KAUMAKANI — The Kauai Senior Softball weekend was a lot hotter than the weather. The chill in the air did not affect the bats as another Saturday turned into a race around the bases.
The Rookies played host to a four-game day at the Wally Sonoda Park in Kaumakani while Barteks groomed their home diamond at Hanapepe Stadium for three games.
The contests at the tropical field in Kaumakani pitted two of the league’s top teams in an early season showdown. Alan Horikawa and the one-loss Rookies started the day up against the undefeated Aloha Kia Lihue A’s. Dwight Fujii’s A’s have been cutting through the competition in the first month of games. On Saturday they ran head long into a fire up Rookies squad. The Rookies brought too much lumber and out slugged Lihue, 11-8, to hand the A’s their first loss of the season.
Norman Holt and the East Kauai Legends hammered their way to an 11-9 decision over Barry Toy and Da Kruzers.
Ohana was looking towards a rebound after a tough loss a week ago took on Tom Christy’s undefeated Solid Steel team. Solid Steel pounded away, putting up 12 runs to show their strength. However, Frank Bukoski had his team ready for the challenge and fought right back belting out 14 runs to edge the Steel, 14-12.
Another undefeated team went down. The long day wrapped up with Kuku’s Aces and Kawaihau locking horns. Ernie Koerte has Kawaihau rolled along with a potent offense, pasting nearly two-dozen runs on the board to knock out the Aces, 21-9.
Back at Hanapepe Stadium, Pat Baniaga and Barteks had their hands full with a battle with the defending league champion Keonimana Gents. The Gents have had no problem dispatching their opponents in the early part of the season, but Barteks had a home field advantage and put it to good use. Sia Salausa’s Gents escaped with a narrow 15-13 victory.
The Ohana Motors Rebels squared off with West Kauai in the mid-morning match-up. Gary Yates had the Rebels turn up the heat and made a short game of it, walloping West Kauai in five innings, 15-2.
The best was the last in a wild run scoring marathon between Hana Hou and the Islanders. Neil Zaslow has put together an impressive lineup for the first year team and Joe Bertucci has put more power into the Islanders lineup. The scorekeepers went crazy in a dizzying run-scoring brawl with Hana Hou coming away with a 17-16 win.
After five games in the season, the Keonimana Gents and the Ohana Motors Rebels remain on an undefeated collision course with 5-0 records. The Aloha Kia Lihue A’s and Solid Steel are just behind with only one loss on the year.
Action moves to the other side for the next slate of games. The East Kauai Legends will host four games at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex in Kapaa. The Legends will take on Hana Hou in the opener. The Keonimana Gents will be challenged by the Aloha Kia Lihue A’s in the second contest. The Hanamaulu Hillsiders go up against Kuku’s Ace’s in the late morning battle, and the schedule concludes with Kawaihau and Ohana going at it.
The Ohana Motors Rebels will bring the games to their home field at the garden stadium at Puhi Park. The Rebels will have the Rookies on their hands in the early morning breakfast battle. Solid Steel, who also call Puhi home in their first year, will face West Kauai. The triple-header features the Islanders and Barteks at the end of the morning.
