HANAPEPE — Kapaa High School’s varsity baseball team defeated Waimea, 6-3, Wednesday afternoon at Hanapepe Stadium.
Kapaa (5-3 KIF, 1-0 2nd round, 0-1 playoff) evened the score at 1-1 with a run in the 2nd inning. With a runner on third and one out, Warriors junior shortstop Ka’imi Malina hit an RBI sacrifice fly to left field. Senior outfielder Kaenen Lacaden scored on the sac fly.
The Warriors plated two more runs in the fourth inning. Malina hit an RBI double to score Lacaden from first base. Malina later scored from third base on a wild pitch.
Kapaa padded its lead with three runs in the fifth inning. Warriors sophomore catcher Noa Cardinez hit an RBI double to left field.
Later in the fifth, senior third baseman Ekolu Rivera scored from third as Lacaden reached first base on an errant throw. Then, Cardinez got the team’s sixth run on an error.
Waimea (1-7 KIF, 0-3 2nd round) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With the bases loaded and with no outs, Menehune freshman catcher Kaanan Ephan grounded into a double play, but got an RBI. Junior outfielder Noah Bermudez, the leadoff hitter, scored on Ephan’s hit.
In the fifth inning, Menehune third baseman Corey Goias-Soares hit an RBI double to center field. Then in the sixth, Waimea got its third run as outfielder Noah Aquino crossed home plate on an error.
Kapaa totaled six runs on five hits, left five runners on base and recorded three errors. Malina was 2-3 with a double and a single, and he got two RBIs and a run.
Warriors starting pitcher, junior Ka’eo Kamau, got the win. He threw the first four innings, allowing one run on three hits and had three strikeouts, two walks and one hit-by-pitch.
Waimea got three runs on five hits, left nine runners on base and recorded two errors. Menehune shortstop Nalu Lazaro was 2-3 batting with two singles and a sacrifice bunt. He scored one run.
Menehune starter, junior Maximus Ham, took the loss for Waimea. In five innings, he allowed six runs — two unearned — on four hits and had five strikeouts, three walks and one hit-by-pitch.
Kapaa will host Kauai High School (7-2 KIF, 2-0 2nd round, 1-0 playoff) for a doubleheader on Saturday. The first game is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Waimea will next play against Kauai at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Hanapepe Stadium.
