KAPA‘A — Kapa‘a High School baseball coach Bryan Aiwohi isn’t concerned as much about wins and losses as he is getting his Warriors valuable playing time.
The Warriors, who played their second game of the preseason in the Walter Souza Invitational Baseball Tournament, got plenty of game experience in their 6-0 loss to Kamehameha Friday afternoon at Ron Martin Field on the Kapa‘a campus.
Kapa‘a held up steady against one of the off-island Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II powerhouse teams, with starting pitchers Isaac Nagahisa and Kison Matsushima, Aiwohi said.
The Warriors, who were experimenting with their offensive and defensive rotations because they had several starters out with illnesses, made mistakes that allowed Kamehameha to gain an early advantage.
Kamehameha pitchers Hanalei Warren and Rydge Ishii never let the home Warriors’ bats gain momentum during the game, holding them at bay and allowing only three hits.
“They took advantage of all our mistakes,” Aiwohi said.
The Kamehameha Warriors spread out 12 hits over the seven-inning series.
Kamehameha, which last won a Division II championship in 2016, prepares for the upcoming postseason by playing in off-island tournaments like this one, according to Kamehameha Warriors’ coach Andrew Correa.
“This is a good tournament. Kauaʻi teams are competitive, and it’s always good to get to play competition over here,” Correa said. “It’s a great experience for our kids to see the teams they won’t play in the division, but who they might play in the state tournament.”
The Warriors will finish up their three-game round-robin tournament against Midpac, one of Division I’s elite teams, at 11 a.m today at Hanapepe Stadium.
Kamehameha picked up its first win after falling to the host Waimea Menehune 13-8 Thursday.
Kapa‘a, a 2-1 winner over the heavily-favored Kaiser High School Thursday, is at 1-1.
Kaua‘i High, dropping 13-9 to Mid Pacific Institute in eight innings Thursday, held on for a 15-12 win over Kaiser in the first game of a double-header at Vidinha Stadium in Lihu‘e.
No scores were available for the Waimea and Mid Pacific encounter, or the second game of the Kaua‘i and Kaiser match at press time.
The following games are today at Hanapepe Stadium, starting with the 8:30 a.m. clash between Kaua‘i and Kamehameha, followed by Kapa‘a vs. Midpac and Waimea vs. Kaiser.
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Jason Blasco, sports reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
