[ HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL ]
Iolani got away with playing bash-ball against Mid-Pacific on Saturday, but the Raiders just couldn't succeed in a slugfest against Kamehameha. Warriors rock Raiders,
share ILH leadBy Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comThe Warriors rocked three Raider pitchers for 16 hits and cruised to a 14-3, mercy rule-shortened Interscholastic League of Honolulu baseball victory last night at Ala Wai Field.
With the win, Kamehameha moved into a tie atop the league standings with Iolani at 9-2.
"I was hoping our offense would come out and hit the ball, because I knew we were capable of it," Warriors coach Vern Ramie said. "It helped us that Iolani had a tough game against Mid-Pacific (a 15-14 victory Saturday) and they used a lot of pitchers. They've got a lot of tough arms, so we were fortunate to get a lot of hits early."
Kamehameha grabbed a quick 5-0 lead with six first-inning hits. Matt Morgado's two-run triple and Dayne Ogawa's run-scoring triple were the big blows, while Kahe Santos contributed with a run-scoring single.
"I'm not surprised at all," Iolani coach Dean Yonamine said about the five-inning blowout loss. "They're a tough team, a very good hitting team. We've got to pitch way better than that."
Santos' sacrifice fly and Baba Merino's RBI single in the second made it 7-0, and Nick Freitas' single drove in a run to spark a two-run third for a 9-0 bulge.
Freitas went 3-for-3 with three runs scored.
In the bottom of the third, Iolani finally got to Kamehameha pitcher Issac Kamai to cut the deficit to 9-3. A Warriors' infield error and three wild pitches helped the Raiders' rally as Reid Saito cracked an RBI single and Kahiwa Letman drove in a run with a fielder's choice.
Freitas' booming two-run triple to center in the top of the fifth proved to be the game-winning hit.
"I wanted to crush it," said Freitas, a sophomore who missed eight games and was back in the lineup for the first time since recovering from a bulging disc in his spine. "It was a 3-1 count, so I knew he (reliever Andrew Inouye) was coming with a fastball and it might be an easier pitch to hit."
Freitas' triple was part of the Warriors' five-run fifth and it put them ahead by the necessary 10 runs, 13-3. Spencer McCready, Keoni Ruth and JP Kennedy also drove in runs in the surge.
"This league is always crazy," Ramie said when asked about the close, offensive-minded ILH race that has failed to produce a clear front-runner. "You've got to be ready to play everybody, because anybody can beat you."
Kamai finished with a four-hitter over the five innings. Raiders starter Dustin Goto took the loss, giving up five runs before yielding to Eric Muraoka with two outs in the first.
"Issac did a pretty good job," Ramie said. "He was falling behind hitters (in the second, third and fourth) innings and was fortunate to get some ground balls and some good defensive plays behind him."
Yonamine will continue to work on getting his team back to the basics.
"Games like this, percentage-wise, are not good for us," he said. "Iolani baseball is (supposed to be) defense and pitching. We were lucky against Mid-Pacific, getting a hit here and a hit there."
At Ala Wai Field
Issac Kamai and Baba Merino; Dustin Goto, Eric Muraoka (1), Andrew Inouye (5) and Kala Kaaihue. W -- Kamai. L -- Goto.
Kamehameha (9-2) 522 05 -- 14 16 2 Iolani (9-2) 003 00 -- 3 4 3 Leading hitters--Kam: Nick Freitas 3-3, 3b, 3 RBIs, 3 runs; JP Kennedy 3-3; Matt Morgado 2-3, 3b, 2 RBIs; Ryson Mauricio 2-3; Dayne Ogawa 3-3, 3b; Kahe Santos 2 RBIs; Merino 2 RBIs. Iol: Reid Saito RBI; Kahiwa Letman RBI.
Saint Louis 15, Pac-Five 2: Ed Apostol's two-run double highlighted a six-run second inning as the Crusaders beat the Wolfpack.
Saint Louis added eight more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on eight hits, including four triples -- two by Shane Butcher.
At Ala Wai Field
Tyler Inouye, Andrew Ontai (2), Cheyne Abbey-Chong (4) and Colby Holt; Dan Lee, Bobby George (5) and Jowan Thornton-Murray. W--Lee. L--Inouye.
Pac-Five (4-6-1) 200 00 -- 2 7 1 Saint Louis (5-5-1) 061 8x -- 15 17 1 Leading hitters--Pac: Paul Nishimura, 2-3, 2b, 2 RBIs; Jacob Mellor, 2-3; Jeris Nakamasu, 2-3. StL: Ed Apostol, 3-3, 2b, 3b, 2 RBIs; Chester Wilson, 3-3; Shane Butcher, 3-4, 2 3bs, 2 RBIs; Quinn DeSilva, 2-2; D. Lee, 2-3, 2 RBIs; B. George, 3b.
Maryknoll 15, Damien 2: Kody Seminara struck out six and helped out his own cause by driving in three runs.
Maryknoll exploded for 10 runs in the fourth inning.
At Joey DeSa field
Kody Seminara and Brian Tabata, Scott Fukuhara (4). Chase Matsuda, Brando Baguio (4) and Nick Zieser. W -- Seminara. L -- Matsuda.
Maryknoll (1-10) 023 (10)0 -- 15 8 1 Damien (2-8-1) 000 02 -- 2 6 6 Leading hitters -- Mykl: Ryan Matsumoto 1-2, 2 RBIs, 3b; Kody Seminara 1-2, 3 RBIs, 2b; Ian Yamashita 2-3, 3 RBIs; Brett Ikei 1-3, 1 RBI , 2b. Dam: Elijah Souza 1-3, 1 RBI, 3b; Justin Cole 2-3.
Mid-Pacific 5, Punahou 2: Ryan Asato and Grant Yamaguchi each drove in two runs as the Owls beat the Buffanblu.
Mid-Pacific scored four runs in the fifth inning to break open a 1-1 game. Asato and Yamaguchi hit two-run doubles with two outs to get the Owls back to .500 in the ILH.
Harrison Kuroda picked up the victory for MPI.
At Mid-Pacific field
Jared Pate, Kurt Fujitani (5) and Michael Kim. Harrison Kuroda, Blake Kaneshiro (7) and Jeff Mizokawa. W -- Kuroda. L -- Pate.
Punahou (7-4) 010 000 1 -- 2 7 1 Mid-Pacific (5-5-1) 001 040 x -- 5 8 1 Leading hitters -- Pun: Kim 2-3; Landon Nakata HR; Kyle Kabei 2-3. MPI: Kevin Whalen 2-3; Ryan Asato 2-3, 3 RBIs, 2 2b; Grant Yamaguchi 2 RBIs, 2b.
Junior varsity OIA
Kaiser 3, McKinley 2
Waianae 10, Campbell 7
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