The West Kauai All Stars held off a late-inning Lihue assault with four runs in the sixth to win Sunday’s final showdown 9-5 and advance to the Mustangs Regionals in Mililani. The Mustangs champs will join the West Kauai All
The West Kauai All Stars held off a late-inning Lihue assault with four runs in the sixth to win Sunday’s final showdown 9-5 and advance to the Mustangs Regionals in Mililani.
The Mustangs champs will join the West Kauai All Stars Bronco team to the state-wide tournament, which will be held from July 4-8.
Lihue challenged West Kaua’i throughout the series, winning the first game and fighting back in each of the three-game series, but West Kaua’i always had an answer.
On Sunday, it was in the sixth.
With a comfortable four run lead dwindled in the fifth, West Kauai entered the top of the sixth with a slight one-run cushion.
Lihue pitcher Jessica Iwata, one of the most talented players in the series, tried to stave off the West Kauai offense, but it proved too much.
With two outs in the sixth, West Kauai ace Michael Acoba, who struck out seven and notched a hard-fought win, smacked a two-rbi single to drive in Trent Allianic and Kalana Waalani-Arroyo and put West Kauai up 8-5. Moments later, Richard Davenport would ice the cake with an rbi-single to score Torrey Santiago.
Lihue couldn’t bounce back from the one run deficit.
For Lihue, Lanan Kashima notched a sacrifice-rbi in the first; Christian Fort’s rbi-double scored Kashima in the fourth; and in the fifth, Egan Kouchi knocked in Iwata and Randall Sagucio-Jack, who singled on a near-homer to left.
For West Kaua’i, Allianic’s two rbi-single scored Jared Fernandez and Micah Rita in the third inning…Acoba also had an rbi in the inning: a triple to score Allianic; Davenport knocked in Allianic on a double in the fifth…Jordan Garcia (two runs in game) would later bring Davenport home on a nifty single.
