OK, by a show of hands, who thinks that the 7-7 tie between Kaua‘i High and Waimea High Wednesday is going to be a factor in determining the second-round champion in Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation baseball? That’s what we thought. The
OK, by a show of hands, who thinks that the 7-7 tie between Kaua‘i High and Waimea High Wednesday is going to be a factor in determining the second-round champion in Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation baseball?
That’s what we thought.
The rare tie, on account of darkness, ended the much-anticipated duel between the KIF’s two top teams, a game that was going to clearly indicate which is the team to beat in the second round, and whether or not Kaua‘i High had enough guns to challenge Waimea, first-round champs with a first-round record of 5-1 (4-0 at home, 1-1 on the road).
One question was answered: the Raiders have the stuff to challenge Waimea.
One question remains unanswered: who is the team to beat in round two?
Waimea is 2-0-1 in round two, Kaua‘i High is 0-0-1, and Kapa‘a High is 0-2-0, heading into today’s action between Kaua‘i High and Kapa‘a at Vidinha Stadium. The first game of the doubleheader starts at 10 a.m., and the second one begins 30 minutes after the first, seven-inning contest is completed.
The second game is broadcast live on KQNG AM57, likely starting around noon or so.
Unless Kapa‘a High manages to play the spoiler’s role and upend either the Raiders or Menehune in the second round, everyone’s calendar will have the date of Saturday, April 18, highlighted.
That’s when Kaua‘i High hosts Waimea at Vidinha Stadium in what is shaping up to be the second round’s decisive series, a doubleheader with the winner essentially claiming the second-round title and, if it’s Waimea, claiming the KIF title as well.
If there is no playoff for the second-round title or the overall champion, both the KIF champion and runner-up will have waits of two weeks or longer before going to Honolulu to participate in the state championships, set for Wednesday through Saturday, May 6 to 9.
That’s because the KIF regular season ends Wednesday, April 22, when the Raiders travel to Ron Martin Athletic Field to play the Warriors.
The top two KIF teams qualify for the state championships, hosted by the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.
What we learned in the first round is that Waimea has some weapons, with pitcher Andrew Ouderkirk going 2-0 with a 3.34 ERA, and Christopher Ka‘iakapu going 2-0 with a 2.69 ERA.
Both were workhorses, according to statistics provided by KIF official scorer Glenn Mickens, with Ouderkirk working 14 2/3 innings, giving up 14 hits and striking out 15 while walking three, and Ka‘iakapu working 13 innings, whiffing 17 and walking six.
Mickens said he has clocked Ka‘iakapu’s fastball at 84 mph, and Ouderkirk’s at 76 mph. Waimea’s team ERA was 3.41 in the first round, and their opponents’ ERA was 6.94. The Waimea team batting average was .368 in the first round, and opponents batted .289.
Offensively, the Menehune were led by Michael Acoba, who was 13-20 for an average of .650, with 12 RBI and three walks, while the late Max Agor was second on the team in first-round batting, with a .476 average. Robert Perreira was next at .444, batting 8-18 with seven RBI, followed by Kalani Fernandez at .435, going 10-23 with six RBI, and Paul Correa, 8-22 for a .364 average with four RBI.
First-round statistics for Kaua‘i High were not available at presstime.
Kapa‘a’s Brehdan Kamibayashi picked up the Warriors’ only first-round win on the mound, and was 1-2 with a 4.59 ERA. He pitched 10 2/3 innings, struck out two and walked seven.
Kysen Lopez was 0-3 with seven strikeouts and seven walks in 16 innings.
Mick Voight was Kapa‘a’s best hitter in the first round, 5-15, a .333 clip, with one RBI.
Paul C. Curtis, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or pcurtis@kauaipubco.com
