West O‘ahu 11, Hilo 3 – KAPA‘A — A home run, a grand slam and an error proved costly to Hilo, yesterday afternoon when it fell 11-3 to West O‘ahu. The Salas brothers, Jaraad and Jordaan, authored the home runs
West O‘ahu 11, Hilo 3 – KAPA‘A — A home run, a grand slam and an error proved costly to Hilo, yesterday afternoon when it fell 11-3 to West O‘ahu.
The Salas brothers, Jaraad and Jordaan, authored the home runs to pull West O‘ahu back into the contest after Hilo took an early 3-0 lead at the state Little League Majors Tournament at the New Kapa‘a Ball Park Main Diamond.
But Jaraad and Jordaan did more than hit the ball as they were the pitcher-catcher combo in the win which eliminated Hilo from the chase for the state Majors title.
Jaraad picked up the win on the mound with four hits allowed while striking out 11 Hilo batters and walking three.
Hilo opened with a homerun of its own as Tyler Higa-Gonsalves, the lead-off batter, homered on Jaraad’s second pitch for a quick 1-0 bulge.
With one out in the second inning, Hilo got Micah Carter aboard on the first of three walks issued by Jaraad and scored on a wild pitch. Tyler Thornly got first on another walk and scored off a fielder’s choice for the 3-0 lead.
But West O‘ahu answered in the fourth inning when Jordaan smacked a two-run homer to score Ray Hassinger, walking first, to pull West O‘ahu to within one run, 3-2.
With no outs in the fifth, West O‘ahu pulled into the lead as a Hilo error and an intentional walk filled the bases to set the stage for Jaraad’s grand slam as Jaraad trotted toward home plate yelling, “We not going home, baby!”
Hilo could not recover as the redshirts allowed five more runs on four hits in the final frame. Totally, West O‘ahu finished with eight hits led by Ricky Ahlo-Pinera with two singles and a double and scoring twice. Jordan Mopas added a single to the West O‘ahu hitting.
With the win, West O‘ahu draws a bye until Monday afternoon when it meets up with the winner of the Waipio/Kailua match which unfolds at 10 a.m.
Central Maui 4, Waipio 3
Kahiau Winchester and Keelan Obedoza each homered for Waipio, but the effort fell short in the final inning as Maui scored Tyler Harry for the 4-3 edge.
Maui added its share of fence-busters as Daulton Cabacungan homered in the first inning to open the scorebooks. Cabacungan led the Maui hitters, finishing 3-4 with a homer, double and a single while scoring twice in the win.
Caleb Duhay, 2-4, with a single and a double, scored the second run in the sixth inning for Waipio in the comeback effort.
With the win, Central Maui is one of two teams who remain undefeated at 2-0 in the tournament.
Kaimuki 5, Kailua 1
Kaimuki scored four runs in the fourth inning to ice its 5-1 win over Kailua and advance with a 2-0 record in the tournament.
Kaimuki will meet Central Maui in a battle of the undefeated starting at 1 p.m. this afternoon.
Kailua, finishing with five hits to Kaimuki’s three hits, pegged its only run on a homer by Racesen Nakagawa in the fourth inning with two outs.
Kaimuki picked up its three hits in the fourth inning with Tosh Taniguchi, scoring twice in the win, singled. Parker Nakamura doubled and Jared Tom doubled for the Kaimuki hits.
