[ HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS ]

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Mid-Pacific catcher Matthew Inouye and Ryan Basco celebrated their state title last night.

Basco a goat no longer

Owls win fourth baseball title

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By Marc Dixon
Special to the Star-Bulletin

Somehow amid the wind, the rain and the nearly 2,800 people last night at Les Murakami Stadium, Ryan Basco found redemption.

The last time Basco found himself in the final of the Wally Yonamine Foundation State Baseball Championships, one unfortunate play turned the super sophomore into Mid-Pacific's Bill Buckner. A ground ball squirted through the first baseman's legs, allowing Kailua to rally and take home the 2001 baseball title.

Last night, Basco made everyone forget as MPI beat Kamehameha 6-3.

Basco continually demonstrated mental toughness on the mound, in the field and at the plate. The junior pitched a strong 423 innings, finished 2-for-3 batting.

He ignited the Owl offense in the second with a mammoth triple and singled home two runs in the third inning. Basco also scored two runs.

After Kamehameha rapped out three hits in the first inning and scored twice on an error, Basco struck out Kamehameha's Zach McAngus, stranding two runners. In the seventh, after moving to first base, he gave up his body to knock down an errant throw that could have started a late Kamehameha rally.

"He (Basco) wanted the ball tonight, he really wanted it," Mid-Pacific coach Dunn Muramaru said.

Added pitching coach Craig Hayashi: "Basco was more determined tonight, before the game, than any other time this season."

According to Muramaru, Basco endured a tough season recovering from an early shoulder injury. But he proved himself last night.

"We depend on him at the plate," Muramaru said. "He's the number-four batter for a reason."

Basco denied having any thought of last year in his head. But his father, Rick Basco, said he thinks the events of the 2001 game might have crossed his son's mind.

"I told him to go out, play hard and leave it all on the field. It's hard to forget about something when people always talk about it, but he's a tough kid," Rick Basco said. "He told me before he left 'Dad, don't worry about me.' "

"Last year was last year," the younger Basco said. "It's in the past."

And after last night, neither will anyone else.

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