By KEVIN JAKAHI By KEVIN JAKAHI ADVERTISING Tribune-Herald sports writer Kian Kurokawa didn’t have his best stuff but found a way to win, and right fielder Randall Iha kicked the snowball down the hill that led to a Hilo landslide
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Kian Kurokawa didn’t have his best stuff but found a way to win, and right fielder Randall Iha kicked the snowball down the hill that led to a Hilo landslide victory.
Kurokawa pitched five-plus strong innings, and Iha sparked an eight-run third in a 12-2 six-inning TKO win over Kamehameha in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation baseball game on Friday at Wong Stadium.
The junior right-hander didn’t have strikeout wizardry or pinpoint control, but he scattered hits and avoided the big inning, allowing single runs in the fourth and the sixth. In 5 2/3 innings, he gave up two runs on six hits and three walks, and struck out one.
Kurokawa left in the sixth after yielding back-to-back basehits with two out. Jordan Tagawa walked two, letting in a run before retiring the side with a flyout to catcher Koa Matson.
“I felt OK. It wasn’t my best stuff. I hit my spots and had a lot of help from my defense,” Kurokawa said. “I have to give credit to them. The team hit the ball good and Koa called a good game.
“When I don’t have my best stuff, I try to pitch to contact and trust my defense. I know they’ve got my back. I felt a little more comfortable after we got the lead. I wanted to attack the strike zone more.”
Kurokawa looks much different than a year ago. A growth spurt has served him well, changing his body and increasing his velocity. He’s 6 feet and 165 pounds, growing three inches and adding 15 pounds with weight lifting.
“I got out of that awkward development stage,” he said. “I’m filling out. I started lifting weights and I’ve widened out and gotten stronger.”
It was a short ride of smooth sailing for Kamehameha senior right-hander Kaimana Moike, who ran into trouble in the third when Iha singled on a 2-2 pitch, starting a rally that saw eight runs, five hits and four errors.
“I felt really comfortable. I tried to poke it and shoot it up the box,” Iha said. “Luckily, it found a hole. The whole team contributed today. It wasn’t just one or two guys. It took the whole team.”
One out and two walks later, Chayce Kaaua dribbled a grounder to Moike, who threw home. The errant throw led to two runs. Then Matson stepped up and cracked a two-run double. Keenan Nishioka and Elijah Cruz followed with RBI singles.
Three more errors extended the oil leaking. Iha eventually batted for the second time in the inning, and hit an RBI single off reliever Nainoa Hart, who went the final 3 1/3 innings and allowed seven runs — just two earned — on seven hits and two walks.
Moike’s final line didn’t look too harmful: 2 1/3 innings, one hit, two walks and one strikeout, but five runs — just one earned.
Kamehameha’s five errors made things messy. Out of Hilo’s 12 runs, only three were earned.
“You can’t expect to win when you give up eight runs in an inning,” Kamehameha coach Andy Correa neatly summarized.
Iha, the senior sparkplug, batted 2 for 3 with an RBI, Matson 2 for 3 with three RBIs and Cruz 2 for 4 with two RBIs.
Jordan Hirae went 2 for 3 with an RBI and Bronson Pulgados 2 for 3 to lead the Division II Warriors, who stranded eight men on base, including the bases loaded in the sixth.
Hilo coach Tony DeSa pointed to Kurokawa’s resourceful pitching and his offense’s aggressiveness as highlights. The Division I Viks went three of five on stolen bases, getting picked off twice. They also attempted a suicide squeeze that was bunted foul.
“Kian didn’t have his best stuff. But that’s what pitching is all about,” he said. “When you don’t have your best stuff, that’s when it’s the most fun. You learn how to be crafty.
“We have a different team and have to play to our strength. Last year, we didn’t do a lot of running. We had a lot of bashers. This year, we’ve got guys who can control the bat.”
The numbers — eight hits in six innings and only three strikeouts — are proof of that.
And Iha, who plans to walk on to La Sierra, an NAIA school in Riverside, Calif., and major in business, added that there’s always room for improvement.
“The more we play, especially against tough teams, the better we’ll get,” he said.
Kamehameha 000 101 — 2 6 5
Hilo 008 103 — 12 8 2
