KAPAA — The weekend of games in the Kauai Senior Softball League were played at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex Softball Stadium and at the Wailua Houselots Garden Park. The six games cleared up the fight for seedings as the league heads into the State Senior Softball Championship in a few weeks on Maui.
In Kapaa, Da Kruzers prepared the field for competition for the second week in a row. Down the road, Kawaihau opened up the lush gardens in the Houselots. Both teams hosted the set of games at the respective fields. There is one week left in the regular season for the Kauai Seniors.
Da Kruzers ran into a buzz saw facing West Kauai. Neil Zaslow has rallied his troops in locking up the team’s 16th win of the year. Barry Toy and Da Kruzers will be looking to rebuild in the upcoming winter break after a long season. West Kauai showed their muscle and some slick glove work in shutting out Da Kruzers, 16-0, to start the day in Kapaa.
Pete Rayno and the Hanamaulu Hillsiders had their work cut out for them taking on the Ohana Motors Rebels. Gary Yates took the mound for his Rebels and picked up his sixth victory of the year. The right hander used the Rebel bats, where five of the 11 hitters in the line-up had perfect days at the plate to help to carve out a 20-5 win over the Hillsiders in six innings. The Rebels have completed their 2018 regular season schedule with a league-leading 22-2 record.
The game of the day pitted the Rookies against the Keonimana Gents. Alan Horikawa had the Rookies poised for an upset over the defending league champions. The Gents on the other hand have been unstoppable, particularly in their home park. Sia Salausa put together another rout for the Gents as they blasted the Westside team, 19-8. The Gents are even with the Rebels in the loss column of the standings and have two games remaining to play.
A short distance away, Kawaihau entertained Kuku’s Aces in Wailua. Ernie Koerte and his team of seasoned veterans went to work early facing Kuku DeCosta’s Westside crew. Playing at home always feels comfortable and Kawaihau got down to business right from the start while knocking out the Aces in a shortened contest. The home team crushed Kuku’s Aces in a 14-0 decision.
Norman Holt’s East Kauai Legends, also playing on familiar home turf, took on Frank Bukoski and Ohana in the mid-morning match up. Bukoski’s bunch has had an up and down season and got the upper hand in this game moving one game above .500. Ohana muscled their way to a 14-8 win in a tight battle notching their 12 win with 11 losses.
The day in the park wrapped up with Dwight Fujii and the Aloha Kia Lihue A’s paired with the Islanders. Joe Bertucci has a revamped line-up featuring a great combination of timely hitting and power with some pretty tricky pitching. The Lihue A’s were in no mood for a close game after last week’s disappointing loss and hammered the Islanders with no mercy. The A’s demolished the Islanders, 25-6, to secure their position in the final standings in a tie for third place in the league.
The regular season comes to an end this weekend with seven games on the schedule. The league will wrap up at the Peter Rayno Softball Stadium with the Islanders playing host on the final weekend. The other half of the day will be played at the tropical Wally Sonoda Field in Kaumakani.
Kuku’s Aces will welcome the three games to their ballpark. In Hanamaulu, the Islanders will open up with a challenging encounter with the Keonimana Gents. In the mid-morning contest, the Hillsiders will go up against the Aloha Kia Lihue A’s. The third game will be a family affair with the East Kauai Legends tangling with Kawaihau. There will be a fourth game at the Rayno Park as part of a doubleheader. The Islanders and the Gents will play the long awaited make-up game from a rain out earlier in the year. The Islanders and Gents will open and close the final day of games.
The 43rd Hawaii State Senior Softball Tournament will be held July 30 through August 2 on Maui. For the first time in the history of the tournament, Kauai will be awarded two places in the top A bracket and two seeds in the B bracket. The Kauai seniors have been exceptionally strong in the state tournament over the past five years and have earned the advancement in the state schedule.
League standings
Ohana Motors Rebels, 22-2
Keonimana Gents, 20-2
Aloha Kia Lihue A’s, 17-6
Rookies, 17-6
West Kauai, 16-7
Barteks, 13-10
Ohana, 12-11
Islanders, 10-12
East Kauai Legends, 8-15
Kawaihau, 8-15
Hanamaulu Hillsiders, 4-19
Da Kruzers, 2-21
Kuku’s Aces, 0-23
