By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
It was an exciting game to the end that benefited both teams, especially opposing ace pitchers Quintin Torres-Costa and Kian Kurokawa.
Waiakea’s Torres-Costa had no easy day at the ballpark, making clutch pitches and conquering constant challenges. Kurokawa and his Hilo teammates learned how to counter-punch when they got pushed into a corner.
However, the difference was Torres-Costa, who scattered six hits and struck out 11 in a 5-3 victory over the Vikings in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation baseball game Saturday at Wong Stadium.
The senior left-hander didn’t have his sharpest stuff. He walked four, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. But he shifted into another gear when he ran into big-time trouble, stranding the bases loaded in the fifth, and two on in the seventh to finish off the Viks.
“My fastball was off and on. The pitch that was working for me when I had two strikes on them and was up in the count was my cutter,” Torres-Costa said. “When runners were on base, I felt like no one was there. I focused on the batter and one pitch at a time.”
His pitching line was a blue-collar effort: seven innings, three runs — just one earned — on six hits and four walks, and 11 strikeouts on 117 pitches.
“I thought Quintin did an awesome job. He faced adversity and worked out of jams,” Waiakea coach Kevin Yee said. “He kept his composure and poise and stuck with it.
“When Hilo and Waiakea play, it’ll come down to pitching and defense. Fortunately for us, the ball bounced our way. Kian threw a great game. He mixed his speeds and kept us off-balanced.”
Kurokawa, a junior right-hander, doesn’t throw as hard. But his stats looked equally effective: seven innings, five runs — three earned — on seven hits and two walks, and one strikeout.
“I learned that we can hang with them,” Kurokawa said. “It’s a tough loss, but we know we can come back. It’s a steppingstone for us. Waiakea is a good team. You can’t take a break. Their hitters 1 to 9 are tough.
“It was a fun game. It was always close, and high-intensity, too.”
It was also a double whammy for the Vikings, who lost senior first baseman Keenan Nishioka to a leg injury in the sixth when he stretched for a ball on a throw by shortstop Chayce Kaaua.
They missed his bat; his replacement, sophomore Jordan Tagawa, struck out twice, including in the seventh with the tying run on first to conclude the first meeting between the crosstown rivals.
Reyn Kihara batted 2 for 3 with two RBIs and Kodi Medeiros 2 for 3 to lead the Warriors (5-0).
Randall Iha batted 2 for 3 with an RBI and Kaaua was 2 for 3 to lead the Vikings (4-1).
Besides the resilient pitching of the two aces, the game was highlighted by costly errors that turned things upside down a few times.
In the fourth, Hilo loaded the sacks with one out and Elijah Cruz hit a slow grounder to second. A throwing error led to two unearned runs. After Tyler Higa-Gonsalves singled, Torres-Costa got a strikeout and flyout to extinguish that small brush fire, stranding two.
With the score tied 2-2 in the sixth, Waiakea got two on with one out. Then Kihara clubbed an RBI single, which eluded the right fielder for an error. Kihara raced home and scored when the throw to home was high, an inside-the-park unearned run for a 5-2 lead.
In the bottom half with two on and two out, Hilo got a run back after Iha fell behind in the count at 1-2 and clocked an RBI double into the left-field corner. The second run would have easily scored, except the ball squirted under a fence. The runner, Higa-Gonsalves, who walked, was placed back at third. Torres-Costa squashed Hilo’s dramatics with a strikeout, stranding two runners in scoring position.
In seventh, the Viks staged another serious threat, getting two on with one out. Cleanup hitter Koa Matson took a mighty swing but got under a pitch and flied out to left field. Then Tagawa gave Torres-Costa a good battle, extending the count to 2-2, and fouling off a pitch, before striking out.
“We kept having tough at-bats,” Hilo coach Tony DeSa said. “Waiakea is a tough team and we can’t make mistakes against them. They’ll capitalize on your mistakes. But we battled and we can build on this.”
Waiakea 020 003 0 — 5 7 1
Hilo 000 201 0 — 3 6 2
• Konawaena 16, Kohala 1: Junior Kileona Manzano went 3-for-3 with four RBIs, and three Wildcat pitchers combined to limit the Cowboys to five hits in Kapaau.
Manzano’s big day included a two-run double in Konawaena’s four-run second inning as the Wildcats jumped out to a 7-0 lead in a game that ended after five innings because of the league’s 10-run mercy rule.
Senior Makana Canda and junior Ryan Torres-Torioka added two RBIs apiece for defending BIIF Division II champion Konawaena, which remained undefeated at 4-0.
Torres-Torioka also pitched the first two innings, allowing a run on two hits. He walked three and striking out one.
Freshman Shelton Grace pitched two innings in relief of Torres-Torioka to earn the win. He gave up two hits and one walk, striking out one.
Senior Hookele Aiona suffered the loss for the Cowboys (0-4). He lasted 1 1/3 innings, yielding six hits and two walks while striking out one.
At the plate, Kohala freshman Willy Perez went 2-for-2, while sophomore Casey Stevens drove in the Cowboys’ lone run with a sacrifice fly in the second inning.
Konawaena 343 60 — 16 7 0
Kohala 010 00 — 1 5 4
• Honokaa 3, Kealakehe 1: Senior Dylan Shiraki gave up just one run on two hits in four innings for the visiting Dragons, who scored two unearned runs in the second inning.
Shiraki struck out eight and walked none for Honokaa, which evened its record at 2-2.
Senior Lloyd Edwards followed Shiraki on the mound with three shutout innings. He gave up just one hit, striking out three and walking one.
Honokaa took a 2-0 lead in the second inning, when sophomore Austin Jardine scored on an error and senior Makani Dias raced home on a wild pitch.
Junior Damien Kaluhimoku added an insurance run for the Dragons in the sixth inning with an RBI double, while Haku Daniels went 2-for-3.
Bricen Ferreira, who pitched a complete game, suffered a tough loss for the Waveriders (1-3). The junior pitched a four-hitter, allowing just one earned run. He struck out five and walked one.
Kealakehe scored its lone run in the second inning, when junior Teao Buehler plated junior Coran Poaha-Starkey with an RBI double.
Senior Austin Galigo, who went 2-for-3, had the Waveriders’ other two hits.
Honokaa 020 001 0 — 3 4 1
Kealakehe 010 000 0 — 1 3 2
• Keaau 15, Pahoa 0: Junior pitcher Cody Silva fired a one-hit shutout and also helped himself at the plate by going 3-for-4 with four RBIs as the host Cougars improved to 2-3.
On the mound, Silva struck out eight batters and walked just two in a game that ended after five innings because of the league’s mercy rule.
At the plate, Silva had RBI singles in the first, third and fourth innings, and a bases-loaded walk in the second.
Rason Martines also drove in four runs, going 2-for-4 with an RBI double in the first inning, a sacrifice fly in the second and a two-run single in the third.
Junior catcher Jonathan Segovia (2-for-2) added three RBIs, contributing an RBI single in the first inning and a two-run single in the second. He also scored three runs.
Kayden Cox-Pacheco suffered the loss for the Daggers (0-5). In 2 2/3 innings, he gave up 12 runs on nine hits, walking four and striking out two.
Thompson Reivera had Pahoa’s lone hit — a leadoff single in the second inning.
Pahoa 000 00 — 0 1 4
Keaau 453 3x — 15 11 0
Kamehameha 6, Ka’u 1: Bronson Pulgados got the win in Pahala as the Warriors improved to 3-2.