[ HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL ]
Rough Riders’ new player
Goo beats his old coach
Justin Goo helped his new team keep its league title hopes alive while sending his old coach to a season-ending loss yesterday.
The Roosevelt right-hander struck out seven in a complete-game performance and led the Rough Riders to a 7-2 win over Mililani in the first round of the Oahu Interscholastic Association playoffs at Stevenson Intermediate School.
OIA Baseball Tournament
Yesterday
1: Roosevelt 7, Mililani 2
2: Pearl City 4, Kalaheo 2
3: Waianae 7, Kailua 6
4: Moanalua 3, Campbell 1
Today
5: Roosevelt at Leilehua, 4 p.m.
6: Pearl City at Kalani, 4 p.m.
7: Waianae at Aiea, 4 p.m.
8: Moanalua at Kaiser, 4 p.m.
Tomorrow
All four games at higher seed
9: Losers 7 and 8, 4 p.m.
10: Losers 5 and 6, 4 p.m.
11: Winners 7 and 8, 4 p.m.
12: Winners 5 and 6, 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 8
All four games at Mililani
13: Winners 9 and 10, 9:30 a.m. (fifth place)
14: Losers 11 and 12, 1 p.m. (third place)
15: Winners 11 and 12, 4 p.m. (championship)
Goo played for Mililani coach Dean Sato while both were at Saint Louis two years ago. Goo transferred to Roosevelt for his senior year and helped the Rough Riders recover from a shaky start this season. Sato completed his first year as Mililani's head coach with yesterday's loss.
"It was kind of a bittersweet moment," Goo said. "I don't want to knock my old coach out of the tournament, but at the same time I want to win. He's a real good guy and a real good coach."
Roosevelt (8-3) moves on to face OIA West champion Leilehua in a quarterfinal today at 4 p.m. at Fred Wright Field in Wahiawa.
Today's winners earn automatic berths in the upcoming state tournament. The losers must fight through the fifth-place bracket for the OIA's last spot.
A Leilehua win would send the Mules (9-1) to their first state tournament since 2000.
Roosevelt began the season 1-3, but has won seven straight and is one win away from its third consecutive state tournament berth.
"You go 1-3 and they could have easily just fallen apart and lost their heads," Roosevelt coach Kerry Higa said. "But we stayed real positive. This is a real tight team, they kept backing each other up and kept building."
Mililani closed its season at 6-5 after being handcuffed by Goo yesterday afternoon.
Goo limited the Trojans to five hits and didn't walk a batter until the sixth inning. Mililani leadoff batter Jordan Apduhan took advantage of one of Goo's few mistakes by slamming a two-run homer in the fifth. But Goo maintained command by consistently getting his curveball over for strikes and mixing in his fastball effectively.
"Justin just did his job today," Sato said. "If I have to lose to somebody I don't mind losing to him."
Roosevelt's biggest hits came in the form of two-run homers from Jared Furtado and Joshua Danz.
After Kevin Fujii drove in two runs with a double to left field, Furtado's line drive over the short right-field fence at Stevenson field highlighted Roosevelt's four-run outburst in the third inning and gave the Rough Riders a 5-0 lead.
Apduhan's homer to center cut Roosevelt's lead to three, but Danz answered with a blast into a stiff breeze blowing in from left field. The ball carried over the Mililani outfielders and rolled far enough to allow Danz to circle the bases.
"That home run came when they had come back with two (runs) and I think that was a big blow to them," Higa said. "It kind of killed the momentum."
This is the second year that a Saint Louis transfer has emerged as Roosevelt's ace pitcher. Kaimi Mead, now a University of Hawaii freshman, led the Rough Riders to last year's state tournament, while Goo has helped fuel their current run.
"He's a different type of pitcher, not as overpowering," Higa said in comparing Goo to Mead, a hard-throwing left-hander. "But he's been consistent as far as keeping the ball around the strike zone and changing speeds well."
At Stevenson Intermediate School
Mililani (6-5) 000 020 0 -- 2 5 1 Roosevelt (8-3) 014 020 x -- 7 9 1 Cameron San Greg, Smiley Tsutsui (5) and Kamaka Crabbe; Justin Goo and Kevin Fujii. W--Goo. L--San Greg.
Leading hitters--Mil: Jordan Apduhan HR, 2 RBIs; Tony Aquino 2-4, 2b. Roos: Derek Shigano 2-4; Fujii 2b, 2 RBIs; Jared Furtado 3-3, HR, 2 RBIs; Joshua Danz 2-3, HR, 2 RBIs.Pearl City 4, Kalaheo 2
Rex Yamaguchi's two-run single broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth inning and Anthony Ganigan gave up just three hits in going the distance for the Chargers.Ganigan finished with 12 strikeouts while walking two. Ransen Kaanoi hit the only extra-base hit of the game for the Mustangs, an RBI triple in the second inning to give the Mustangs an early 1-0 lead.
At Pearl City H.S.
Kalaheo (5-6) 010 100 0 -- 2 3 2 Pearl City (8-3) 001 120 x -- 4 6 1 Scott Galusha, Sonny Harbottle (6) and Jacob Myking. Anthony Ganigan and Corey Giammaldo. W--Ganigan. L--Galusha.
Leading hitters--Kalh: Ransen Kaanoi 3b. PC: Kyle Fukuda 2-3, run, RBI; Rex Yamaguchi 2 RBIs.Moanalua 3, Campbell 1
Andrew Blomberg scattered eight hits over seven innings and escaped a one-out jam in the bottom of the seventh to lead the Menehunes past the Sabers.Blomberg also helped his cause at the plate, hitting an RBI double to break a 1-1 tie. He later scored on an RBI double by Adam Arakawa.
The Sabers mounted a late charge, putting runners at second and third base with one out in the seventh, but Blomberg got a groundout to the pitcher and a foulout to third base to preserve the win.
At Campbell H.S.
Moanalua (6-4-1) 000 102 0 -- 3 5 1 Campbell (7-4) 010 000 0 -- 1 8 0 Andrew Blomberg and Donovan Souza. Tristan Bailey and Ian Pantorilla. W--Blomberg. L--Bailey.
Leading hitters--Moan: Blomberg 2-3, 2b; Adam Arakawa 2-3, 2b, 3b. Cam: James Bannister 2-3; Jacob Kaku 2-3.Waianae 7, Kailua 6
Charleson Low's two-run single highlighted a six-run third inning for the Seariders, who upset the four-time defending OIA champion Surfriders.Kekoa Sua's two-run homer cut the lead to 6-5 in the fourth inning. Kailua cut the lead to 7-6 on an RBI single in the seventh, but stranded a runner on first base as Dillon Guzman recorded the save.
At Kailua H.S.
Waianae (7-4) 006 001 0 -- 7 7 0 Kailua (7-4) 021 200 1 -- 6 11 3 Gary Kuakini, Darius Fuller (4), Dillon Guzman (7) and Mike Ferreira. Michael Kealoha, Chris Mahelona (4) and Sean Medeiros. W--Kuakini. L--Kealoha. S--Guzman.
Leading hitters--Wain: Sonny Dudoit 2-4; Charleson Low 2b, 2 RBIs. Kail: Kekoa Sua 3-4, 2-run HR; Ryan Rodrigues 2-4; Medeiros 2b; Derek Mailau 2-3, 2b; Kevin Matsumoto 2b; Ho'o Obed 2b.
BIIF
Hilo 10, Keaau 0
The Vikings routed the Cougars in a 10-run mercy rule game to clinch the third BIIF state championship berth.Matt Haasenritter held 22 batters to just three hits and helped his own cause by hitting 2-for-2 and driving in two runs. Kawika Kaleohano led Hilo hitting, going 3-for-4, scored twice and drove in one run.
At Wong Stadium
Keaau 000 00 -- 0 3 1 Hilo 022 51 -- 10 11 1 Kamalu Blaisdell, Rico Mahaulu (4) and Roi Tanimoto. Matt Haasenritter and Keola Holt-Mizuguchi. W--Haasenritter. L--Blaisdell.
Leading hitters--Hilo: Kawika Kaleohano 3-4, 2-runs, RBI; Jeremy Kaaukai 2-runs; William Nau 2-3, run, 2 RBIs; Haasenritter 2-2, 2 RBIs; Kaleo Calip 3-runs; Holt-Mizuguchi 3 RBIs.