Crusaders top Trojans

Proving that quality sometimes matters more than quantity, the Saint Louis baseball team handed Mililani its first preseason loss, 6-2, despite being outhit almost 2-to-1 in an opening-round game at the 2005 Glenn Nitta Tournament.

The Crusaders scored early and often, plating all six of their runs in the first three innings. Four of Saint Louis' first five hits came with runners in scoring position to put the Trojans in the early hole.

Mililani ace Tony Aquino couldn't find his rhythm, walking five and hitting a batter in his three-inning stint. The game could have gotten out of hand quickly if not for Aquino's efforts, as the senior righty also struck out seven batters during that span.

Aquino recorded the first six Crusader outs of the game on strikeouts.

"Tony's pitch count was at 75 going into the fourth," said Mililani coach Dean Sato. "We always stress the importance of being around the strike zone early in the count, but sometimes it doesn't go that way."

On the flip side was Cameron Bayne, who put on a clinic on momentum maintenance, remaining the aggressor after being staked to the early cushion.

The 6-foot-2 junior did not issue a base on balls, challenging Trojan hitters in the bottom third of the strike zone. As a result, nine of the 11 hits he allowed were singles, and 16 of the 21 outs he recorded came via groundouts or strikeouts.

"We came out and played hard and played smart," said Crusader coach Scot Paiva. "Mililani has proven that they're one of the best teams in the state and they've done very well against the other ILH schools this preseason. Our defense was solid and Cameron did a good job of keeping his pitches down and throwing strikes."

Bayne mixed a running fastball with a tight 12-6 curveball and a slider to control the tempo, reaching back for a little extra in strikeout situations. Four of Bayne's strikeouts came with runners in scoring position, and two more came after he allowed a two-run homer to Matt Arakaki in the bottom of the sixth.

"I was trying to pitch strikes and let my defense work," Bayne said. "Our defense is one of the best and I gotta give the credit to them."

Mililani put together its best scoring threat in the bottom of the seventh, when John Abreu, Smiley Tsutsui and Aquino each singled to load the bases for all-star slugger Chaz Miyashiro, with no outs.

But as he had all day, Bayne came up with the big pitch when he needed to, striking out Miyashiro on a 2-2 curve in the dirt. It was the only time Miyashiro was retired, as he finished 3-for-4 with a double.

Jordan Apduhan batted next and looked to draw the wild pitch that would give Mililani its third run of the game, but Saint Louis catcher Sheldon Santiago laid out and knocked down the pitch to keep Abreu at third.

Two pitches later, Bayne got Apduhan to swing and miss at a breaking ball in the dirt to record the second out. The third strike bounced away from Santiago, but the senior hustled toward the backstop and made a quick toss to Bayne, who was covering home plate, to retire Abreu for the final out of the game.

"We were really fortunate to get out of that situation," Paiva said. "The amazing thing is that this is Sheldon's first season catching. Ever. He's worked really hard to be as good as he is right now, and he helped us win a game."

Saint Louis advances to play Waipahu today at 4 p.m., while Mililani plays Kamehameha in the consolation bracket at 11 a.m. Both games will be played at Mililani's on-campus field.

Notes: The 2005 Glenn Nitta Tournament is named after former longtime Trojan baseball coach and current athletic director Nitta. The tourney is a three-day affair which features eight teams -- Mililani, Saint Louis, Kamehameha, Waipahu, Iolani, Kaiser, Mid-Pacific and Kailua. All of today's and tomorrow's games will be played at Mililani.