LIHU‘E — Red Raider head coach Hank Ibia, Jr. waited until the very last inning in the KIF’s double-dip opener, to unleash the best pitcher in it paid off in the end as Yates struck out the side to end
LIHU‘E — Red Raider head coach Hank Ibia, Jr. waited until the very last inning in the KIF’s double-dip opener, to unleash the best pitcher in it paid off in the end as Yates struck out the side to end the second contest, 3-2 over the Warriors. In the early game, the Red Raiders managed to pull away in the end, 8-4, against a scrappy Kapa‘a High School squad.
Ibia Jr., who wasn’t going to the state and senior Kirby pitch Yates until their showdown against the Menehune on Wednesday, was forced to bring in the right hander, because of the tightness of the second game, in which the Warriors led after their half of the sixth inning.
Two juniors led the way for their respective teams on the mound. For Kaua‘i, it was Stanton Yoshimori and for Kapa‘a, Waylan Kupihea manned the pitching duties.
But in the bottom of the sixth, freshman Reggie Vigilia came up big with an RBI double to centerfield which knotted the score up at one apiece, as junior Dustin Pagador crossed the plate.
Another freshman, Schyler ArakakiIbia belted a single, which was mishandled by a Warrior outfielder and Vigilia capitilized on the miscue and scored the winning run for Kaua‘i.
Yates saw his first action of the season in the top of the seventh. After a Kahai Nakano rope down the first base line, the Red Raider senior buckled down and knocked down side to end the game at 3-2.
In the first contest, it was another pitchers’ duel between Kapa‘a senior Tyler Teves and Kaua‘i senior Shannon Oketani, until the fourth inning, as Yates’ two-out RBI single scored Yoshimori for the 3-2 lead.
Then the bottom fell out for the Warriors, as Kaua‘i freshman Andrew Renaud and Yates scored off of Kapa‘a errors for the 5-2 lead.
However, the Warriors crept back into the game with two outs in the fifth, as Teves slammed an RBI double, scoring junior Ekolu Allianic. Freshman Aaron Villatora knocked in Teves with an RBI single, which cut the lead to one at 5-4. The Red Raiders blew the game wide open in the sixth, as Renaud slapped an RBI single, giving junior Jett Jasper a taste of the home plate.
That set the stage for Yates’ 2-run blast to rightfield, which exploded out of the park, like a rocket, which gave Kaua‘i the 8-4 advantage.
The Red Raiders are 2-0 and Kapa‘a moved to 0-2 on the young season. KIF baseball moves to Hanapepe Ballpark on Wednesday, March 23, with Kaua‘i battling the Menehune at 2:45 p.m.
