LIHUE — The Fourth of July came early at the two Kauai Senior Softball games on Saturday. Six teams posted a combined 77 runs in three contests at the Peter Rayno Sr. Park in Hanamaulu. Over at the Eleele Softball Stadium, another triple-header found 54 runs scored and more than eight home runs were hit.
In Hanamaulu, Barteks stayed atop the league standings with a 19-6 clobbering of the Islanders. The hammers from Hanapepe got a double-digit win to remain undefeated. Kawaihau had its hands full when they tangled with Da Kruzers in the second game of the day. The Kapaa club was able to pull off a four-run victory, 16-12, in a game that went down to the wire. Da Kruzers had the bases loaded and the tying run at bat in the final inning only to fall short on a hot line drive out to end the game.
In the final game, the East Kauai Legends notched their first win of the season against Hanamaulu Hillsiders. The Legends hung on for a 14-10 victory. The Keonimana Gents were idle for the weekend.
In Eleele, West Kauai’s Dana Palama and Lihue’s Gary Venturini put on a hitting clinic, blasting home runs to open the day. The A’s took advantage of a few early errors to jump out to a lead and never looked back in a 15-8 thriller over West Kauai. The capacity crowd watched in awe as both sides exchanged monstrous home runs.
In the second game, Kuku’s Aces jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first but it was not enough against the Ohana Motors Rebels. The Rebels put together a pair of five-run innings to run away with a 15-3 win in six innings. The crowd anticipated the final contest pitting two undefeated teams — Ohana and the Rookies. The Rookies starting pitcher Ronnie Matsumura tossed a gem in stopping Ohana, 11-2. He got a lot of help from his home run-hitting teammates who put the game out of reach.
Kauai Senior Softball continues Saturday with games in Eleele and at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex in Kapaa. The Keonimana Gents will host the day in Kapaa and take on Kawaihau to open the games. The Hanamaulu Hillsiders go up against the Islanders in the mid game, and the final matchup features Da Kruzers and the Aloha Kia Lihue A’s.
Over in Eleele West, Kauai welcomes Ohana in the first game. Kuku’s Aces will face off with Barteks in the second game. Two undefeated teams meet up when the Rookies encounter the Rebels in the last game. First pitch is at 9 a.m. with the other games scheduled for 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.
Results
Hanamaulu: Barteks 19, Islanders 6; Kawaihau 16, Da Kruzers 12; East Kauai Legends 14, Hanamaulu Hillsiders 10
Eleele: Aloha Kia Lihue A’s 15, West Kauai 8; Ohana Rebels 15, Kuku’s Aces 3; Rookies 11, Ohana 2
Idle: Keonimana Gents
