[ HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL ]
Aiea pitcher Blake Lamug went the distance in yesterday's win over Leilehua. Na Alii advanced to the state semifinals.
Asher’s clutch hit
puts Aiea into semisThe catcher’s RBI double holds
up in Na Alii's 2-1 win
Aiea coach Ryan Kato's eyes opened wide and his face reflected deep emotion when he talked about catcher Aaron Asher's winning hit last night.
"That was clutch, wasn't it?" he asked rhetorically after Na Alii beat Leilehua 2-1 in front of 1,873 at Les Murakami Stadium and advanced to tonight's 7 p.m. semifinal against Punahou. "We were fortunate to come out on top today."
With the score tied at 1 in the bottom of the fifth, Asher drilled a one-hop double off the wall 365 feet to left-center to score Jordan Shibata from second base with the winning run.
"The first couple of at-bats, he (Mules sophomore pitcher John Olley) jammed me, so I adjusted to him and came up big," Asher said. "We're lucky we won. All the teams here are very good."
Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Na Alii (13-1) only had four hits off Olley in the matchup against West Division rival Leilehua (11-3) - the only team they've lost to this season.
Aiea pitcher Blake Lamug finished with a five-hitter and pitched out of jams in the fifth and sixth before getting the Mules 1-2-3 in the seventh.
"We didn't execute or get timely hitting," Mules coach Garett Yukumoto said. "In the fifth, we had the bases loaded and couldn't get a hit. We could have broken it open."
Despite leaving the bases full, the Mules were able to get their only run for a 1-all tie earlier in the inning on Andrew Ontai's RBI double to left-center.
In the sixth, Leilehua's Ross Masuhara reached on an error and advanced to third, but the Mules couldn't get him home. They also stranded runners on second and third in the second.
Baserunning mistakes also hurt Leilehua. Ontai fell rounding third after Bryant Moniz's double in the third and was thrown out. Also, pinch runner Mason Edra was caught stealing after Jesse Matsuura's single in the fourth.
Lamug chalked up the victory to experience.
"We've been here before," the right-hander said. "And that brought us through. Asher really helped us by bringing in that run. Everybody wanted it and we got our revenge (for the 6-5 loss in March). I think we've got what it takes. Everybody's fired up."
Kepa Wong doubled and gave Aiea a 1-0 lead in the second inning when he scored on Bryson Tajiri's fielder's choice.
Olley was dismayed that he served a curveball up over the plate that Asher tagged and ruined the Mules' chances of advancing.
"He hit it good," Olley said. "I missed with that pitch, but we'll get 'em back next year."
Yukumoto wishes good fortune to Na Alii in the rest of the tournament.
"Hopefully, they'll represent the OIA well," he said. "They're well-coached and talented. They have offense, defense, pitching and team speed."
Kato wants his team to continue to chug along with the same philosophy.
"We want to get guys to second base, and hopefully, someone will come through," he said. "It's not just one guy. It could be anybody to drive in the runs for us to go ahead."
Aiea is trying for its first title-game appearance since 1976, when it won its second state championship under coach George Anzai with a 4-2 victory over McKinley. Na Alii also won it all in 1973.
Leilehua plays Baldwin in a fifth-place-bracket game today at 11:30 a.m.
At Les Murakami Stadium
Leilehua (11-3) 000 010 0 - 1 5 2 Aiea (13-1) 010 010 x - 2 4 3 John Olley and Jesse Matsuura; Blake Lamug and Aaron Asher. W-Lamug. L-Olley.
Leading hitters-Leil: Andrew Ontai 2b, RBI; Bryant Moniz 2b. Aiea: Asher 2b, RBI; Kepa Wong 2-2, 2b; Bryson Tajiri RBI.Punahou 5, Baldwin 1: The Buffanblu (18-6) fell behind 1-0, but stormed back for five runs in the first two innings to beat the Maui Interscholastic League champion and fourth-seeded Bears (13-2).
Punahou was fortunate to get the runs when it did because Baldwin reliever Marcus Makia pitched shutout ball the rest of the way.
The win locked up a spot in tonight's semifinals against Aiea.
After scoring its only run on three hits and stranding three runners in the first, the Bears could only scratch for four more hits over the last five innings off complete-game winner Shaun Kiriu.
"He's a good pitcher and not the kind of guy you want to fall behind on too much," Baldwin coach Kahai Shishido said. "We always have high expectations when we come over here and we just didn't play well enough to win. Punahou played a good ballgame, and that's why they're moving on and we're not."
Kasey Ko hit an RBI double, and two errors by the Bears led to another Punahou run as the Buffanblu took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first.
Michael Lam cracked a two-run triple and Kiriu added a run-scoring single in the second for the final runs of the ballgame and a 5-1 lead.
Punahou third baseman Steven Dannaway made the defensive play of the game, chasing down a foul pop off the bat of the Bears' J.J. Eno and snaring it while his momentum carried him into Baldwin's dugout.
"We just put the ball in play," Kiriu said about the victory. "We forced Baldwin to make plays."
Buffanblu coach Eric Kadooka is "ecstatic" about heading to the semifinals with a shot to be in the championship game for the first time since 1997.
"Michael Lam has been really stepping it up for us," Kadooka said. "He's swinging the bat with more confidence. That's (power) what we need from guys like him and Kasey Ko, and we need the other guys to get on base to be driven in."
Baldwin (13-2) 100 000 0 - 1 7 2 Punahou (18-6) 230 000 x - 5 6 0 Jeff Kajiwara, Marcus Makia (2) and Aaron Joyo; Shaun Kiriu and Robert Kurisu. W-Kiriu. L-Kajiwara.
Leading hitters-Bald: Shevis Shima 2-3; Makia RBI; B.J. Strahan 2-3. Pun: Kiriu RBI; Michael Lam 2-4, 3b, 2 RBIs; Kasey Ko 2b, RBI.Waiakea 5, Pearl City 1: Warriors pitcher Myles Ioane and slugger Matt Patterson were too much to handle for the Chargers.
Ioane pitched a seven-hitter despite not having his best stuff, and Patterson crushed two home runs to lead the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champions.
Waiakea meets Mid-Pacific in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. today.
"Too much Ioane and too much Patterson," Pearl City coach Mel Seki said. "The sixth inning killed us. Two outs, and then the kid hits a bomb like that."
Waiakea, with a 395-foot, two-run homer to straightaway center by Patterson, scored four runs in the sixth, padding its lead to 5-0. Mason Suga and Justin Pascual added run-scoring doubles.
The Chargers scratched back with a run in the bottom of the inning, which was lengthened by an official protest from Warriors coach Tommy Correa. Although his team led by four runs, Correa questioned if Chargers designated hitter Thomas Yamasaki's bat was illegally taped. Rex Yamaguchi had just scored Pearl City's run on a ground ball by Yamasaki. The protest was denied.
"It turned out to be OK," Correa said. "We just wanted to make a point that we were going to do anything we could within the rules to help our kids win the game."
After a 10-minute delay, the protest was settled. It didn't bother the poised Ioane, who got out of the inning without further trouble.
Ioane, a slender left-hander, mixed his fastball and curve. Neither pitch was overpowering, but he kept the Chargers out of rhythm, striking out five and walking two.
"He was the toughest pitcher we faced this year," Pearl City second baseman Michael Higa said. "He threw hard, hits spots and keeps you off-balance."
When the Chargers did reach base, the Warriors slowed their aggressive running game. Ioane kept them close with numerous throws, and two pickoffs in the fifth inning were key, Correa said.
Blayne Kamahiai singled to start the inning and was replaced by pinch runner Owen Poentis. Devin Fukunaga missed on a bunt attempt, and catcher Avery Kagawa threw to second baseman Dane Inouye covering first to catch Poentis. Fukunaga then singled, but was also caught between the bases when Ioane threw to first with Fukunaga trying to steal. Mason Suga's throw to Inouye at second was in time to nab him.
Patterson's first of two homers off Chargers starter Blake Kaneshiro came in the fourth inning. He hit a full-count pitch over the second fence in left-center, around 360 feet from home plate. The homer broke up a scoreless pitchers' duel.
"We had to get ahead because Myles was pitching so well. We needed some runs," Patterson said.
Waiakea's home park has no fence.
"I think he's pleased to be playing here" Correa said. "There's a good chance at least one of those balls would've been caught on our field."
Waiakea (15-0) 000 104 0 - 5 7 2 Pearl City (11-4) 000 001 0 - 1 7 2 Myles Ioane and Avery Kagawa; Blake Kaneshiro, Austin Jo (7) and Corey Giammalvo. W-Ioane. L-Kaneshiro.
Leading hitters--Waiak: Matt Patterson, 2-3, solo HR, 2-run HR; Mason Suga, 1-2, RBI, 2b; Justin Pascual, 2b. PC: Michael Higa, 2-4, Blayne Kamahiai, 2-2.Mid-Pacific 4, Roosevelt 3: The Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Owls (17-5) are back in the semifinals for the 11th time since 1990, and they'll be gunning for a ninth trip to the title game and a fifth championship in that time span.
But it wasn't easy. They barely held off the OIA runner-up Rough Riders, who rallied for three runs in the seventh. MPI's next test is today at 4:30 against undefeated Waiakea.
Right-hander Harrison Kuroda went the distance for the victory, striking out six and holding Roosevelt (11-5) to four hits. His only real trouble came in the seventh, when Riki Nakagawa hit an RBI single and Ricky Eusebio was credited with an inside-the-park, two-run home run when left fielder Nick Furumoto slipped on the wet field and the ball rolled to the wall.
"Coach (Dunn Muramaru) and Fresh (first baseman Chris Freshour) came out to the mound and coach told me, 'Come on, do your thing out there. It's a brand new start.' "
Ryan Asato led the Owls at the plate, going 3-for-3 with an RBI single for a 4-0 lead in the fourth.
Roosevelt starter Kalani Yoshimura had control problems and walked six in 213 innings.
The Owls went up 1-0 in the first on Randy Rundgren's sacrifice fly and expanded the lead to 3-0 in the third on Kip Masuda's bases-loaded walk and Chad Takabuki's RBI groundout.
Kuroda stayed in the game despite a 24-minute rain delay with one out in the top of the sixth. He walked the first batter he faced when the game resumed and threw a wild pitch soon after, allowing Derek Shigano to reach second. Shigano went to third on a groundout and was stranded there.
But the Rough Riders made it interesting the next inning.
"The kids maintained their poise, after all that stuff (Roosevelt's rally)," Muramaru said. "That's the main thing."
Rough Riders reliever David Chow didn't walk a batter and allowed one unearned run in his 323 innings.
Roosevelt (11-5) 000 000 3 - 3 4 1 Mid-Pacific (17-5) 102 100 x - 4 4 1 Kalani Yoshimura, David Chow (3) and Kevin Fujii; Harrison Kuroda and Kip Masuda. W-Kuroda. L-Yoshimura.
Leading hitters-Roos: Daniel Taniguchi 2b; Riki Nakagawa RBI; Ricky Eusebio HR, 2 RBIs. MPI: Ryan Asato 3-3, RBI; Randy Rundgren RBI; Masuda RBI; Chad Takabuki RBI.
Consolation Bracket
Kaiser 7, Honokaa 5 (six innings, time limit): Neale Asato had a run-scoring single and an RBI double to lead the Cougars past the Dragons in a consolation-bracket game.Trent Hamada struck out three and walked two while yielding four hits in four innings to get the win.
Kaiser (11-4) 020 401 - 7 9 2 Honokaa (10-7) 000 221 - 5 7 1 Trent Hamada, Evan Garcia (5), Reyn Kimura (5) and Jarryd Maeda; Joshua Hart and Gary Yu. W-Hamada. L-Hart.
Leading hitters-Kais: Neale Asato 2-3, 2b, 2 RBIs; J. Maeda 2-3, RBI; Jeffrey Peters 2-3, 2b. Hono: J. Hart 2-4, RBI; Mana Bailado 2-3, 3 RBIs; Kurt Nakamura 2-3, 3b, RBI.
The Star-Bulletin's Dave Reardon contributed to this report.
HHSAA Baseball
At Les Murakami Stadium.
Seeds: 1. Aiea. 2. Waiakea. 3. Mid-Pacific. 4. Baldwin.Yesterday
5: Kaiser 7, Honokaa 5
6: Waiakea 5, Pearl City 1
7: Punahou 5, Baldwin 1
8: Aiea 2, Leilehua 1
9: Mid-Pacific 4, Roosevelt 3Today
10: Kauai vs. Hilo, 9 a.m.
11: Leilehua vs. Baldwin, 11:30 a.m.
12: Pearl City vs. Roosevelt, 2 p.m.
13: Waiakea vs. Mid-Pacific, 4:30 p.m.
14: Aiea vs. Punahou, 7 p.m.Tomorrow
15: Kaiser vs. Game 10 winner (seventh place), noon
16: Winners 11 & 12 (fifth place), 2:30 p.m.
17: Losers 13 & 14 (third place), 5 p.m.
18: Winners 13 & 14 (championship), 8 p.m.
