HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
Punahou's Landon Nakata tagged out Kamehameha's Andrew Phillips on a steal attempt last night at Aloha Stadium.
Kiriu gives Punahou a shot
The Punahou baseball team doesn't have much time to celebrate its Interscholastic League of Honolulu tournament championship. But that didn't keep the Buffanblu from savoring their 4-1 victory over Kamehameha in the championship game of the league tournament last night at Aloha Stadium.
"This is huge," Punahou coach Eric Kadooka said. "Whatever happens we're like kids in a candy store."
Punahou's plays ILH regular-season champion Mid-Pacific tonight at 7 at Aloha Stadium for the league's automatic berth in next week's Wally Yonamine State Baseball Championship.
The loser of tonight's game must travel to Maui to face Lahainaluna on Saturday for a state tournament berth.
Buffanblu right-hander Shaun Kiriu helped give Punahou (15-5) a shot at its first state tournament appearance since 1997 by limiting Kamehameha to three hits to earn his second win over the Warriors in less than a week.
Kiriu tossed a two-hit shutout and hit a home run to power Punahou to a 5-0 win over the Warriors last Wednesday.
"He's a gamer," Kadooka said. "All we ask is to give 100 percent and he left it all here. He could have been sore, but he was letting it all go."
Kamehameha (13-7), the defending ILH and state champion, finished fourth in the regular season and was pushed to the brink of elimination with last week's loss to Punahou. The Warriors bounced back with wins over Mid-Pacific and Punahou to keep their season alive, but couldn't muster enough offense to survive to play today.
"We hit the ball well at times tonight (that) we hit on the nose right at them. That's how the game goes," Kamehameha coach Vern Ramie said.
"(Kiriu) got into a groove there and we didn't make very many adjustments at the plate. The main thing was he threw strikes all night and worked ahead in the count. ... They got him a lead and he was able to pitch more comfortably."
With his breaking pitch not biting the way he hoped, Kiriu relied on a live fastball to frustrate the Warriors.
"(My arm) was a little tight, but when I got out there it was feeling good," Kiriu said. "I wasn't really getting my offspeed over for strikes so I was just using my fastball and I was hitting my locations."
Kamehameha took the lead in the top of the first on Spenser McCready's run-scoring double into the right-center alley to score Travis Young.
Punahou countered with a two-out rally highlighted by Kasey Ko's RBI triple into the left-field corner that gave Punahou a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first.
The Buffanblu protected the lead in the top of the third with an unusual putout at the plate.
With runners on first and second, Kamehameha's Nick Freitas hit a sharp grounder to Punahou third baseman Steven Dannaway, whose throw to second hit Warrior baserunner Andrew Philips in the helmet and ricocheted into short left field. Phillips, unfazed by the bean, raced around third and headed to the plate. Punahou shortstop Landon Nakata chased the ball down and threw Phillips out at the plate.
Punahou padded its lead with single runs in the third and fifth innings thanks to RBI singles by Ko and Noah Phillips. Kiriu shut the Warriors down the rest of the way.
At Aloha Stadium
Kamehameha (13-7) 100 000 0 -- 1 3 2 Punahou (15-5) 201 010 x -- 4 7 1
David Parrow, Kanekoa Texeira (5) and Eli Chee; Shaun Kiriu and Robert Kurisu. W--Kiriu. L--Parrow.
Leading hitters--Kam: Spenser McCready 2b, RBI; Nick Freitas 2b. Pun: Michael Lam 2b, Kasey Ko 3b, RBI.
