LIHU‘E — With just one out in the first inning, the Lihu‘e Mustang all-stars chalked up eight runs enroute to a 15-4 victory over the West Kaua‘i all-stars, Tuesday afternoon before a good-sized crowd that spilled over into the outfields.
LIHU‘E — With just one out in the first inning, the Lihu‘e Mustang all-stars chalked up eight runs enroute to a 15-4 victory over the West Kaua‘i all-stars, Tuesday afternoon before a good-sized crowd that spilled over into the outfields.
West Kaua‘i drew first blood as Byron Freitas scored in the opening frame on a sacrifice play by Garrett Beyer, but Lihu‘e answered back loudly.
“They can blow this wide open,” Hank Ibia, who was a former Lihu‘e Mustang coach said as the bases were loaded with redshirts.
Kellen Aquino, who combined with Jensen Koga for the win on the hill, opened the books with a single, but was tagged on a fielder’s choice by Koga, scoring on a Christian Mendoza play to tie the contest.
Things began to unravel for West Kaua‘i as starting pitcher Garrett Beyer allowed three scores on balks in the opening frames with the Lihu‘e bats supplementing the effort led by a 2-RBI double by Aquino and a bunt single by Archie Vallatini.
Lihu‘e continued to burn in the second inning as they pushed six more runs led by a 2-RBI bang from Mendoza as the West Kaua‘i relief pitcher Braden Caires loaded the bags with two walks and allowed a score on a wild pitch and Lihu‘e finished the second inning with a 14-1 margin.
But West Kaua‘i was not over yet as Alika Emayo answered with a solo homerun to deep centerfield in the third inning followed by Jonah Malapit creating confusion in the infield to score Byron Freitas who got aboard on a walk from Koga for the 14-3 reading.
The Lihu‘e pitcher was rattled, issuing back-to-back walks following the homer, and Aquino took the mound to close.
Shosho Ogawa singled to right, stole second and third bases before scoring the final West Kaua‘i run on a Kaela Lanning play, second to first for the final 15-4 reading.
With the win, Lihu‘e takes the lead in the Best of Three series, and will travel to Kalawai Park on Thursday for the second game of the series.
A Lihu‘e victory will give them the Mustang title for the first time in their history, but a West Kaua‘i win will force game three on Saturday in Waimea, official Dondi Viquelia explaining that the teams desired a neutral field for the finale.
