WAIMEA — West Kaua‘i bats hammered Maui pitching and sparking a 24-7 romp to advance to the semi-finals of the Hawai‘i Bronco Region State Baseball Tournament yesterday. Pitcher Mikeo Rita was credited with the win. “I thought it was a
WAIMEA — West Kaua‘i bats hammered Maui pitching and sparking a 24-7 romp to advance to the semi-finals of the Hawai‘i Bronco Region State Baseball Tournament yesterday.
Pitcher Mikeo Rita was credited with the win.
“I thought it was a nice day to come out and watch Dallas Correa play,” said Eric Fujimoto, a coach from Lihu‘e. He was joined by Wes Masumura, a coach for the Lihu‘e Babe Ruth team.
The victory sets up West Kaua‘i for a showdown with Aiea, which is coming off an 8-6 loss to Mililani.
That contest begins at noon at the Waimea Canyon Park.
In Game 1, Mililani takes on Maui at 10 a.m.
The winners of both games will meet tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. for the state championship.
Earlier in the day, Windward O‘ahu handed Lihu‘e its third straight defeat 7-3, despite Lihu‘e jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Windward came back with three runs in the third inning and added another trio in the fifth to ice the first of four tournament games Sunday.
In Game 2, Hawai‘i Kai jumped all over Kona with a six-run first inning en route to a 16-4 win.
Makana Lyman paced the Hawai‘i Kai attack, going 3-4 at the dish with a home run, a double and four RBI. As if that wasn’t enough, Lyman also crossed the plate four times.
Although he only hit safely once in four at-bats, Micah Ramos found a way to contribute, doubling, knocking in four runs and scoring twice. Cory Mento also scored twice and went 2-4 at the plate.
Domonic Morris led Kona, scoring three of the team’s four runs while going 1-3. Colten Yamaguchi scored Kona’s other run.
In Game 3, Drake Oshiro’s home run answered Aiea’s early 1-0 lead and a Mililani three-run double pushed the score to 5-2. Aiea never recovered and lost by two.
Game 4 saw West Kaua‘i plate seven runs in the first, three in the third, eight in the fourth and six in the fifth, scarcely allowing Maui to come up for air. The game was called after the fifth because of the 10-run rule.
Kendall Kaohi and Alika Emayo led the onslaught, each going 4-4 from the plate, while Correa (3-4) and Kaimana Pereira-Alquiza (3-3) combined to go 6-7. Chyson Soares and Tylen Remata each had two hits as well for West Kaua‘i.
