1) two.

5 innings, 10-run rule

Mid-Pacific 	056	53--19	15	2
Damien		200	00-- 2	2	2

Kenneth Yamaoka, Chad Tanaka (5) and Chad Ramos, Jacob Flick (5); Chad Agustin, Chad Korenaga (3), Ian Murata (4) and Jeremy Vergason. W--Yamaoka. L--Agustin.

Leading hitters--Mid-Pacific: Cyrus Oh Young, 3-4, 2 2bs, 2 RBIs; Duke Hom, 2-2, 2 2bs, 5 RBIs; Lane Nogawa, 2-4, 2b, 3 RBIs; Rex Rundgren, 2-3, 2 RBIs; Ramos, HR.

St. Louis 13, UHS/HBA 10: At Moiliili Field, Chad Santos went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, a home run and three RBIs to leads St. Louis (1-1).

Mike Ganialongo and Jensen Muraoka each had a pair of hits for University High/Hawaii Baptist Academy (0-2).

St. Louis	004	602	1--13	17	1
UHBA		160	000	3--10	8	1

Kapena Lum, Kent Morimatsu (2), Jovautin Murray-Thornton (2), Gordon Schilling (6) and Kona Sampaio; Alan Arimoto, Nathan Pang (4), Brent Matsuda (6) and Mike Ganialongo. W--Murray-Thornton. L--Arimoto.

Leading hitters--St. Louis: Chad Santos, 4-5, 2 2b, 3b, HR, 3 RBIs; Sampaio, 2-3, RBI; Jandin Thornton-Murray, 2-4, 2 3b, 2 RBIs; Keola Loo, 2-3, RBI; Schilling, 3-4, 2b. UHBA: Jensen Muraoka, 2-3, RBI; Ganialongo, 2-4, RBI.