Kalani Brackenridge lit the fuse for the Lihu’e Pony Baseball team enroute to their 10-0 win over Waimea in the opening round of the Pony Baseball playoff series, Wednesday. With two out in the first inning, Brackenridge opened the scorebooks
Kalani Brackenridge lit the fuse for the Lihu’e Pony Baseball team enroute to their 10-0 win over Waimea in the opening round of the Pony Baseball playoff series, Wednesday.
With two out in the first inning, Brackenridge opened the scorebooks with a solo in-the-park homerun to deep rightfield as he motored to a three-run inning.
Jordan Leanio, the Lihu’e starting pitcher, got life at first and went on to score on a solid RBI triple by Ryson Sakamoto.
Bunji Shimomura, a familiar name among baseball camps, was watching the contest from behind firstbase, noting, “He’s (Brackenridge) has always been playing solid “D,” and now his bat is coming around.”
That win sets the stage for the Sunday showdown at Vidinha Stadium when Hanapepe comes to meet Lihu’e starting at 12:30 p.m.
In baseball fields elsewhere, Kapa’a was edged out by Kalawai, 2-0 at the Kalawai Field, Wednesday, and Hanapepe edged out Koloa, 3-2 at home.
Peter Rayno, coach for the Hanamaulu Angels, joked, “Getting his picture in the paper must’ve done something to him,” referring to Darren Lapitan who went 4-5 in the batter’s box as the Angels downed the Kekaha K-Town Boys, 13-5 in Kekaha.
“They were really hitting,” Rayno said of the Angels.
Those Wednesday afternoon results sets the stage for the Sunday games which will be played at both the Kalawai fields and Vidinha Stadium.
In the 10 a.m. opener, Waimea will take on Kekaha at Kalawai while Kapa’a will tangle with Koloa at Vidinha Stadium.
The afternoon games will feature all of the Wednesday winners as Kalawai will host the Hanamaulu Angels while Lihu’e hosts Hanapepe at Vidinha Stadium.
Those games are scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m., Rayno noting that there is no time limit for the playoff games, so the starts may be a little off.
