PUHI — Persistent showers made a quagmire of the Wailua Houselots Garden Park Softball diamond, forcing the Kauai Senior Softball League to rapidly rearrange the schedule and make use of the softball stadium in Puhi Park. Despite the storm, the park in Puhi handled the weather well and was in fine condition for play.
The first regularly scheduled game between Da Kruzers and Hana Hou was rained out while a wayward nene made its home in the Wailua infield. The rest of the games moved south to Puhi. In Hanamaulu, the Hillsiders had the Peter Rayno Softball Stadium in playable condition despite the challenging weather.
The passing showers were no problem in Hanamaulu as the Hillsiders hosted a doubleheader of action, opening up against Ohana. Peter Rayno had the Hillsiders turned into a solid scoring unit capable of putting together productive rallies. They cranked out 11 runs. Frank Bukoski has Ohana running in top condition and handled the challenge with no problem. In the end, Ohana ran away with a 19-11 victory.
Tom Christy and the red hot Solid Steel had their hands full with the Rookies in the second game. Alan Horikawa made sure the Rookies got another notch in the win column and put out a stifling defense to go with clutch hitting. The Rookies were no match for the Steel, pounding their way to 16-6 win.
The other half of the Senior League slate moved from Wailua to Puhi and found perfect conditions for three games under improving conditions and a remarkable playing carpet.
After a two-hour delay, Barteks got off to a fast start in the opener against the East Kauai Legends. Pat Baniaga’s team played the park like a home field and attacked open lanes in the outfield and cashed in on several great plays on defense. Barteks rolled to a 15-1 rout of the Legends.
Henry Hee had Kawaihau in top form for the second game against West Kauai. Kawaihau took advantage of the opportunities given them in the game and hammered their way to a 12-0 shutout. The game was shortened to five innings with the 12-run rule in effect.
The stadium was packed for the third and final game of the day, the long awaited showdown between the Keonimana Gents and the Ohana Motors Rebels — the leagues two undefeated teams. Gents hurler, Wayne Laranio, handcuffed the Rebels lineup over seven innings.
He got support from a smothering infield defense that snared six line drives and helped by stranding eight runners. The Gents jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and extended it on a booming three-run home run by Palmert Dasalia in the third to roll to their seventh straight win in a 10-4 victory. After handing the Rebels their first loss, the Gents take sole possession of the league standings.
The island gets split this weekend with a busy schedule at the Bryan J Baptiste Sports Complex in Kapaa and a doubleheader at the compact jewel at the Eleele Park.
Five games are on tap in Kapaa with the East Kauai Legends hosting the park for the day. They square off with the Aloha Kia Lihue A’s in the early morning contest. Da Kruzers will have Barteks to deal with in the second match. The third game features Kawaihau up against the Rookies. Solid Steel will go up against the Keonimana Gents in what was to be the last game of the day. A fifth game will be played as Da Kruzers and Hana Hou will make up the game that was rained out this past Saturday.
At the diminutive gem of a diamond in Eleele, Ohana will play host to two games and have an early morning date with Kuku’s Aces to start the day. The Islanders will meet up with the Ohana Motors Rebels in the other end of the doubleheader. The games begin at 9 a.m. at each ballpark.
