KAPAA — It paid to be one lucky dugout at the Kauai Senior Softball League games where the visitors won three of four games at the Peter Rayno Softball Stadium in Hanamaulu, and the home teams held court in the triple-header at the softball park at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex in Kapaa. The Hanamaulu Hillsiders took on the task of hosting the games at the Rayno Stadium while the Keonimana Gents groomed the softball diamond in shape for their three contests.
In Hanamaulu, the day started with the Hillsiders taking on Da Kruzers. Duane Girard has Da Kruzers hitters paying off with run-scoring rallies. Pete Rayno got production from his lineup, but often times not enough. Da Kruzers pounded their way to a knockout victory combined with a stingy defense that thwarted the Hillsiders attack. Da Kruzers got their seventh win of the year on a 16-2 victory.
Solid Steel and Barteks squared off in battle between two teams tied in the standings. Tom Christy’s Solid Steel line has been changing each week and had their hands full with a Barteks team that has been steaming through their opponents lately. The Steel showed they still have plenty of firepower and hammered out nine runs. Barteks had more than found their stride in the second round of play and had the answer for each run and rally. The visiting team hammered home 16 runs as Barteks put down Solid Steel, 16-9.
The morning matinee had Ohana facing the Islanders. Ohana is cruising along in a fourth place tie with the Lihue A’s. The Islanders have played well and hang in the middle of the league standings while finding the ball doesn’t always bounce their way in close games. Joe Bertucci had the Islanders on the right course and as the visiting team got out in front with Ohana chasing. Ohana showed their muscle at the plate with 10 runs. The Islanders got the bounces and the big hits in this match and knocked off Ohana, 17-10.
The final game featured Kawaihau and Hana Hou. Kawaihau’s Henry Hee was the only home team captain to engineer a victory at the park. Neil Zaslow was looking to keep Hana Hou’s win streak in tack. The game got tight with both clubs knocking in a few runs to keep it close. Zaslow’s team came in with seven runs but fell short as Kawaihau used their veteran ways to carve out a 9-7 victory.
In Kapaa, the league-leading Keonimana Gents hosted the games on their field and opened up with West Kauai. The Gents have been mowing down the opposition. West Kauai was going to throw caution to the wind and pull all the stops, and it paid off early getting the bases loaded in the early innings and coming up with five runs. Keonimana methodically put hits together to run away with the game. West Kauai was able to score a late run and force a sixth inning before ending early with the Gents on top, 18-5.
The Ohana Motors Rebels had the Aloha Kia Lihue A’s in the middle game. The A’s opened the game by scoring three runs in the top of the first. The Rebels matched the three in the home half behind a monstrous two-run home run from Aaron Garcia. The Rebels tightened their gloves and shut down Lihue, stranding their five runners over the last six innings. The Rebels got their offense going and put up eight unanswered runs to capture an 11-3 win.
The morning came to an end with the East Kauai Legends in the home dugout up against Kuku’s Aces. The Aces came out swinging and found the gaps to create some run-scoring rallies to set the tone. The skipper, Norman Holt, had to shake up his team to respond, and the Legends got their bats going mid-contest. The Legends lineup went to work and crafted a few runs at a time to build a lead. The Aces kept putting scoring chances on the bases only to have the Legends come up with a clutch defensive play. The East Kauai Legends lived up to their name behind a 16-5 win.
The Keonimana Gents remain in control of the league standings in front by three games behind their 22-1 record. The Ohana Motors Rebels are a half game up in the second-place tie at 19-4. The Rookies are a half-game off with an 18-4 record. Both the Aloha Kia Lihue A’s and Ohana fell but are still tied in fourth at 16-7. Barteks jumped a spot at 15-8 ahead of Hana Hou and Solid Steel’s 14 wins. The Islanders climbed to 8-15 while Kawaihau is at 9-14 and Da Kruzers are at 7-15. The East Kauai Legends are 6-16, Hanamaulu Hillsiders are 4-18, and Kuku’s Aces and West Kauai close out the standings.
The senior league action moves to the West for another seven-game slate. Four games are on tap at the Wally Sonoda Field in Kaumakani. Three games will be played at the diamond at the Hanapepe Stadium.
The Rookies will be setting the table in Kaumakani. The first contest has the park sharing duo of the Rookies home to Kuku’s Aces. The Keonimana Gents will cross the island to play the Hanamaulu Hillsiders. The third game has the Islanders facing Kawaihau. The day will wrap up with the Ohana Motors Rebels battling it out with Da Kruzers.
In Hanapepe, the triple-header starts with pitting Hana Hou with the Aloha Kia Lihue A’s as both teams looking to rebound from losses. West Kauai will have Ohana on the schedule in the middle game. The day concludes with Solid Steel looking to get back on track taking on the East Kauai Legends.
