ILH BASEBALL
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mid-Pacific catcher Aaron Fujiki tagged out Iolani's Lionel Fujioka at home in the 10th inning.
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Mid-Pacific holds off Iolani to stay unbeaten
In a close play at the plate, Mid-Pacific preserved its status as the team to beat in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.
Iolani's Lionel Fujioka was thrown out at home in a wild sequence in the 10th inning as the No. 1 Owls escaped with an 8-7 win yesterday at the Raiders' field. Unbeaten MPI improved to 6-0 in the ILH (22-1 overall).
With one out in the bottom of what would be the final frame, the Raiders' Jarrett Arakawa smacked a grounder to right. Owls second baseman Russell Doi made a spectacular diving grab and flipped the ball to first baseman Easton Torigoe, who had to extend off the bag. The ball tipped out of Torigoe's glove and over his head, and Fujioka, who reached third on the play, saw his chance to extend the game.
As the senior right fielder sprinted for home, Torigoe -- who had the go-ahead RBI single in the top of the 10th -- recovered and fired the ball to catcher Aaron Fujiki. The senior appeared to clip the leg of Fujioka, who slid in head-first, but the Iolani faithful protested loudly when the home plate umpire quickly balled his fist.
"It was sort of like a bang-bang play, so I'm glad (we) had the poise enough to make the play at home," said MPI coach Dunn Muramaru. "A good throw -- last year we don't make that play."
From the runner's perspective, the tag was late.
"He tagged my lower half, and I dove in hand extended," said Fujioka, whose battered appearance afterward spoke of the hard-fought nature of the game. "After I got up, the corner of the plate was nipped like I wiped it. I was in. From my point of view, I was in. The throw may have beat me, but I made the best slide I can make to give myself the best chance to be in there, and I thought I was in there."
The best opportunity for Iolani (2-4 ILH) was squandered and Breland Almadova popped out immediately after to end the game.
Raiders coach Dean Yonamine was incensed at the umpires and quickly left the field. Later, he said video replay showed that Fujioka was in.
Muramaru, meanwhile, let out a sigh of relief. His team led 5-2 after two innings, but starter Robert Dittrick gave up a two-run homer to Arakawa as part of a four-run fifth inning for the Raiders. The Owls rallied to score once in the seventh to send the game into extra innings at 7-7, and Torigoe's two-out RBI single to right brought home Doi from second for the only run scored in the additional frames.
Reliever Gavin Kinoshita blanked the home team in the final four innings and stranded six Raiders from the seventh on.
At Iolani H.S. field
| Mid-Pacific (6-0) |
230 |
100 |
100 |
1 |
-- |
8 |
15 |
2
|
| Iolani (2-4) |
200 |
041 |
000 |
0 |
-- |
7 |
13 |
1 |
Robert Dittrick, Dane Kinoshita (5), Gavin Kinoshita (5) and Aaron Fujiki. Sheldon Lee, Ronnie Hirokawa (2), Breland Almadova (2), Trent Miyashiro (5), Kelsey Outram (6) and Grant Iwamoto. W--G. Kinoshita. L--Outram.
Leading hitters--Mid-Pacific: Fujiki 3-6, 3b, 2 RBIs; Easton Torigoe 3-6, 3 RBIs; Mikey Nagamine 3-5, 2 RBIs; Russell Doi 2-4. Iolani: Jarrett Arakawa 3-5, HR, 3 RBIs; Almadova 3-6, 2 2b; Reyn Nagamine 2-3; Grant Liu 2-3, 2 RBIs.
ILH
Punahou 9, Damien 8
The Buffanblu escaped the Monarchs with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to steal a victory.
Paul Snieder picked up the win, pitching the final three innings of the game, and went 2-for-2 with a double, a triple and an RBI.
At Ala Wai Community Park
| Damien (2-4) |
013 |
211 |
0 |
-- |
8 |
12 |
1
|
| Punahou (5-1) |
011 |
014 |
2 |
-- |
9 |
10 |
2 |
Issac Ventura, John Awa (5), DJ Andrade (7) and Zach Kometani. Reece Kiriu, Jeremy Fujimoto (3), Paul Snieder (5) and Zach Kometani. W--Sneider. L--Awa.
Leading hitters--Damien: Oli Meheula 2-4, RBI; Michael Memea 2-4, RBI; Taylor Kauweloa 3b; AaLona Amimotot 4-4. Punahou: Kometani 2b, RBI; Tyler Young 2-4, 3 RBIs; Snieder 2-2, 2b, 3b, RBI; Evan Lim 2-3, RBI.
Saint Louis 12, Maryknoll 2, 5 inn.
The Crusaders closed out the Spartans early thanks to the 10-run rule, setting the tone with an eight-run second inning.
At Hans L'Orange Field
| Maryknoll (0-6) |
|
110 |
00 |
-- |
2 |
1 |
1
|
| Saint Louis (5-1) |
|
081 |
12 |
-- |
12 |
17 |
0 |
Craig Shoji, Matt Guzman (2), Jordan Kurokawa (4) and Kylie Hirata. Noah Siegfried and Keoni Haina. W--Siegfried. L--Shoji.
Leading hitters--Maryknoll: Matt Guzman 2b, run. Saint Louis: Evan Fujihara 3-3, 2b, 2 runs; Danny Higa 2-3, RBI, run; Moses Samia HR, 3 RBIs, 2 runs; Cole Shidaki 3b, run; Kyle Watase 2b, RBI; Marcus Kimura 2-3, 2b, RBI, 2 runs; Keoni Haina 2-4, 3b, RBI; Lucas Gonzalves 2-3, 3b, 2 RBIs, run; Kaden Kamoe 2-3, 2 runs.
Pac-Five 3, Kamehameha 2, 10 inn.
Ian Padeken hit a single in the top of the 10th to bring in Ross Yamato as the Wolf Pack defeated the Warriors.
At Hans L'Orange Field
| Pac-Five (2-4) |
000 |
000 |
200 |
1 |
-- |
3 |
4 |
0
|
| Kamehameha (2-4) |
000 |
110 |
000 |
0 |
-- |
2 |
8 |
1 |
Tyler Simao, Ian Padeken (9) and Reid Morihara. Tucker Troy, Kainoa Toriki (8), David Lee (10) and Ula Nakamura. W--Padeken. L--Toriki.
Leading hitters--Pac-Five: Jon Ray Rodrigues 2-2; Morihara 2b, run, RBI. Kamehameha: Kapena Kalehuawehe-Gomes 2-5; Arlie Johnson 2-4.
ILH standings
|
W |
L
|
| Mid-Pacific |
6 |
0
|
| Punahou |
5 |
1
|
| Saint Louis |
5 |
1
|
| Kamehameha |
2 |
4
|
| Iolani |
2 |
4
|
| Damien |
2 |
4
|
| Pac-Five |
2 |
4
|
| Maryknoll |
0 |
6 |
