HANAPEPE — Coming into the game, everyone knew it would come down to the wire and indeed it did go down to the very last at-bat, with the West Kaua‘i bronco all-stars, sneaking past a tough Lihu‘e squad, 7-6 yesterday
HANAPEPE — Coming into the game, everyone knew it would come down to the wire and indeed it did go down to the very last at-bat, with the West Kaua‘i bronco all-stars, sneaking past a tough Lihu‘e squad, 7-6 yesterday to take game one of three at the Hanapepe Ballpark.
The big game-winning hit came from Kalani Fernandez, who connected on a two-RBI single to win the game, scoring Mike Acoba with the winning run. Lihu‘e jumped into the driver’s seat in the first inning 1-0, as Jordan Garcia scored off of a Ryson Sakamoto fielder’s choice RBI. That lead would not last and in fact, the only other time Lihu‘e led was in the final inning. West Kaua‘i came storming back in their half of the first with the fireworks supplied by Nainoa Nobriga, who slammed a 2-RBI double to centerfield, scoring Acoba and Trent Allianic. The lead ballooned to 4-1 with help from Paul Correa. The lead remained the same until the third inning, as both pitchers buckled down with Correa on the mound for the West Kaua‘i all-stars and Jordan Garcia with the throwing duties for the Lihu‘e all-stars. Correa struck again in the third with a sacrifice fly RBI, scoring Nobriga. Lihu‘e answered in the fourth with a Tommy Moreno fielder’s choice RBI, giving Egan Kouchi a chance to touch home plate. Lihu‘e crept closer in the fifth, as Christian Largo cracked an RBI ground-rule-double, scoring Ryson Sakamoto. A Correa balk enabled another run to score, to make it 5-4 in favor of the westside squad. Then in the seventh, Lihu‘e put ice water in their veins and came through when they needed it, with Dustin Miyasato scoring on a two-base error on the West Kaua‘i thirdbaseman, to knot the contest up at five a piece. After a Kouchi walk, Jessica Iwata nailed a fielder’s choice RBI, scoring Largo for Lihu‘e’s first lead since the first inning.
That set the stage for the final frame, where it was do or die time for the West Kaua‘i all-stars, who added ice water in their veins too, as Acoba and Allianic led things off with infield singles. After a Nobriga groundout, Correa was intentionally walked and that set the stage for the Fernandez game-winning hit, as the packed crowd erupted on the West Kaua‘i side of the bleachers. West Kaua‘i jumps out of the gates with a 1-0 lead in the best of three series. Game two is at the Lihu‘e County Park, located in the back of the convention hall parking lot, with the first pitch going off at 9 a.m.
