LIHU‘E — Hanama‘ulu pitcher Adonis Bautista held Lihu‘e to just four hits through seven innings but took the 6-1 loss. Bautista finished with six strikeouts and allowed three walks and drove in the Angels’ lone run in the second inning.
LIHU‘E — Hanama‘ulu pitcher Adonis Bautista held Lihu‘e to just four hits through seven innings but took the 6-1 loss.
Bautista finished with six strikeouts and allowed three walks and drove in the Angels’ lone run in the second inning.
“He gave up just one hit after the first inning,” Angels’ scorekeeper Darren Lapitan said.
Lihu‘e, coming off a 10-0 win over Kalawai on Sunday, improved to 7-1 with the Wednesday victory.
“This is our second game in the second round,” Lihu‘e coach Trent Shimabukuro said. “The players were kind of flat out there, today. Hopefully, we can come back by Sunday when we meet Waimea. I’m worried about the heat out there.”
Hanama‘ulu draws the bye until Wednesday, May 24 when they host Kapa‘a at Vidinha Stadium.
In the Angels’ camp, coach Clifton was elated with his players.
“I’m happy,” he said. “The last time they had 10 runs on us in the first inning. This time, they only got six runs, and the boys are having fun.”
“Adonis went the whole way,” Clifton said. “There were some games when we had to work with two pitchers in one inning, but Adonis was good, today. He went all the way.”
“You can’t win them all,” Angels’ head coach Peter Rayno said. “But, Adonis had a strong showing out there, today.”
Lihu’e jumped on the Angels in the opening frame, scoring all six of their runs on two Angel errors, and “a couple of bloopers,” said Lapitan.
“Adonis gave up three hits in that inning, but settled down after that,” the Angels’ scorekeeper said. “He gave up just one hit, and struck out six batters from the second inning.”
Ryson Sakamoto, Dalston Miyasato, Jessica Iwata, Jamen Albarado, Trent Shimabukuro and Christian Fort crossed the plate for the 6-0 opening lead.
Hanama‘ulu answered in the second frame as Kai Dela Cruz stole second base, and scored on a Bautista hit.
Commissioner Dondi Viquelia said there are seven teams that make up the Pony baseball league this year, and following the completion of the first round, Lihu‘e and Kalawai were probably the leading teams in the league. Shimabukuro said Lihue’s only loss came at the hands of Kalawai in the first round.
“We tried to divide the island in half, and on Wednesdays, the teams play close to home, but on the Sunday games, they travel across the island,” Viquelia said. “We would’ve liked to have eight teams to make scheduling easier.”
With seven teams registered, one team has a bye on each game day.
“We also have a lot of new coaches this year,” Viquelia said. “Charlie Lopez and Peter Rayno are the only two returning coaches. The rest of them are new to the program.”
Shimabukuro coaches Lihu‘e, Guy Ishihara leads Waimea, and Shawn Hosaka heads up Kekaha, Viquelia said.
“The other new thing is that Kaua‘i gets to send two teams to the regionals this year,” Viquelia said. “This is the first time we’ve been able to do this, and the coaches are happy because a lot more kids will have a chance to play.”
“I think Kaua‘i has enough depth to field two good teams,” Shimabukuro said. “The league champion will probably get first pick at forming an all-Kaua‘i team from the seven teams. But, with the second team being able to travel, that’s at least 30 players who’ll be travelling.”
