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Wednesday, March 22, 2000

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
St. Louis Brandon League pitcher scattered 10 hits and gave
up eight runs as the Saints beat Kamehameha yesterday
to improve their record to 2-0.

Saints in
a ‘League’
of their own

Brandon League scatters
10 hits to lead St. Louis past
Kamehameha, 11-8

By Tim Crouse
Special to the Star-Bulletin

The 300 or so fans and several pro scouts looking for a pitching duel were probably disappointed. But Brandon League still turned in a performance worth noting yesterday at Ala Wai Field.

After getting through six long innings, the St. Louis right-hander finished what he started against Kamehameha.

League allowed a leadoff hit in the seventh, then got three straight outs to finish a complete game, 11-8 victory over the Warriors in a highly anticipated Interscholastic League of Honolulu matchup. League and Kamehamemeha starter Kahi Kaanoi are both top pro prospects.

The Crusaders improved to 2-0 in the ILH, while the Warriors fell to 1-1.

League, who Baseball America magazine rated as the eighth-best junior in the country, had discussed the possibility of pitching a complete game with his coach.

"We decided we were going to go with our best and go with him the distance," St. Louis coach Wade Okamura said. "We used him sparingly in the preseason so we thought he had enough left."

Despite giving up eight runs, League said he felt he still had a lot of juice left in his arm in the seventh.

After the leadoff single, League struck out the next two hitters - one on a fastball and the other on a breaking ball - and then induced a game-ending ground ball.

After rough middle innings where he frittered away a 6-0 lead, League proved nearly unhittable in the sixth and seventh, striking out five batters.

He wasn't even fazed when he had to work to get four outs in the sixth inning. Joshua Martin reached base after striking out on a wild pitch but League quickly picked him off first.

"I was pleased with (how I pitched) toward the end," said League, who finished with nine strikeouts. "I was really thinking."

"Brandon showed a lot of poise," Okamura said. "He got rocked, but he hung in there. He had a lot of confidence in the offense and defense and we came back."

The game never had a chance to turn into a pitcher's duel.

Kaanoi struck out the side in the first inning, but not before the Crusaders scored six times on four hits and two errors.

While Kaanoi settled into a groove and racked up strikeouts, League got rocked for eight runs on seven extra-base hits in the fourth and fifth innings.

By that time though, Kaanoi had begun to tire. He was knocked out of the game in the sixth with the score tied at 8-8 after he gave up a walk and then hit a batter.

Gerald Welch then drove a ball into right centerfield, knocking in what would be the winning run. An error and wild pitch allowed the final two runs.

"I settled down (after the first inning), but threw too many pitches and in the end it caught up to me," Kaanoi said.

Okamura said different pitches were working for League at different times, and he probably wasn't always able to hit his spots because it's so early in the season and he hasn't had a chance to get into a rhythm.

"We hope that each outing (League) gets more consistent," Okamura said.

The teams meet again April 15.

Kamehameha	000	530	0--	8	10	4
St. Louis	600	113	x--11	9	1

Kahi Kaanoi, Shane Briones (6) and Kai Yamashita. Brandon League and NIcholas Tudisco (1) and Kyle Abe; Ethan Wayne and Travis Mitsuda. W--League. L--Kaanoi.

Leading hitters--St. Louis: Joe Cabansag, 2-3, RBI; Isaac Harbottle, 3b, 3 RBIs; Gerald Welch, 2-3, 2 RBIs. Kamehameha: Tyler Perkins, 3b; Ikaika DuPont, 2b, RBI; Bronson Sardinha, 3-4, 2b, HR, 3 RBIs; Alika Kuraoka, 2-4, HR, 3b, 2 RBIs; Kai Yamashita, 2-4, 2b.

Iolani 10, UHBA 0:

Ethan Wayne allowed only four hits over five innings, and the host Raiders improved to 2-0 in a game shortened to five innings due to the 10-run rule.

University/Hawaii Baptist fell to 0-2 despite two hits by Kyle Abe.

UHBA	000	00--	0		4	3
Iolani	701	02--10	11	0

John Kato, Matt Bninsky (1) and Kyle Abe; Ethan Wayne and Travis Mitsuda. W--Wayne. L--Kato.

Leading hitters--UHBA: Abe, 2-2. Iol: Ryan Ishizu, 2-3, 2b, 2 RBIs; Brad Takamori, 2-3, 2b; Jason Teruya, 2-3, 2 RBIs; Brent Wong, 2-3; Tyler Kimura, 2b.

MID-PACIFIC 5, DAMIEN 3:

Ricky Bauer got out of a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh inning to save the win for the host Owls (2-0).

The Monarchs fell to 0-2.

Damien	200	001	0--3	6	1
Mid-Pacific	020	120	x--5	8	1

Ryan Lancaster, Bobby Haruno (5) and Marshall Sebay; Eric Lum, Keric Chang (5), Bobby Kumasaki (6), Ricky Bauer (7) and Bryan Tanabe. W--Lum. L--Lancaster. S--Bauer.

Leading hitters--Damien: Matthew DeRego, 2-3; Austen Ito, 2-3; Ryan Lancaster, 2-3. Mid-Pacific: Kevin Khan, 3-3, 2b.

PUNAHOU 6, MARYKNOLL 2:

Reid Matsushima struck out 10 in going the distance for the Buffanblu (1-1). Matsushima allowed only four hits.

Ryan Murashige's two-run triple keyed Punahou's four-run sixth.

The Spartans fell to 0-2 in the game at Ala Wai Field.

Maryknoll	000	001	1--2	4	1
Punahou	020	004	x--6	8	1

Cruz Hatanaka, Ryan Randall (6) and Kevin Sunada; Reid Matsushima and Randal Mizuno. W--Matsushima. L--Hatanaka.

Leading hitters--Maryknoll: Sam Ortiz, 2b. Punahou: Ryan Murashige, 2-3, 3b, 3 RBIs.