OIA final matches
Aiea and Kailua
The Aiea baseball team's bats came alive yesterday, not that Na Alii pitchers have needed much support lately.
Blaze Moleta limited Roosevelt to three hits over six innings to lead Aiea to an 8-0 win in an Oahu Interscholastic Association semifinal at the Aiea Recreation Center.
The shutout was Na Alii's second of the tournament. Undefeated Aiea blanked Mililani 1-0 in the quarterfinals on Thursday behind a complete game by Blake Lamug.
"These guys are good ballclubs and for our pitchers to do that is a bonus," Aiea coach Ryan Kato said. "There's no way we go into a game thinking we need a shutout to win a game. We have to pick each other up ... and it's just a matter of the different facets of the game clicking at any given time."
Aiea (12-0) will face three-time defending league champion Kailua (11-1) in the OIA title game today at 3:30 p.m. at Mililani. Roosevelt (8-4) faces Waianae (9-3) in the third-place game at 12:30.
The league's final state tournament berth will be decided in the fifth-place game between Kalaheo and Pearl Cityat 9:30 a.m.
Moleta, a junior right-hander, allowed three singles and two walks over six innings to lead Aiea to the final. Ranon Aquino pitched a perfect seventh inning to run Na Alii's scoreless streak to 15 innings dating back to the end of the regular season.
Moleta mixed a fastball, curve and change-up to keep Roosevelt off balance most of the day.
"When he gets on the mound and he understands that he needs to keep his composure, Blaze is an outstanding pitcher," Kato said.
"He has a lot of pitches he can throw for strikes and if he maximizes his repertoire you get the kind of outing he had today."
Moleta got all the support he needed in the bottom of the first inning.
Taylor Watanabe led off the inning with a double to center field off Roosevelt starter Ricky Eusebio and scored on Dylan Libadisos' single down the left-field line. Libadisos scored two batters later when Aaron Asher bounced a single into left field to give Moleta an early cushion.
"I was a little shaky, but as soon as the offense started giving me some runs I felt confident," Moleta said.
Na Alii extended their lead in the fourth when Chase Kaiuwailani plated Aaron Sato and Bryson Tajiri with a single to left.
Roosevelt's best scoring opportunity came in the top of the fifth. With one out and Eusebio on second, Kevin Fujii singled to center. Eusebio tried to score, but was thrown out at the plate from Libadisos to Asher. Na Alii then completed the unusual double play as Asher threw out Fujii, who tried to sneak in to second base.
"We had the guys on, we wanted to pressure them, and then they made the defensive plays," Roosevelt coach Kerry Higa said.
Aiea put the game away in the bottom of the inning with Tajiri's three-run homer to right field.
Aiea avenged its loss to Roosevelt in last year's OIA semifinals and put Na Alii in position to claim their first OIA crown since 1994.
"It hasn't been done in a while, so we're one step closer to what we've worked all year for," Watanabe said.
At Aiea Recreation Center
Roosevelt (8-4) 000 000 0 -- 0 3 2 Aiea (12-0) 200 231 x -- 8 9 1 Ricky Eusebio, Ivan Fujii (6) and Kevin Fujii. Blaze Moleta, Ranon Aquino (7) and Aaron Asher W -- Moleta. L -- Eusebio.
Leading hitters -- Aiea: Taylor Watanabe 2-4, 2b, RBI; Bryson Tajiri 2-3, HR, 3 RBIs; Chase Kaiuwailani 2 RBIs; James Miyashiro 2b.
Kailua 5, Waianae 4: The Surfriders rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to give themselves a shot at a fourth straight OIA title.
A day after scoring twice in its final at-bat to edge Pearl City 10-9, Kailua went into the seventh inning of yesterday's game trailing 4-3.
Mike Kealoha drilled a double to score Chris Mahelona with the tying run. The Surfriders then loaded the bases and Shaun Sasaki drew a walk from Waianae pitcher Clayton Uyechi to plate Kealoha with the winning run.
"These guys are young, so I have to feel out what this team has, and I'm glad it's positive," Kailua coach Corey Ishigo said.
"Today we came out flat, but these guys don't like to lose. They just hate losing."
Jordan Montgomery earned the win in relief. Uyechi, who drove in two of Waianae's runs, took the loss.
At Kailua H.S. field
Waianae (9-3) 120 100 0 -- 4 6 0 Kailua (11-1) 010 101 2 -- 5 7 1 Clayton Uyechi and Darryl Ohelo; Ryan Rodrigues, Derek Mailau (2), Jordan Montgomery (3) and Ho'o Obed. W -- Montgomery. L--Uyechi.
Leading hitters -- Waianae: Uyechi 2-4, 2b, 2 RBIs. Kailua: Mike Kealoha 2b; Shaun Sasaki 2 RBIs; Sean Medeiros 2b.
Fifth-place bracket
Kalaheo 3, Mililani 2: The Mustangs scored all of their runs in the first inning and held off the Trojans to keep their state tournament hopes alive.At Mililani H.S. field
Kalaheo (7-6) 300 000 0 -- 3 7 1 Mililani (7-6) 002 000 0 -- 2 7 6 Sean Fernandez, Scott Galusha (5) and Jacob Myking; Anson Oda, Erick Soeth (7) and Ian Koki.
W--Fernandez. L--Oda.
Leading hitters--Kalh: Cody Racoma 2-4; Myking 3-4. Mil: Christopher Balatico 2-4, 3b; Dane Mizusawa 2-3.
Pearl City 6, Kalani 3: Details were not reported.
MIL
Baldwin 8, Maui 5: Jeff Kajiwara drove in two runs and earned the pitching win as the Bears captured the Maui Interscholastic League title by defeating the Sabers at Iron Maehara Stadium.Baldwin, which beat Maui 7-5 on Thursday to force the championship game, earned the MIL's top seed and a first-round bye in the state tournament.
Oahu Interscholastic Association