Saturday, May 5, 2001

[ PREP BASEBALL ]

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GEORGE F. LEE / STAR-BULLETIN
Roosevelt baserunner Blake Isobe slid into third base as Kailua
third baseman Chris Ching bobbled the ball yesterday.

Rough Riders
rally past Surfriders

Roosevelt moves within
percentage points
of first place

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By Jason Kaneshiro
Star-Bulletin

ROOSEVELT RELIEVER Chris Mols was stung on the face by a flying insect moments before taking the mound in yesterday's Oahu Interscholastic Association baseball game against Kailua. But it was his curveball that left the Surfriders smarting.

Mols, a junior left-hander, preserved a 7-6 Roosevelt win at Kailua's field by striking out four of the eight batters he faced, shortly after being stung while warming up alongside the Roosevelt dugout.

"I thought it was good luck," said Mols, still rubbing the right side of his face. "I don't know if it was a wasp or what."

With the win, Roosevelt improved to 6-2, percentage points behind Kaiser, which improved to 5-1-1 with a win over Kalaheo. Kailua fell into a tie for second at 5-2, for first place in the OIA East.

The Rough Riders and Surfriders have little time to recover from the battle as they both hit the road today. Roosevelt travels to Kahuku, while Kailua faces Moanalua.

"These guys will be ready," said Kailua coach Corey Ishigo. "That's one thing about these Kailua boys, our team never quits, no matter what we're up against or what we have to deal with. ... This might be a good lesson for us. We'll learn from this and we'll bounce back (today)."

The Rough Riders bounced back from a two-run deficit to claim the road win. Roosevelt took an early lead with three runs in the top of the first. Kailua answered with a run in the bottom of the first and four more in the second, highlighted by a two-run single by Travis Hayashida, followed by another RBI single by Jory Pearce. Roosevelt added a run in the third inning to cut the deficit to 5-4.

Gabby Maunupau replaced Roosevelt starting pitcher Jason Yasuda in the second inning and retired the first nine batters he faced. He ran into trouble with two out in the fifth when Chris Ching and Cody Vickery singled. Jarid Kawamoto followed with another hit, but Roosevelt centerfielder Corey Higa fired a strike to the plate to nail Ching trying to score from second and end the threat.

"That was big because the morale of the team just pumped up," said Roosevelt coach Kerry Higa. "That was a swinger either way. Kailua could have gotten the momentum, or we could have kept the momentum. Luckily he made the play and we kept it going."

Corey Higa played the hero again in the sixth inning, as his two-out single to center scored Ivan Fujii with the tying run. With runners on second and third, Hayashida moved from shortstop to the pitcher's mound for Kailua and got two quick strikes on Bryson Villanueva. Villanueva swung and missed at the third strike, but the pitch bounced away from catcher Cody Vickery. Vickery's throw to first hit Villanueva in the back and rolled into right field, allowing Jonathan Higa and Corey Higa to cross the plate and give Roosevelt the lead at 7-5.

With darkness quickly becoming a factor, Kailua scored a run in the bottom of the sixth on Hayashida's sacrifice fly. But Mols shut the door in the seventh, ending it with two biting curveballs to strike out Kawamoto.

"My curveball wasn't breaking in the pen, but when I came out here I just felt like I wanted to throw my curveball for those two strikes," Mols said.

At Kailua H.S. field

Roosevelt (6-2)	301	003	0	--	7	7	1
Kailua (5-2)	140	001	0	--	6	8	2

Jason Yasuda, Gabby Maunupau (2), Chris Mols (6) and Joey Shimabuku; Chad Kajiyama, Travis Hayashida (6) and Kamaile Santos, Cody Vickery (6). W--Maunupau. L-- Kajiyama.

Leading hitters--Roosevelt: Booth Kiyota, double, RBI; Matt Terukina, 2-4, 2 RBI. Kailua: Hayashida, 3 RBI; Jarid Kawamoto 2-4.

Kalani 6, McKinley 2:

With the bases loaded in the third, Travis Canonizado stole home to spark a Falcons rally.

At Kahala Field

McKinley (2-5)	000	010	1	--	2	4	3
Kalani (3-5)	103	011	x	--	6	5	1

W--Rodney Roque. L--Casey Lee.

Leading hitters--McKinley: Cole Sugimoto triple. Kalani: Miles Yoshida double, Len Shimabuku triple.

Kaiser 7, Kalaheo 4:

After trailing by four runs in the first four innings, Kaiser had five runs on five hits, one walk and one hit by pitch in the fifth to take control of the game.

At Kalaheo H.S. Field

Kaiser (5-1-1)	000	050	2	--	7	11	1
Kalaheo (4-3)	300	100	0	--	4	7	2

W--Todd Nishihira . L--Ikaika Hollinger .

Leading hitters--Kaiser: Nathan Ota 2-4, triple; Eric Ching 3-4; David Chu 2-4, 2RBI. Kalaheo: Ikaika Hollinger 2-3, triple; Shane Harada 2-3.

Kahuku 15, Farrington 3:

The Red Raiders scored five runs with four hits and a sacrifice fly in the third. Spencer Nakamura hit a double and had 3 RBIs and Alex Ponciano went 2-4 with 2 RBIs to lead Kahuku.

At Joey DeSa Field

Kahuku (3-4)		225		42 -- 15	14	1
Farrington (0-7)		021		00 -- 3	5	6

Daniel Kawahakui and Alex Ponciano. Christon Barba, Shaun Tabil (2) and Dennis Rodrigues. W--Kawahakui . L--Tabil .

Leading hitters--Kahuku: Alex Ponciano 2-4, 2RBI; Spencer Nakamura double, 3RBI; Daniel Kawahakui double; Melvin Silva 2-4, double, triple; Kamalani Ahue 2-2, RBI; Kyle Pao 2-3; Nephi Tanuvasa double. Farrington: Micah Alexander 2-3, double; Shaun Tabil double, RBI; Stracy Nardo double, 3RBI.

Moanalua 13, Kaimuki 4:

The Menehunes never looked back after Abe Manutai's two-run home run in the third inning put them up for good.

At Kaimuki H.S. Field

Moanalua (5-2)	112	135	0	--	13	11	2
Kaimuki (3-5)	201	010	0	--	4	8	2

Scott Batula and Lorin Nakagawa; Daniel Swearingen, Ryan Hiramasa (5) and Leland Ohelo. W--Batula. L--Swearingen.

Leading hitters--Moanalua: Neal Manutai 2-5; Abe Manutai 2-3, 2b, hr; Nakagawa, 2b; Steve Green 2-4, 3b. Kaimuki: Tino Caires 3b; Sean Nomura 2-4, 2b.

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OIA West

Aiea 8, Radford 1:

Na Alii starter Ranon Aquino pitched four scoreless innings and teammate Casey Onaga's home run highlighted a six-run fifth inning.

At Aiea H.S. Field

Radford (1-5)	000	001	0	--	1	6	3
Aiea (4-2)	010	061	x	--	8	8	0

Ranon Aquino, Ryken Ako (5), Matt Yoshimura (6) and Aaron Powell, Justin Nii; Street, Ferguson. W--Aquino. L--Street .

Leading hitters--Radford: Cardero, 2b. Aiea: Skip Saito, 2b; Casey Onaga 2-4, HR; Omar Tucker 2-4; Barry Tokuhama, 2b; Taylor Watanabe 2b.

Waianae 9, Waialua 7:

Keoni Alensonorian's two-run double in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the margin of victory for the Seariders. Waianae's Chad Fuller struck out 11 Waialua batters.

At Waianae H.S. Field

Waialua (0-6)	000	501	1	--	7	5	4
Waianae (5-2)	221	004	x	--	9	8	6

John Keao, Charlie Tangtog (5) and Charlie Tangtog, Keone Peiler (5); Chad Fuller and Peter Sarono. W--Fuller. L--Tangtog.

Leading hitters--Waialua: Tangtog 2-4; Joshua Fetters, hr. Waianae: Brandon Kalilikane 2-4; Fuller 2-4, 2 3b; Keoni Alensonorian 1-3, 2b.

Campbell 6, Pearl City 5:

The Sabres' Josh Cutrer scored on a double steal in the seventh to tie the score at 5-5. One batter later, Shaunsey Saito singled in Garrett Hermosura, who had advanced from first to third on a catcher's throwing error on the steal.

At Campbell H.S. Field

Pearl City (5-2)	010	202	0	--	5	7	4
Campbell (5-1)	110	020	2	--	6	7	4

Jonathon Serapion, Shawn Benson (5), Chad Itokazu (6) and Gavin Concepcion; Abraham Lobetos, Jensen Mata (6) and Ikaika Trinidad. W--Mata. L--Concepcion.

Leading hitters--Pearl City: Chad Itokazu 2-4; Cory Fujinaga 2-3. Campbell: Trinidad 2-4; Shaunsey Saito 2-4, 2b, Bill Tennent, 2b.

Mililani 13, Nanakuli 2:

Trojans pitcher Mark Villegas struck out eight batters over six innings en route to earning the win over the Golden Hawks.

At Nanakuli H.S. Field

Mililani (6-1)	150	130	3	--	13	11	1
Nanakuli (1-5)	002	000	0	--	2	4	2

Mark Villegas, Nick Mizusawa (7) and Curt Miyahira, Shawn Saito (4); J. Alapai, M. Vickers (2), K. Wright (6) and K. Bright. W-- Villegas. L-- Alapai.

Leading hitters--Mililani: Shane Aihara 2-4, 2 RBI.

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