HANAPEPE — The Waimea Menehune put themselves squarely in the driver’s seat as the season’s second round hits its stride, although it wasn’t without a couple bumps in the road. Waimea came away with a doubleheader sweep of the Kaua‘i
HANAPEPE — The Waimea Menehune put themselves squarely in the driver’s seat as the season’s second round hits its stride, although it wasn’t without a couple bumps in the road.
Waimea came away with a doubleheader sweep of the Kaua‘i Red Raiders, Saturday at Hanapepe Stadium. The Menehune took the opener 3-0, before a back-and-forth second game resulted in a 6-5 walk-off win for Waimea .
Kaimana Perreira-Alquiza had four hits on the day and was 2 for 5 in the nightcap, including a mammoth solo home run in the fifth inning, followed by a two-RBI double to give his team the lead in the sixth inning. He was 4 for 8 with three runs, three RBIs, the homer, double and two singles for the day.
The Menehune had to battle back in the second game after the Raiders took a 3-0 lead, getting single runs in each of the second, third and fourth innings. They got one back in the fourth when Shawn Tavares reached on an error and later scored. Perreira-Alquiza then blasted his solo shot in the fifth to get Waimea to within a run at 3-2.
With two aboard in the sixth, Perreira-Alquiza slammed what was very close to another home run, but the double off the fence still scored a pair to put the Menehune ahead by a 4-3 count.
With the bases loaded, pinch-hitter Brock Ephan walked to force in a run for a 5-3 lead.
Having given up the five unanswered runs, Kaua‘i responded in its final at-bat. Erin Doi led off the inning and was hit by a pitch. After a Jensen Koga pop-out, Travis Koga laced a double down the left field line, putting runners on second and third with one out. Kellen Aquino stepped in and grounded a ball to the left side, which got through on a Waimea error and scored both Doi and Koga to tie the game up at 5-5.
In the bottom of the seventh, Waimea got going again when Alika Emayo struck a one-out double. Bryson Tacata followed that up with a single to put runners on first and third. Kaua‘i elected to intentionally walk Chyson Soares, creating the force at any base, but that brought Perreira-Alquiza back to the plate with nowhere to put him and the winning run 90 feet away.
This time the infielder hit a ground ball to third, but the throw to the plate was off line and Emayo scored the winning run on the Raider error.
Emayo went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and Tacata was 2 for 4 with a run in the second game. Chyson Soares picked up the victory on the mound, going the final 4.1 innings in relief of Mikeo Rita.
Doi went 1 for 3 with a pair of runs and Ibia was 1 for 3 with an RBI for Kaua‘i.
Rita was dominant on the mound in the opener, throwing the complete-game shutout and holding Kaua‘i to just two hits in seven innings of work. He walked three and struck out two, while also going 1 for 3 with an RBI at the plate.
The Menehune scored two runs in the first inning on three hits. Emayo and Chyson Soares each got a hit and scored a run in the frame, Soares also picking up an RBI.
Perreira-Alquiza made it 3-0 Waimea in the sixth inning, leading off with a single and then getting driven in by a Jordan Kamakea single.
Waimea now sits at 2-0 in the second round, after its game Wednesday against Kapa‘a was rained out after two innings. The Menehune are 6-2-1 on the season.
The first-round champion Kaua‘i squad falls to 1-3 in the second round and 6-4-1 for the year.
The Kapa‘a Warriors are 1-1 in the second round and will take on Kaua‘i on Wednesday at Ron Martin Field in a single game. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
