By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Kean Wong’s head’s-up baserunning and Kodi Medeiros’ pitching brilliance carried Waiakea past Hilo in another thriller between the crosstown rivals.
Wong scored the game-winning run with no one at home, and Medeiros pitched a three-hitter to lift the Warriors over the Vikings 3-2 in a wild Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I baseball game Wednesday night before 300 fans at Wong Stadium.
It was the second meeting between the Warriors (10-0) and Vikings (7-3). In the first game, Waiakea ace Quintin Torres-Costa scattered six hits and whiffed 11 to outduel Hilo ace Kian Kurokawa 5-3.
The rematch was between each team’s No. 2 starter — Medeiros and Hilo’s Nick Fukunaga — and equally exciting, with the winning run scoring in the bottom of the seventh.
Hilo reliever Jordan Tagawa gave up a soft single to Wong and was replaced by Jodd Carter, who intentionally walked Korin Medeiros with no outs after Wong stole second, setting the stage for a frantic seventh-inning finish.
After Carter’s first pitch to cleanup batter Kodi Medeiros, his brother Korin broke for second on a steal. Just one problem though — Wong was still at second, about three feet off the bag.
“Chayce Kaaua (Hilo’s shortstop) cut in front of Kean, and Korin thought Kean took off for third,” Waiakea coach Kevin Yee said.
Hilo catcher Koa Matson ran right at Wong, who was eventually caught in two rundowns. But each time the Vikings dropped the ball.
When Wong was safe at third, he noticed nobody was covering home plate and he bee-lined it for the winning run, giving a complete-game victory to Medeiros, who allowed two runs — one unearned — on three hits and four walks, and struck out 11.
“Kodi hit his spots and kept his pitch count down (104 pitches) and he did everything he needed to do,” Yee said. “He pitched under pressure and I definitely liked that. He kept his poise throughout the game when things weren’t going his way.”
Hilo sparkplug Randall Iha, who reached base three times, scored an unearned in the first on Kaaua’s sacrifce fly.
Then Medeiros established the inside corner with his fastball, and struck out seven batters over the next three innings, including the side in the fourth.
In the fifth, the 6-foot sophomore lefty showed his athleticism, diving and catching a bunt and throwing to first to nab a running Kurokawa, who earlier walked, for a double play.
No one paired hits for the Vikings, who also plated a run in the sixth when Kaaua singled, went to second on a wild pitch and later scored on a passed ball.
Fukunaga pitched 3 2/3 innings, gave up two runs — one unearned — on three hits and two walks, and struck out four in a no-decision. He yielded a run in the third and later wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam with a flyout to third base.
He left in the fourth with the bases loaded for Jordan Tagawa, whose first pitch to Wong went to the backstop and scored Reyn Kihara, who walked, for a 2-2 tie. He got a groundout to end the threat then threw two scoreless innings.
Then he gave up Wong’s single in the seventh and was replaced. Tagawa got stuck with a tough-luck loss. He went 2 1/3 innings and allowed a run on one hit and one walk, and struck out three.
No one paired hits for the Warriors. But Robbey Meguro was 1 for 1, reached base three times, and scored Waiakea’s first run in the third after he walked and came home on Torres-Costa’s RBI single.
The third meeting between the two teams is set for Friday, April 20 at Wong Stadium — the destination for finish-line excitement whenever the Warriors and Viks meet.
“It’s a bittersweet win. It’s a win and we’ll take it,” Yee said. “But it was such a good game and both sides played well. It went our way this time. Unfortunately, you don’t like to see a game end that way. But it was a lot of excitement for the fans.”
Hilo 100 001 0 — 2 3 3
Waiakea 001 100 1 — 3 4 2
Honokaa downs
‘Riders in extras
If his Honokaa baseball team had fallen to Kealakehe Wednesday, Matt Charbonneau would have taken full responsibility for the loss.
But Lloyd Edwards and the rest of the Dragons bailed out their manager in Honokaa.
Edwards pitched an eight-inning, gem, and Haku Daniels’ suicide squeeze in the bottom of the eight plated the game-winning run as the Dragons rallied for a 4-3 come-from-behind win.
“We just keep battling and battling,” Charbonneau said. “It seems like every one of our games is within a couple of runs. Our kids have the ability to stay focused and come through in the clutch.”
Edwards, who also scored the game-tying run for the Dragons (5-3) in the sixth inning, led off the bottom of the eighth with a single off Kealakehe’s Teao Buehler, and junior Kazu Tolentino’s double down the left-field line put runners on second and third.
The Waveriders (3-5) then intentionally walked senior Dylan Shiraki to load the bases and set up a potential forceout at home plate. But Daniels laid down a perfect bunt down the first-base line as Edwards was charging toward home plate.
Edwards played a bigger role on the mound, striking out 14 and walking three while throwing 125 pitches. The senior didn’t give up a hit after the third inning, when Kealakehe junior Bricen Ferreira clubbed a two-out, two-run homer to center field with runners on second and third to give the Waveriders a 3-1 lead.
Before Ferreira’s round-tripper, Dragons assistant coach James Lukzen told Charbonneau he should consider intentionally walking Ferreira, Kealakehe’s cleanup hitter.
“Obviously, my pitcher missed his spot, but gosh darn it, maybe I shouldn’t have been pitching to (Ferreira),” Charbonneau said.
But Edwards buckled down the rest of the way. Even though his pitch count was rising, Edwards finished the game with two perfect innings.
In a meeting with his pitching staff before the game, Charbonneau unveiled plans for having the team’s ace, Shiraki, enter the game after the fifth inning. However, after the Dragons recorded the third out in each inning after the fifth, Edwards walked back to the dugout and expressed his desire to remain in the game.
Charbonneau said he normally pulls hurlers from the mound once they reach 100 pitches. However, Edwards showed no signs of fatigue.
“Every time I looked at Lloyd, he said, ‘I got this coach,’” Charbonneau said. “With the intensity level he had on his face and the performance he put out, I believed him.”
Buehler, a junior who also went the distance on the mound, suffered the hard-luck loss. He gave up just one earned run on five hits, striking out nine batters, walking three and hitting two.
Edwards, the team’s No. 6 batter, raced home from third base with the tying run in the sixth inning when Kealakehe tried throwing out Shiraki at second base on a stolen-base attempt. Behind Edwards, Tolentino when 2-for-3 out of the No. 7 spot, and freshman Kamaehu Richards gave Honokaa a 1-0 lead in the second with an RBI single.
“It was a total team effort, and the bottom half of the lineup produced,” Charbonneau said.
Also, Edwards’ performance allowed the Dragons to save Shiraki for a showdown at rival Hawaii Prep (4-4) on Friday. Honokaa can clinch the West Division’s No. 2 seed in the BIIF Division II tournament with a victory.
In the last meeting between the teams, Shiraki threw a two-hit shutout against the Ka Makani on March 21.
“I was going to bring in Dylan to close, and Lloyd didn’t want to give up the ball,” Charbonneau said. “And now we have Dylan for HPA.”
Kealakehe 003 000 00 — 3 4 4
Honokaa 010 011 01 — 4 5 0
Konawaena 20, Kohala 3: Junior Jarrett Kitaoka drove in five runs, and senior Makana Canda added three RBIs in Kealakekua as defending BIIF Division II champion Konawaena improved to 8-0.
Kitaoka, Canda and junior Kileona Manzano all went 3-for-4, while junior Ryan Torres-Torioka was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Junior Domonic Morris added a run-scoring triple in the contest.
On the mound, Kitaoka pitched the first two innings, allowing two runs on two hits, striking out none and walking four.
Sophomore Royce Torres-Torioka earned the win by pitching a scoreless inning. He allowed two hits and two walks while striking out two.
Freshman Shelton Grace closed out the game on the mound, allowing one hit and three walks in two innings. He struck out two.
Sophomore Ricky Ching took the loss for Kohala (0-8). In two innings, he gave up seven hits, striking out two and walking none.
Kohala 110 10 — 3 5 2
Konawaena 406 (10) x — 20 16 0
Rainouts: The Ka’u-Kamehameha and Pahoa-Keaau games were postponed by rain. The Trojans and Warriors will try again at 3 p.m. Monday in Keaau, while a makeup date for the Daggers and Cougars hasn’t been announced.