[ HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL ]
Warriors stay alive
in ILH tourney
The long Interscholastic League of Honolulu baseball haul got one game longer last night as Kamehameha tripped Punahou 4-2 at Aloha Stadium.
The Warriors' victory forced another game between the two teams tomorrow at 7 p.m. to determine the league's double-elimination tournament champion. The winner advances to play Mid-Pacific on Tuesday for the ILH overall title and either a berth in the states or a state play-in game against Lahainaluna. The loser will be done for the year.
"To be in this spot is a tribute to all of our kids," said Kamehameha coach Vern Ramie, whose defending league and state championship team improved to 13-6 and is 4-1 in the postseason after a disappointing regular season. "They've overcome a lot of adversity and a lot of injuries."
Two role players found the spotlight last night -- Brandon Ogimi and Jacob Cockett.
Ogimi pitched 3 2/3 innings of two-hit ball and Cockett finished up by retiring all 10 batters he faced with four strikeouts. Neither player has seen a lot of time on the mound. Ogimi is a regular at third base and Cockett has been used sparingly as a pitcher.
"I was trying to pitch outside and down because I know they've hit pretty good against us," said Cockett after his mini-perfect game. "I was just trying to stay focused because if you lose, you go home. I didn't want that to happen. Our team wants it pretty badly and we'll come back Monday the same way. I didn't want to let the team down."
Ramie said Cockett has been "champing at the bit" to get into a game.
Ogimi was also a big factor at the plate. He hit a two-run single up the middle in the second to put the Warriors up 2-1 off of complete-game loser Jared Pate, one of the league's top pitchers.
The Buffanblu (14-5) tied it 2-all in the fourth when they got to Ogimi for both of their hits. Kaohi Downing hit a two-out single, stole second and scored on Landon Nakata's double to left center.
But that's when Cockett came in to quiet the Punahou bats.
"He kept pitching outside to us," said Nakata, one of the Buffanblu's defensive leaders at shortstop. "We ended up getting under it and popping up.
"After losses, we usually come out strong. This loss should kick-start us into starting fast on Monday."
Ogimi scored the eventual winning run from second base in the fifth on Travis Young's single to right. He slid head first into the plate just ahead of the throw from Punahou's Mike Kim.
Ogimi added an insurance run in the seventh on a Kamehameha error.
"This was a big game," Ogimi said. "We've had a lot of bumps in the road, but we're doing good now."
Ramie was thrilled his team was able to hit Pate.
"We really swung the bats pretty well," Ramie said. "He didn't have his best stuff. Our guys worked really hard, though, because they (the Buffanblu) shut us down three times before. But all this win does is give us another day."
Punahou coach Eric Kadooka noticed the Warriors were fully prepared.
"They hit a lot of good first pitches and they changed their approach," he said. "They were more aggressive. It's do or die Monday. That's how we like it."
At Aloha Stadium
Kamehameha (13-6) 020 010 1 -- 4 8 2 Punahou (14-5) 100 100 0 -- 2 2 1 Brandon Ogimi, Jacob Cockett (4) and Eli Chee; Jared Pate and Robert Kurisu. W--Cockett. L--Pate.
Leading hitters--Kam: Brandon Ogimi 2-2, 2 RBIs, Travis Young RBI. Pun: Landon Nakata 2b, RBI; Kasey Ko RBI.