LIHUE — The Lihue Pony team had to navigate a gauntlet, which included playing five games in three days, to be crowned the Pony division Da Bash baseball tournament champions. Lihue went undefeated, taking down Hekili of Oahu in one
LIHUE — The Lihue Pony team had to navigate a gauntlet, which included playing five games in three days, to be crowned the Pony division Da Bash baseball tournament champions. Lihue went undefeated, taking down Hekili of Oahu in one game, Haaheo O Maui in two games and Kapaa in two games. The ninth annual Da Bash baseball tournament was hosted by Lihue Baseball League and offered the Pony division tournament for the first time this year.
“It was important for the kids to be the first to win the tournament,” said Lihue head coach Greg Killeen. “It was a lot of games in a short period, but the kids played well and came through.”
Lihue squeaked past Hekili with a narrow 5-4 win to open the tournament Saturday, which was followed by a 6-2 win over Haaheo O Maui to close out the doubleheader.
The team faced another doubleheader on Sunday against Kapaa. Lihue easily dispatched Kapaa in game one, 15-3. Game two proved to be its toughest challenge of the tournament.
With the game tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth, Doug Miyasato stepped into the box with two outs and two runners on base. Miyasato proceeded to drive the ball to right field, which scored Keala Iwasaki for the walk-off single. The win put Lihue into the championship game Monday to face Haaheo O Maui for a second time.
Lihue jumped out to a 6-4 lead after 3 innings, which would hold until the bottom of the fifth.
Patrick Esteban would open the game up with a bases loaded triple that scored Blaise Gokan, Kobey Dias and Miyasato. Esteban would also score in the inning giving Lihue a commanding 10-4 lead.
The lead was all that pitcher Brayden Abreu would need. Abreu hurled three scoreless innings to close out the game while striking out five Maui batters.
Lihue would add four more runs in the bottom of the sixth, two of which came off the bat of Gunner Vallatini before Esteban again came through and drove in Miyasato on single to end the game after six innings due to a 10-run rule with the final 14-4 score.
Da Bash baseball was hosted over Memorial Day weekend, which saw 36 teams come from across the state to compete across three divisions.
“It is a great tournament for our league teams,” said Lihue Baseball League treasurer Brandee Abreu. “It really prepares them for all-stars, and we all have the opportunity to build new relationships. We try to improve it every year, and everything we do is for the kids.”
The divisions include Mustang (ages 9-10), Bronco (ages 11-12) and Pony (ages 13-14).
Haaheo O Maui took first place in the Mustang division after taking down the Oahu Dirtbags, while Boys and Girls Club of Hilo took the title in the Bronco divisions after defeating Haaheo O Maui in the title game.
