LIHU‘E — “Whew! What a day!” were the first words out of coach Corey Paden’s mouth as he emerged through the doors leading to the baggage claim, glad to be back home. Paden was followed by other members of the
LIHU‘E — “Whew! What a day!” were the first words out of coach Corey Paden’s mouth as he emerged through the doors leading to the baggage claim, glad to be back home.
Paden was followed by other members of the Kaua‘i Pony All Star team, garbed in white “All Winners” tee shirts, and silent in their glory.
Earlier in the day, Kaua‘i Pony All Stars had clinched the state title with a 4-1 win over Waiana‘e at the Central Regional Park on O‘ahu.
The group arrived home on split flights, and while awaiting the arrival of their coach Wayne Wakumoto and several of the other players, one parent noted, “They’re going to Fullerton now. And their bats haven’t peaked yet. If they play like how they did up there (on O‘ahu), they’ll do well.”
And, the Kaua‘i boys did perform. Jordan Buster, his dad who went along with the team as well as a coach for Hanama‘ulu in the regular season, noted that the pitcher who starred in their 2-0 shutout over Mililani in game one finished the tournament with just eight hits allowed through 16 innings of pitching and allowing no runs.
Buster’s dad recollected that the fifth inning was pivotal for the team with most of their go-ahead plays occuring in that frame, and entering their championship match against Waiana‘e, Tuesday morning, remembered saying, “We own the fifth.”
That saying came to fruition as Kaua‘i logged three of their four runs in the fifth inning as Trent Allianic opened with a double followed by Rysan Sakamoto singling.
A sacrifice play by Loren Duarte drew first blood as Allianic crossed the plate.
Cole Parongao drew first on a walk, and Kalani Brackenridge followed with a sacrifice fly to deep center that pushed Sakamoto home for the 2-0 margin.
A passed ball scored Parongao for the 3-0 margin that was answered in the bottom of the frame as Waiana‘e was able to answer with a run.
A Jordan Leanio RBI single moved Reggie Vigilia home for the final score, Vigilia opening the sixth inning with a double.
The championship win capped a 4-1 performance on O‘ahu, Kaua‘i’s only loss coming at the hands of KAC, 11-8, on day two of the tournament.
“The boys played really well,” coach Wayne Wakumoto commented. “And the parents who went up, …” the coach stumbled for words. “They were really supportive of all the boys.”
Jabba Garcia, whose son Jordan is one of three Jordan’s on the all star team, was one of the parents who travelled with the team, and on arriving home, noted, “I think the last time Kaua‘i made it this far was when I was playing with Ross (Kagawa) in ‘78. That year, we went as far as second place in the World Series. When we won, I called Ross to let him know.”
The Kaua‘i Pony All Stars will be heading to Fullerton, California on Aug. 4 to take part in the Pony Regional Zone Tournament which will run from Aug. 4 through 11. Kaua‘i’s first game is scheduled for Aug. 6.
Should Kaua‘i be successful in California, the team’s next stop is the World Series in Pennsylvania.
Members of the Kaua‘i Pony All Stars include Trent Allianic, Braden Balocan, Kalani Brack-enridge, Jordan Buster, Loren Duarte, Jordan Garcia, Kaulana Judd, Egan Kouchi, Jordan Leanio, Markus Oketani, Cole Parongao, Rysan Sakamoto, Travis Shigeta, Reggie Vigilia, and Kaylen Wakumoto.
