Maui 10, Windward 7 HANAPEPE — Jai Luna drove in the winning run with a double for the Maui All Stars in their 10-7 win over the Windward All Stars on opening day of the Pony Baseball Bronco State tournament,
Maui 10, Windward 7
HANAPEPE — Jai Luna drove in the winning run with a double for the Maui All Stars in their 10-7 win over the Windward All Stars on opening day of the Pony Baseball Bronco State tournament, yesterday, at Hanapepe Stadium.
Playing at the stadium’s back field, the Maui and Windward all star teams were pushed to nine innings, the most innings any Maui player experienced, according to head coach Mike Victorino.
“Most of the kids I’ve coached over the years haven’t experienced being pushed to that many innings,” he said. “But what I saw was that our team pulled together as a unit and they showed us coaches a lot of character. Both teams played hard. It was maximum effort from both teams.”
Maui got on the board with a run scored in the first before Windward took the lead in the third with three.
Tied at 7-7 in extra innings, Issac Burrows hit an RBI triple to give Maui the advantage. They would go on to score two more times before Windward’s next at bat.
With two outs, Windward’s Wyatt D’Alessio reached first on an error but was tagged out at second off the next play.
Burrows finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and Waylen Puha went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
‘Aiea 15, West Kaua‘i 3
Ace Racuya finished 2-for-2 with three runs scored and Keenan Lum struck out five in two innings in ‘Aiea All Stars’ 15-3 win over host team West Kaua‘i.
‘Aiea was ahead two runs going into the second but extended the lead two 10-0 after scoring eight runs on only two hits. West Kaua‘i didn’t get a hit until the third and got another in the fourth.
The West Kaua‘i All Stars’ best inning came in their last when Nicholas Salas hit a triple and Byron Freitas hit a double in the fifth.
‘Aiea’s Brayton Sakai 2-for-2 and scored twice. Jacob White was 1-for-1 and scored once.
For West Kaua‘i, Kamalei Compoc-Dela Cruz, Kendall Rivera and Salas all finished 1-for-2 and Freitas finished 2-for-2.
Lihu‘e 13, Mililani B 2
Nick Vallatini pitched a one-hitter in his five innings and the Lihu‘e All Stars topped Mililiani All Stars B team 13-3, yesterday in the mid-afternoon game.
Lihu‘e’s Dreyke Smith-Butoc had a great start in the first when he robbed Mililani’s Andre Fraticelli of what would have been a three-run homer. Fraticelli smacked one deep center to the fence, but a sprinting Smith-Butoc came up with the catch.
He then led off the bottom of the first for Lihu‘e with a triple straight up the center.
Lihu‘e had an explosive fourth inning, going through its seven-batter rotation twice and scoring nine runs.
Mililani A 31, Kona 3
Mililani All Stars A team’s innings, it seemed, just wouldn’t end and the Kona All Star team’s innings just weren’t long enough. Mililani won in crushing fashion as the A team defeated Kona 31-3.
Troy Kakugawa and Ekolu Ramos both finished 3-for-3 with three runs scored. Kody Yamada went 4-for-4 and D.J. Dureg also went 4-for-4 and scored five times.
It took all game before Kona scored to prevent a complete shut out. Michael Yarbarra hit a solo home run and Ryan Torres Torioka and Evyn Yamaguchi each scored a run.
Mililani A 10, Maui 2
Mililani’s A team got a leg up on the tournament beating Maui 10-2 in the last set of games in the afternoon. The A team is the only team 2-0 after the first day of tournament pool play. ‘Aiea, although beat West Kaua‘i in the morning, only played one game.
Sean Milan was awarded the win and Jimmy Madrid got the save. J.C. DeJesus went 4-for-5 and scored four times, Trent Sitar finished 2-for-2 and Kakugawa went 3-for-4.
Maui’s Burrows came up with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning and Luna led off the fifth inning with a double and scored.
West Kaua‘i 6, Lihu‘e 2
Acetyn Emayo allowed only five hits in seven innings. No other stats were reported as of press time.
