Kapa`a sweeps!
LIHU’E – The Kapa’a Warriors broke out their bats, umbrellas and brooms
Saturday, as they swept the weekend double header against the Kaua’i Red
Raiders to take a 1-1/2 game lead in the first round of KIF baseball action.
Battling a late start (ACT student testing), tough weather conditions (rain,
wind gusts, and incrementally darkening skies), and persistent Raider
determination, it wasnt easy for the visiting victors who took a 12-14, 13-7
win.
Game 1
Kapa’a 14 Kaua’i 12
Kapa’a’s Sean Tamura got things
going with a second inning triple to the right field corner, scoring on a Royce
Rapozo fielder’s choice.
The Raiders evened the tally in the bottom of
the inning as Mark Rodrigues led off against Warrior hurler Allen Mundon with a
single to right. Kwinton Estacio’s sacrifice bunt advanced Rodrigues to second,
and Oshima’s first-pitch bouncer into left moved him up to third. Aaron
Fernandez’ grounder was initially bobbled by Warrior infielder Micah Furtado
who recovered to force Canales (running for Oshima) at second, as Rodrigues
scored to knot the score at 1-1.
Scott Serizawa’s one-out single to right
in the bottom half of the third inning was followed by a booming Jason Koga
triple, scoring Serizawa for the go-ahead. Kainoa Santos’ single to right off
Mundon’s initial offering scored Koga for the 3-1 lead.
Two singles by
Mundon and Tamura put Warriors on first and second. Rapozo’s ground smash to
third gobbled up the Raider infielder and allowed Mundon to score cuttingt the
lead to 3-2. Brandon Bonilla’s ground ball up the middle went off Koga’s glove,
letting Tamura score to even things up a second time.
The fifth proved to
be the game’s deciding inning of play. With one-out, Justin Matsukawa singled
to right and Furtado followed with a rifle-shot double near the 380 sign in
right center scoring Matsukawa to put the Warriors in front for good. A two-out
intentional walk to Tamura put runners on first and second. Kalani Miyashiro
was unintentionally hit to load the bases with a Rapozo full-count walk
force-scoring Furtado to make it 5-3.
Bonilla’s triple to center cleared
the bases with a Raider infield error bringing him home as the Warriors jumped
ahead 9-3.
With Chris Lary running at first for catcher Robert Merkel,
Ikaika Pezario laced a single past third.
Raider relief pitcher Jeremy
Yeats moved Oshima to left field defensively, Matsukawa singled to left to load
the bags and Furtado’s double scored Lary and Pezario. Two consecutive balk
calls brought in Pezario and Furtado as the Warriors ended their at-bat 13-3.
Kapa’a defensive changes in the bottom half of the fifth had Furtado
moving from second to assume catching chores with freshman Matt Isoda playing
second.
Rodrigues led off with a double to left followed by an Estacio
single putting Raiders on the corners. Oshima walked to fill the bases and a
wild pitch to Yeats allowed Rodrigues to score with Estacio and Oshima poised
to score. Yeats walked to fill the bases. Kendrick Melchor was unintentionally
hit scoring Estacio.
Defensive Warrior changes had Mundon and Rapozo
switching positions with Mundon going to first and Rapozo to the hill in
relief.
Tyler Kobayashi’s high infield single scored Oshima and whittled
the lead to 13-6.
The first of the contest’s key defensive plays followed
as Serizawa hit a line screamer to Isoda whose throw to first doubled-off
Kobayashi. A wild pitch to Koga scored Yeats from third to bring the Raiders
within six runs with a walk putting runners on the corners, but a fly out to
left ended the threat.
The Raiders added their eighth run in the bottom of
the sixth as Rodrigues led off with a ttriple to rightfield and scored on
Estacio’s fielders choice ground ball.
Kapa’a answered in the top of the
final frame as Matsukawa tripled to right with one out. Furtado’s first-pitch
sacrifice fly to right scored Matsukawa with the Warriors’ final run of the
contest.
The Raiders, who in preseason displayed the ability to score in
bunches, just wouldn’t go down easily. With one out, Serizawa dropped a single
to right with Koga being plunked by a pitch. Santos followed with a ground-rule
double to score Serizawa and put runners on second and third.
Rodrigues
singled to right scoring Koga and Santos, cutting the lead to 14-11. A wild
pitch moved Rodrigues to second with an Estacio single droving Rodrigues home.
In an effort to stem the Raider momentum, Kapa’a Head Coach Shannon Masada
initiated a triage of defensive moves as Matsukawa moved to the mound, Rapozo
to first, and Mundon to the shortstop position, but a wild pitch moved Estacio
to second and a walk to Oshima put the tying run at first.
Furtado made the
game’s second key defensive play with a tough catch of Yeats’ foul pop in
front of the Kapa’a dugout for the inning’s second out. A ground ball to Isoda
forced Oshima at second to end the contest after two hours and forty-five
minutes of play.
Kapa’a scored 14 runs on 14 hits, 3 walks, and 3 hit
batsmen; the Warriors made 3 errors and left 6 men on base. Kaua’i scored 12
runs on 14 hits, 8 walks, and 3 batters hit-by-pitches; the Raiders committed 3
errors and left 12 runners on.
Game 2:
Kapa’a 13 Kaua’i 7
The second game started identical to the first matchup with the Warriors
taking an initial lead only to have Kaua’i storm back. Justin Matsukawa hit a
one-out single to right off Raider starting pitcher Jason Koga and promptly
stole second base. After a fly out, Matsukawa again showed his aggressive style
of play with a theft of third. Allen Mundon’s infield single scored Matsukawa
for a 1-0 score. Raider outfielder Tyler Kobayashi started off the first inning
with single up the box as Warrior middle infielders Matsukawa and Matt Isoda
collided trying to make the play. Scott Serizawa sacrifice bunted advancing
Kobayashi to second.
Jason Koga walked off Kapa’a starting pitcher Royce
Rapozo to put runners at first and second, as Kainoa Santos drove the first
pitch he saw into center field.
The throw home was too late to nab
Kobayashi with the tying run but Micah Furtado’s play nabbed Santos going to
second.
Mark Rodrigues continued his torrid hitting by driving in Koga
from third with a single to right to put the Raiders up.
Kwinton Estacio
followed with a single and Scott Oshima’s first-pitch bad-hop single past short
brought in Rodrigues from second to make it 3-1. Kalani Miyashiro and Rapozo
drew walks off Koga to start the second inning. Brandon Bonilla’s bunt single
loaded the bases with designated hitter Kaili Panui’s five-pitch walk bringing
Miyashiro home for the second Warrior run.
Ikaika Pezario hit a high
bouncer into left to score Rapozo. Matsukawa was unintentionally hit to force
Bonilla home giving Kapa’a the 4-3 nod.
Koga was moved to shortstop as
Levi Rapozo entered in relief for the Raiders before Furtado hit a sacrifice
fly to scoring Panui from third.
Mundon’s first-pitch double to the deepest
part of center drove in Pezario and Matsukawa to make it 7-3.
Sean Tamura
walked to put runners on first and second and a double steal by Mundon and
Tamura put both Warriors in scoring position. Miyashiro singled to score Mundon
and Tamura sauntered home as Miyashiro’s theft of second drew a throw from the
Raider catcher. Rapozo’s opposite field bouncer scored Miyashiro for Kapa’as
tenth run.
Matsukawa hit a one-out third inning triple to the center field
fence with Furtado driving a high bouncing single through the right side bring
Matsukawa home.
A two-out Tamura double to center scored Furtado and
increased the Warrior lead to 12-3.
The Raiders cut the lead by one in the
bottom of the fourth on a one-out Kobayashi triple and Koga sacrifice fly.
Kaili Panui started the fifth with a single and Pezario moved him to
second on a sacrifice bunt fielded by Estacio from the catcher’s position.
Panui easily swiped third and scored on a Matsukawa bunt that was bobbled by
the Raider third baseman for an error.
Rodrigues’ fly ball in the inning’s
bottom half was dropped in the Kapa’a outfield for a two-base error.
A
one-out Oshima single put runners on the corners and a Kapa’a fielding error on
pinch hitter Marc Matsumura’s ground ball scored Rodrigues and put Raiders on
first and second.
An infield pop and a stellar defensive play by Warrior
shortstop Matsukawa of a Kobayashi smash up the middle squelched any thoughts
of a big Raider inning.
The Raiders scored again in the home half of the
sixth as Serizawa started off with a single. Warrior outfielder Brandon Bonilla
made two outstanding running catches deep in right off Koga and Santos drives,
but ran out of real estate as Rodrigues capped off his outstanding offensive
showing by launching a 360-foot drive that landed loudly on the iron roof of
the Kaua’i Builders storage building and cut the lead to 13-7.
Jeremy
Yeats pitched a scoreless inning in relief of Levi Rapozo and the Raiders
looked to rally in their bottom half of the seventh. Oshima led off with a
first-pitch single to left field. Kapa’a hurler Royce Rapozo looked to finish
what he started by getting pinch hitter Dustin Goias on a tough foul pop to
Miyashiro in short left. Pinch hitter Rodney Baptiste hit a roller down the
third baseline that was gloved by Miyashiro and thrown for a 5-4-3 game-ending
double play to give the Warriors the afternoon sweep.
The victorious
Warriors (3-1) made the most of their opportunities and scored 13 runs on 13
hits, 5 walks, and had 1 batter hit-by-a-pitch; Kapa’a committed 2 errors and
left 4 men on base. Royce Rapozo got his second complete-game win for the
Warriors as he limited the Raiders (1-2) to 7 runs on 10 hits and 4 walks;
Kaua’i made 2 errors and left 8 men on.
In the double header, Raider first
baseman Mark Rodrigues went 6-8 (with 3 singles, a double, a triple, and a home
run) at the plate (including a walk) and drove in 5 runs. Offensive heroes for
the Warriors were Micah Furtado (4-6 on the afternoon with 2 singles and 2
doubles, 3 sacrifices) with 6 RBIs and Justin Matsukawa (6-9 at the plate with
4 singles and 2 triples) who scored 5 times.
Kapa’a will play its first
home game of the season on Wednesday, April 5, in a 2:45 p.m. contest at the
Ron Martin Field against the Waimea Menehunes (1-2).
