HANAPEPE – To spectators, he must’ve looked like the loneliest boy at Hanapepe Stadium. While Ray Shirai took his warm-up pitches in the top of the seventh inning of Thursday’s Pony League (13-14 year olds) championship, nobody was near him.
HANAPEPE – To spectators, he must’ve looked like the loneliest boy at Hanapepe Stadium.
While Ray Shirai took his warm-up pitches in the top of the seventh inning of Thursday’s Pony League (13-14 year olds) championship, nobody was near him.
His Kekaha teammates were huddled around second base; his opponent, Koloa congregated in front of their dugout.
Shirai had been called on to stop the bleeding. Kekaha had entered the inning ahead 8-4. By the time he took the mound, Koloa had put three runs on the board.
But that’s all they would get. Shirai calmly got Garret Sakimae and Angel Yadao to ground into easy outs, giving Kekaha the Pony title.
But the last half-inning was entertaining.
For six innings, Kekaha’s Shawn Yadao controlled Koloa as he earned the win. In the top of the seventh, coaches opted for a switch. In came Aina Emayo, who earlier had blasted a three-run inside-the-park home run.
Koloa promptly loaded the bases for Kirby Yates. Yates, who pitched four innings for Koloa and picked up the loss, knocked a dribbler up the middle to score two runs. That brought in Shirai.
Yates struck out eight; Yadao got six.
Kekaha did most of its damage in the second inning, scoring four runs on four hits, including Emayo’s homer. Kaeo Girod had a banner day for Kekaha. He was 3-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base.
Pat Kua led Koloa with a 2-for-3 outing, including a triple and two RBI.
Koloa won the first round of the Pony League. Kekaha then rebounded to win the second. A Kaua’i Pony all-star team will represent the island in the July state tournament on Oahu.
