HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
Iolani's Kelly Teramoto stole second base in front of Saint Louis' John Gentry during the Crusaders' 4-1 victory over the Raiders yesterday at Aloha Stadium.
Saint Louis hands
Iolani 4-1 loss
It all hinged on the 45-degree rule.
Did Iolani pitcher Eric Muraoka move his leg toward home or third?
Muraoka threw to third base for what looked like a successful pickoff of Saint Louis' Chester Wilson in the fourth inning of yesterday's Interscholastic League of Honolulu baseball tournament game at Aloha Stadium. But the umpire ruled it a balk and Wilson trotted home with what turned out to be the winning run in the Crusaders' 4-1 victory
"I didn't think so (that it was a balk)," said Iolani coach Dean Yonamine, whose club was eliminated in the loss. "But he must be right. He gets paid to umpire games."
Muraoka called it "kind of a bad call."
"I consider that one of my skills, the pickoff to third base," said Muraoka, who added that he thought the motion of his leg stayed on the third-base side of the imaginary 45-degree line between home and third.
Saint Louis coach Scot Paiva admitted that the call was pivotal.
"That balk was a big play for us and it would have been a big play for them if it wasn't called a balk," he said. "Fortunately, for us, it went our way."
According to an ILH official, the umpire said after the game that he saw Muraoka's leg move toward home.
The Crusaders (14-5) move on to play another tournament elimination game against Mid-Pacific today at 4 p.m. in a rematch of the regular-season title game won by the Owls.
Trailing 1-0, Saint Louis rallied to tie it with a run on a Raiders' error in the fourth before Wilson made it 2-1 on the controversial play.
Kelii Zablan and Jowen Murray-Thornton cracked RBI doubles as the Crusaders padded their lead with single runs in the fifth and sixth.
Zablan's rocket hit the fence at the 325-foot mark in left field.
"I thought it was going (out)," Zablan said. "I went into a trot, so that's why I only made it to second. If I was running the whole way, I would have had a triple. It was awesome (to hit the fence at Aloha Stadium)."
Saint Louis pitcher Edwin Apostol finished with a complete-game five-hitter and seven strikeouts, while Muraoka gave up six hits and fanned six.
"Edwin got us through (to today)," Paiva said. "All we can ask of our pitchers is to do the best they can during this grueling stretch."
Saint Louis played five games in five days last week, and if it stays alive, will play three days in a row this week.
The Raiders (7-10) struck first in the third inning when Cody Kim walked and eventually scored on an error.
"We've got to hit if we want to win in this league," Yonamine said. "Hitting with runners in scoring position is something we haven't done all season."
Muraoka, one of Iolani's outgoing seniors, was happy his team played well despite the loss.
"We're going out with pride. We have a lot of seniors, who are all my friends, and we can always say we played as a team," he said.
At Aloha Stadium
Iolani (7-10) 001 000 0 -- 1 5 2 Saint Louis (14-5) 000 211 x -- 4 6 2
Eric Muraoka and Bert Mitsunaga; Edwin Apostol and Jowen Murray-Thornton. W--Apostol. L--Muraoka.
Leading hitters--StL: Kelii Zablan 2b, RBI; Johnny Gentry 2-2, Murray-Thornton 1-2, 2b, RBI.
Mid-Pacific 7, Pac-Five 1: The Owls (14-4) eliminated the Wolfpack (5-10-1) on Harrison Kuroda's four-hitter.
MPI scored three runs in the fifth to break a 1-all tie on Ryan Asato's two-run double, Kip Masuda's two-bagger and Randy Rundgren's RBI base hit.
Masuda's two-run double sparked a three-run sixth as Mid-Pacific pulled away.
At Aloha Stadium
Pac-Five (5-10-1) 100 000 0 -- 1 4 1 Mid-Pacific (14-4) 001 033 x -- 7 8 1
Paul Nishimura, Owen Simmons (5), Tyler Inouye (6) and Reid Uyehara; Harrison Kuroda and Kip Masuda. W--Kuroda. L--Nishimura.
Leading hitters--P5: Jacob Mellor 2-3. MPI: Chris Goya SF; Ryan Asato 2-2, 2b, 3 RBIs; Masuda 2-4, 2 2bs, 2 RBIs; Randy Rundgren RBI.
Buffanblu vs. Warriors tonight: Kamehameha (10-5) and Punahou (13-4) play in the double-elimination tournament winners bracket tonight at 7. The winner moves to the tourney championship Saturday at 7 against whichever team makes it out of the losers bracket.
Complicated scenario: The eventual tournament winner plays regular-season champ Mid-Pacific next Monday or Tuesday for the overall league title and a spot in the states. If MPI also wins the league tourney, it will claim the overall title, and then a playoff between the regular-season and tournament runner-ups will be held to determine second place. The second-place team then visits Iron Maehara Stadium on Maui to play Lahainaluna on May 15 at 2 p.m. with a state berth on the line.
