[ HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL ]
Aiea's Lance Powell helped stop teammate Bryson Tajiri after Tajiri scored in the second inning against Waianae yesterday.
Aiea brings Waianae
down after big win
Twenty-four hours after stunning Kailua, the Waianae Seariders came back down to Earth.
When they landed, they were overly generous. The Seariders committed six errors, helping Aiea roll to a 14-1 win yesterday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Oahu Interscholastic Association baseball playoffs.
The game was halted after 4 1/2 innings due to the 10-run rule.
Aiea advanced to today's 4 p.m. semifinal game at Kaiser. More importantly, Na Alii secured an automatic state tournament berth.
"It's a relief," Aiea coach Ryan Kato said. "They had me up last night. I didn't sleep well, worrying about Waianae."
Waianae's season didn't end with the loss. The Seariders play today in the "backdoor" leg of the playoffs. That determines a fifth-place finisher that qualifies for the state tourney.
"I think we can go to states. It's going to take a team effort and discipline," said Allen Holt, who pitched in relief yesterday.
Aiea (10-2), the No. 2 seed in the OIA West, came into the game with reservations. Na Alii barely beat Waianae (7-5) during the regular season, 7-6. It mattered little that the Seariders were the No. 6 seed from the West, especially after upsetting perennial state-title contender Kailua, the No. 3 seed in the East.
"There's no way we could look past Waianae. To be honest, I thought the Kailua-Waianae game was a toss-up," Kato said. "It doesn't stop here. This same intensity is what we need to take into tomorrow. Whatever happens, we've got to leave it all on the field."
For the Seariders, the pendulum could swing either way after back-to-back games on opposite ends of the spectrum. "When you get in that situation, I didn't want the situation to dictate how we performed," Waianae coach Kekoa Kaluhiokalani said. "It's water under the bridge. A good lesson."
Aiea certainly didn't need Waianae's giveaways. Na Alii socked 11 base hits, including a 3-for-3 afternoon by No. 9 hitter Aaron Sato. Sato also drove in three runs.
"We just hit the ball when we needed to," Kato said.
Said Kaluhiokalani: "They're definitely the team to beat. Hitting-wise, there's nothing we could've done, and we made those mistakes."
Blake Lamug, a senior, scattered four hits over three innings for the win. He permitted one run without walking a batter.
"I just give him the ball. I don't have to tell him much," Kato said of his senior ace.
At Aiea H.S.
Waianae (7-5) 100 00 -- 1 5 7 Aiea (10-1) 383 0X -- 14 11 3 Dillon Guzman, Allen Holt (2) and Mike Ferreira, Peter Carba (3). Blake Lamug, Hoku Piho (4) and Aaron Asher. W--Lamug. L--Guzman.
Leading hitters--Aiea: Blaze Moleta 2-4; Dylan Libadisos 2b, 2 RBIs; Kepa Wong 2 RBIs; Lance Powell 2-4, 2b, 2 RBIs; Aaron Sato 3-3, 4 RBIs.
Kaiser 10, Moanalua 2
Landon Kaawa singled to start the game and scored on Colby Ho's double to spark a three-run first inning as the Cougars rolled over the Menehunes.Jeffrey Peters added a two-run homer in the third inning. Michael Heu pitched a complete game for the Cougars.
At Kaiser H.S.
Moanalua (6-5-1) 000 020 0 -- 2 6 2 Kaiser (10-1) 312 004 x -- 10 6 4 Chance Daskauskas, Trevor Bell (3), Shaun Kaulukukui (6), Michael Amorozo (6) and Donovan Souza. Michael Heu and Jarryd Maeda. W--Heu. L--Daskauskas.
Leading hitters--Moan: Souza 1-3, 2b. Kais: Colby Ho 1-4, 2b, RBI; Jeffrey Peters, 2-3, 2 RBIs, HR.
Roosevelt 5, Leilehua 3
Relief pitcher David Chow struck out Jesse Matsuura to end the Mules' comeback attempt as the Rough Riders upset the top seed from the West to advance to a semifinal today against Pearl City.Roosevelt got two big insurance runs in the sixth inning on four consecutive two-out singles. Jared Furtado's single scored Derek Shigano, but Justin Goo was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Leilehua got two walks and a single to begin the seventh inning, but Chow managed to escape the jam as the Mules managed just an RBI groundout and sacrifice fly before Matsuura's strikeout.
At Leilehua H.S. field
Roosevelt (9-3) 012 002 0 -- 5 11 0 Leilehua (9-2) 000 001 2 -- 3 4 2 Kalani Yoshimura, David Chow (7) and Kevin Fujii. Spencer Omalza and Jesse Matsuura. W--Yoshimura. L--Omalza. S--Chow.
Leading hitters--Roos: Derek Shigano 3-4; Fujii 2-4; Jared Furtado 2-4; Ricky Eusebio 2-4, HR. Lei: Ross Masuhara 2b; Melvin Ferreira 2b.
Pearl City 6, Kalani 2, 8 innings
The Chargers scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings, and then added four in the top of the eighth to upset the Falcons.Rex Yamaguchi hit an RBI triple with one out in the seventh and later beat a throw home from the first baseman to score the tying run to send the game into extra innings.
Corey Giammalvo gave the Chargers the lead on a two-run bases-loaded single.
At Kahala Recreation Field
Pearl City (9-3) 000 000 24 -- 6 7 0 Kalani (8-3) 002 000 00 -- 2 2 1 Blake Kaneshiro and Corey Giammalvo. Randy Kitagawa, Darren Takemoto (8) and Preston Pires. W--Kaneshiro. L--Kitagawa.
Leading hitters--PC: Giammalvo 2-4, 2 RBIs; Rex Yamaguchi 2-2, 2b, 3b. Kal: Chassis Moody 3b.
