WAILUKU—The Kapa`a Warriors came to the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA 42nd annual State Baseball Championships on the Valley Island looking for a little respect. They received a well-deserved reputation for hard play and dogged determination in giving the defending state champion
WAILUKU—The Kapa`a Warriors came to the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA 42nd
annual State Baseball Championships on the Valley Island looking for a little
respect. They received a well-deserved reputation for hard play and dogged
determination in giving the defending state champion Molokai Farmers all they
could handle before falling 14-7 in Thursday’s feature game at Iron Maehara
Stadium.
They took the field again Friday afternoon in a consolation
bracket loser-out contest against the #4 seeded Waiakea Warriors (who fell
Thursday to the ILH runner-up Iolani Raiders 11-5) and fell just short in a
hard-fought 3-2 six-inning contest ended prematurely due to the 2-hour time
limit imposed on non-championship games.
Ikaika Pezario led off the
fast-starting Warrior offense to begin the contest with a ground ball to the
right side that was misplayed by Waiakea first baseman Ryan Hanohano. Micah
Furtado drove starter Eric Tao’s 1-1 curve ball deep to center for a
run-scoring triple (his second of the state tournament) to bring in Pezario
with the contest’s initial run. Tao rallied back to pick up his first strikeout
and induced a grounder to short to leave Furtado at third.
Despite giving
up a pair of two-out singles and a walk to load the bases in the bottom half,
Kapa`a hurler Allen Mundon induced a ground out to first to leave the bags full
of (Waiakea) Warriors.
The two teams failed to get a hit in the second
inning as both starters hit their stride.
In the top of the third Pezario
was left aboard after picking up a one-out single to center and moving to
second on a Tao wild pitch.
Waiakea scored all of their runs in the bottom
half of the frame as Shannon Otani led off with a hard smash to the right side
that bounced off first baseman Lopez’ shoulder for an infield single. Dustin
Yamamoto was unintentionally plunked and Hanohano ripped an 0-1 offering off
Furtado’s glove at second to score Otani with Yamamoto moving to third. Kane
Palea’s sacrifice bunt to Mundon allowed Hanohano to advance to second and
catcher Chad Watanabe was intentionally walked to load the bases and set up a
possible force at home or inning-ending double play. Courtesy runner Kalea
Kaaehue entered to run for Watanabe and Mundon induced Kalae Decker to foul out
to Lopez near the Big Islanders’ dugout for the inning’s second out. Thomas
Mahaulu lined a 1-2 pitch to right for a clutch 2-run single that scored
Yamamoto and Hanohano with Waiakea’s second and third tallies. Warrior right
fielder Branden Bonilla came up firing however, and the relay from Matsukawa to
Robert Merkel nabbed Kaaehue attempting to sneak in at the plate.
Tao
remained in control despite giving up a two-out seeing-eye single to Tamura and
walking Miyashiro in the fourth.
Looking strong, Mundon allowed up a
lead-off single to pinch-hitter Royce Kawabata but got a bouncer back to the
mound then struck out the next two Waiakea batters on outstanding off-speed
breaking pitches.
Kapa`a cut the lead to 3-2 in the top of the fifth as
Merkel drew a one-out base on balls and was safe at second when Pezario’s
ground ball to the right side was thrown low to second and mishandled by the
Waiakea shortstop. A walk to Matsukawa loaded the bases and prompted a visit by
Waiakea Head Coach Tom Correa. The ever-dangerous Furtado picked up his second
RBI the easy way by drawing a four-pitch walk to force in Merkel. An
inning-ending first-pitch 4-6-3 double play grounder snuffed the potential
Warrior rally without further damage.
After holding Waiakea scoreless in
the bottom of the fifth inning, Mundon led off the sixth with a stinging single
past third and moved to second on Tamura’s follow-up single to left. As the
cheers of the Kapa`a fans in attendance reached a feverish crescendo, pinch
hitter Chris Lary missed a 2-2 bunt attempt for the inning’s first out. Mundon
however, running all the way, slid safely ahead of the throw into third to put
the tying run 90 feet away from the plate. With the contest’s time limit soon
approaching, Waiakea called time out to allow Tao and catcher Watanabe to
confer. When play resumed Tamura took off to second on a high 2-1 offering to
Bonilla (for ball three) and was tagged out on the strong throw from Watanabe
to Casey Meguro. A ground out to the Waiakea shortstop ended the contest after
6 innings with the BIIF champions up by a run.
Tao pitched 6 innings for
Waiakea in picking up the win, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, 5 bases on balls,
and 2 Waiakea miscues.
Mundon, who gave up only a single run in 2-2/3
innings against the #1 seeded Molokai Farmers only 14 hours prior to Friday’s
contest, took the hard-luck loss going 5 innings and allowing 3 runs on 6 hits,
2 walks, 1 HBP, and 1 Kapa’a error.
Kapa`a left 6 men on base to Waiakea’s
5 runners stranded. Kapa`a was led offensively by Furtado (1-2, triple, 2RBIs,
walk) and Tamura (2-2, walk).
The loss finished the KIF champion Kapa`a
Warrior’s season with a very respectable 11 win 5 loss record.
