Pearl City tips Kailua for repeat OIA title

STORY SUMMARY »

Sophomore Kahana Neal gutted out a 136-pitch effort as Pearl City rallied for an 8-7 win over Kailua in eight innings to captured the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red championship.

It was the Chargers' second OIA title game win over Kailua in as many years. Neal, a sophomore, struck out eight and walked five in 7 1/3 innings, and Bryson Nakamura came in to record the save in a wild eighth inning.

"Kailua's real tough," Pearl City coach Gary Nakamoto said after his team won the title in his first year at the helm. "I was kind of nervous, but now I feel good."

Pearl City (17-4-2 overall, 13-2 OIA) and Kailua (26-7, 12-3) were tied at No. 3 in last week's Star-Bulletin Baseball Top 10 poll, but the Chargers consistently managed to hit Kailua's fireballers to the opposite field.

Corey Yuh, who hurled a four-hit shutout in Pearl City's semifinal win over Castle on Saturday, was clutch at the plate. The senior left-hander batted 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Two of them came on an opposite-field single in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 5.

That hit proved vital as the game went into extra innings with the score still knotted at 5-all.

Ryan Acosta led off the eighth with a double, and Jared Nagai brought him home with another double -- his first of the night -- for a 6-5 lead.

Yuh then delivered a single to center to bring home Nagai for a 7-5 lead. Moments later, Yuh came home from third when Kailua catcher Keenan Tanaka's throw to second on a steal by Kurt Poentis went awry.

Kailua rallied with two runs in the bottom of the eighth, but with two runners on base and the Chargers' lead down to 8-7, Nakamura struck out Rob DeMarsh to end the game.

Chargers Champs

Pearl City has won the last two OIA baseball titles

YEAR TEAM COACH
2008 P.C. Gary Nakamoto
2007 P.C. Mel Seki
2006 Aiea Ryan Kato
2005 Kailua Corey Ishigo
2004 Aiea Ryan Kato
2003 Kailua Corey Ishigo
2002 Kailua Corey Ishigo
2001 Kailua Corey Ishigo
2000 Kailua Corey Ishigo
1999 P.C. Mel Seki
Source: OIAsports.com

FULL STORY »

By Paul Honda
phonda@starbulletin.com

It's not that Kahana Neal has a rubber arm.

He just couldn't stop the adrenaline. The 6-foot-2 sophomore threw 136 pitches in a gutty effort as Pearl City rallied past Kailua 8-7 last night to win the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red championship for a second year in a row.

Both teams were ranked No. 3 in last week's Star-Bulletin Baseball Top 10, but the Chargers dug deep with Neal's eight-strikeout performance.

Corey Yuh led Pearl City (17-4-2 overall, 13-2 OIA) at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance. Yuh, a senior who threw a four-hit shutout in the semifinals against Castle, drove in three runs, including two on a key single in the sixth inning. That hit allowed Pearl City to tie the game at 5-all and eventually force extra innings.

Scotty Talaesea homered and Keenan Tanaka went 3-for-5 for Kailua (26-7, 12-3 OIA), which fell to Pearl City in the OIA final for a second season in a row.

Neal never lost his cool even as his normally solid defense committed five errors. Coach Gary Nakamoto never expected the right-hander to go so deep into the game.

"It's the adrenaline. I just wanted to finish what I started," said Neal, who went 7 1/3 innings before yielding to Bryson Nakamura, who got the final two outs for a save.

The Chargers jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first with help from a run-scoring single by Carlton Tanabe.

However, an error by the Chargers helped Kailua bounce back in the bottom of the first. Talaesea's booming two-run homer to left-center gave the Surfriders a 3-2 lead.

Pearl City tied it in the second with an unearned run against Bryson Gauthe, Kailua's second hurler. Gauthe hung tough, however, and he delivered an RBI single to give Kailua a 4-3 lead in the fifth.

The lead opened to 5-3 in the sixth on Bobby Lastimosa's fielder's choice, only to disappear on Yuh's clutch hit that tied it at 5 in the sixth.

Kailua freshman pitcher Alika Ramseyer-Ho brought plenty of heat, but the Chargers reached him for three runs in the eighth.

Ryan Acosta led off the eighth with a double, and Jared Nagai brought him home with another double -- his first of the night -- for a 6-5 lead.

Yuh then delivered a single to center to bring home Nagai for a 7-6 lead. Moments later, Yuh came home from third when Kailua catcher Keenan Tanaka's throw to second on a steal by Kurt Poentis went awry.

Kailua rallied with two runs in the bottom of the eighth, but with two runners on base and the Chargers' lead down to 8-7, Nakamura struck out Rob DeMarsh to end the game.

Pearl City (13-2) 210 002 03 -- 8 10 5
Kailua (12-3) 300 110 02 -- 7 9 3

Kahana Neal, Bryson Nakamura (8) and Carlton Tanabe. Reyn Matsuki, Bryson Gauthe (1), Alika Ramseyer-Ho (6) and Keenan Tanaka. W--Neal. L--Ramseyer-Ho. S--Nakamura.

Leading hitters--Pearl City: Tanabe 2-4; Ryan Acosta 1-2, 2b, 2 runs; Corey Yuh 3-4, 3 RBIs, run. Kailua: Scotty Talaesea 1-1, HR, 2 RBIs; Tanaka 3-5.

OIA Red

Castle 4, Aiea 2

The Knights were led by catcher Coby Agres, who hit a two-run double in the third inning.

Aiea (9-5) 011 000 0 -- 2 5 1
Castle (10-4) 003 010 x -- 4 6 1

Shane Okubo, Cedric Kojima (6) and Carson Tsuruda. Josh Serrano, Pulama Silva (6) and Coby Agres. W-- Serrano. L-- Okubo. S--Silva.

Leading hitters--Aiea: Keenan Naole 1-3, RBI; Randy Castillo 1-3, RBI; Castle: Kaliko Cayetano-Tamashiro 1-2, RBI; Agres 1-3, 2b, 2 RBI.

OIA White

Waipahu 4, Radford 3

The Rams held the lead until the seventh inning when Marauder Tryton Gante singled to drive in Aldrin Padilla with the tying run.

Later that inning, Jansen Rios singled up the middle to drive in the game-winning run and give Waipahu the White Division championship. Kaimi Haina picked up the win and struck out 11.

Radford (7-4) 010 020 0 -- 3 5 2
Waipahu (11-0) 200 000 2 -- 4 8 3

Damien Puskarich, Brad Osbourne (7) and Zach Seitz. Kaimi Haina and Ignatius Mackenzie . W--Haina . L--Osbourne.

Leading hitters--Radford: Jerry Sims 2b, Eric Espenshade 3-3. Waipahu: Haina 2b,; Aldrin Padilla 2-3, 2b; Jansen Rios 1-3, 2 RBIs.

Kahuku 3 Kalaheo 2

The Red Raiders were led by Joe Deal, who went 2-for-3 and hit a two-out double in the third inning. R.J. Van Ness pitched a complete game and stuck out eight to get the win.

Kahuku (9-3) 003 000 0 -- 3 4 2
Kalaheo (9-2) 001 000 1 -- 2 4 1

R.J. Van Ness and Steven Van Ness. Kord Walls, Steven Vega (4) and Justin Pagan. W-- R. Van Ness. L-- Walls.

Leading hitters--Kahuku: Joe Deal 2-3, 2b, 2 RBIs; S. Van Ness 2b, Kui Naeole 2b; Kalaheo: Walls 2-2.

OIA Softball

Mililani 22, Aiea 1

The Trojans proved too much for Na Alii, scoring 22 runs in just five innings. Millilani was led by Courtney Senas, who went 2-for-5 with a double and a home run.

Mililani (12-1) 060 79 -- 22 10 0
Aiea (0-12) 001 00 -- 1 3 12

Kaylee Rodrigues and Rebecca Lee. Gabi Hoomalu, Marcelle Hiruko (2), Temu Lautalo (4), Rayna Strom-Okimoto (5) and Hiruko, Strom-Okimoto (2), Kori Nishi (5). W-- Rodrigues. L--Hoomalu.

Leading hitters--Mililani: Kristi Oshiro 2-5, 3b; Courtney Senas 2-5, 2b, HR; Courtney Abear 2-4, 2b, Lee 2-3.

ILH Softball

Sacred Hearts 5, Maryknoll 2

Tai Vegas went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs to lead the Lancers over the Spartans. Kori Nishitomi led the Lancers hitters with a 2-for-3 performance.

Sacred Hearts (6-5) 101 010 2 -- 5 10 2
Maryknoll (7-5) 000 001 1 -- 2 4 1

Joslyn Eugenio and Chelsea Kamai. Ariel Silva, Shay Shibata (7) and Kimi Okaneku. W-- Eugenio. L-- Silva.

Leading hitters--Sacred Hearts: Raecha Kauahikaua 2-3; Kamai 2-4, 2b; Tai Vegas 2-4, 3 RBIs; Eugenio 2-4. Maryknoll: Kori Nishitomi 2-3.

MPI 10, Punahou 1

The Owls pounded out 14 hits, led by Jen Hamamoto who went 4-for-4 with two RBIs. Desi Dung added two hits and three RBIs for Mid-Pacific in the win.

Punahou (2-9) 000 100 0 -- 1 8 2
Mid-Pacific (3-9) 401 032 x -- 10 14 5

Kelly Miyahara, Sarah Ishikawa (4) and Taylor Yamaguchi. Home Battery Torey Hamura, Desi Dung (4) and Katie Kochi. W--Hamura. L--Miyahara.

Leading hitters--Punahou: Taylor Yamaguchi 2-3,; Kayla Shimoda 2-3. Mid Pacific: Jen Hamamoto 4-4, 2 RBIs; Katie Kochi 2-4; Kim Onishi 2-3, 2b; Desi Dung 2-3, 3 RBIs.

Kamehameha 3 St. Francis 1

The Warriors were led by Jaime Millwood who went 2-for-3 with a triple in the third inning to drive in one of her two RBIs. With the win Kamehameha clinches the ILH regular season title.

St. Francis (6-6) 000 000 1 -- 1 2 0
Kamehameha (10-1) 002 010 0 -- 3 6 0

Pitisi Tualau Ashley Smith (4) and Brianna Tovio-Asato. Amber Waracka and Mai Kalakau. W-- Waracka. L-- Smith.

Leading hitters--St. Francis: Smith 1-2, RBI. Kamehameha: Shaleese Javillo 1-3, 2 runs; Jamie Millwood 2-3, 3b, 2 RBIs; Mai Kalakau 1-3, 3b, RBI.

Iolani 5, Pac-Five 4, 8 innings

The Raiders scored the winning run on a two-out error by the Wolfpack's Annie Lariosa, who made a wild throw to first base allowing the winning run to come in.

Pac-Five (6-5) 200 101 00 -- 4 11 3
Iolani (6-6) 000 003 11 -- 5 8 1

Annie Lariosa and Britany Hagihara. Brittney Guro, Kelly Imada (6)and Kai Matsutani. W--Guro . L--Lariosa.

Leading hitters--Pac-Five: Angie Yoshizu 2-3, RBI; Chanel Casamina 2-3; Sammy Ford, 2-4, RBI; Jodee Lovell 2-4, RBI; Chante Tesoro 3b. Iolani: Matsutani 2-4, RBI; Kaili Taniguchi 2-4; Kelli Ann Lum 2b.



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