By BILL O’REAR
By BILL O’REAR
Tribune-Herald sports editor
Chay Toson drove in Pomai Racpan on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Kamehameha a 1-0 win over Keaau on Wednesday afternoon.
The exciting Big Island Interscholastic Federation baseball game was played at Kamehameha and featured a down-to-the-last inning pitching duel between the Cougars’ Maleko Remlinger and three Warrior hurlers.
Remlinger (3-3) started and went the distance for Division I Keaau, holding Kamehameha to three hits and the lone run. The hard-throwing junior struck out one and walked two in a rock-solid performance while being saddled with the tough loss.
Kaimana Moike, a senior, started for the D-II Warriors (9-5) and hurled 3 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight. But he felt some arm tightness and Warriors coach Andy Correa pulled him to be safe with the BIIF playoffs coming up. Kupono Correa pitched 2/3 inning, giving up a hit in his short stint on the mound. Kupono Decker (4-0) then finished with three scoreless innings to pick up the win. He allowed two hits, two walks and struck out two.
Both teams played well defensively and with Remlinger and Moike locked in a pitchers’ duel through the first 3-plus innings, the game was left in the balance the remaining four innings as the hard-throwing Cougar battled the two Kamehameha relievers.
After one out in the top of the seventh, the Herb Yasuhara-coached Cougars (5-9) threatened as Konnor Kanetani and Keha Wong singled. But Decker bore down and got a strikeout and a force out to end the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, Correa was hit by a pitch and Racpan pinch ran for him.
Nainoa Hart’s sacrifice bunt pushed Racpan to second base and Bronson Pulgados singled to left-center as Racpan took third on the play. Toson then grounded into a fielder’s choice to first base and Racpan scrambled home with the game-winner.
No one paired hits for either team, which combined for seven hits, all singles.
For Kamehameha, Moike, Correa and Pulgados had base hits. For Keaau, Jonathan Segovia, Cody Silva, Kanetani and Wong each had a single.
Keaau 000 000 0 — 0 4 0
Kamehameha 000 000 1 — 1 3 1
• Waiakea 10, Ka‘u 1: Reyn Kihara pitched three innings and struck out five, and batted 2 for 4 to help the Warriors improve to 14-0.
Robbey Meguro went two innings and struck out three. Jace Okutsu hurled 1 1/3 innings and struck out one, and Quintin Torres-Costa got the last out on a strikeout.
Torres-Costa also went 2 for 4. Meguro and Okutsu added two hits apiece. Kylen Uyeda had three RBIs while Korin Medeiros and Davy Camacho each had two RBIs.
The Trojans fell to 2-12.
• Hilo 17, Pahoa 7. Randall Iha had three hits and Kian Kurokawa had two hits and four RBIs to lead the D-I Vikings (11-3). Teammates Austin Menke and Conrad Kauffman each added two hits as the visitors pounded out 14 hits at Wong Stadium.
Cassidy Dixon went 3 for 4 with a three-run double to lead the host D-II Daggers (1-13).
Pat Tsue started for Hilo and pitched two innings. He got the win, with relief help from Randall Iha (1 inning, 5 runs), Jodd Carter (1 inning, 3 strikeouts) and Tyler Higa-Gonsalves (1 inning, 1 run, 3 strikeouts).
Julian Agnese started for Pahoa and took the loss.
Hilo 425 42 — 17 14 1
Pahoa 100 51 — 7 8 4
• Honokaa 8, Kohala 0: Sophomore Austin Jardine pitched three shutout innings to get the win as the host Dragons improved to 7-4.
Jardine gave up just one hit, striking out five and walking none.
Senior Makani Dias highlighted a five-run first inning with a suicide squeeze bunt that scored Damien Kaluhimoku. Senior Kaneala DeCoito raced home on the same play when Dias reached on an error.
Junior Kazu Tolentino went 2-for-2 with an RBI for the Dragons, who will face Kealakehe on Friday in the regular-season finale for both teams. Honokaa, the No. 2 seed in the West will face East No. 3 seed Pahoa (1-13) at 3 p.m. Tuesday in a first-round BIIF tourney game.
Senior Kona Tagalicod, who lasted 2/3 of an inning, took the loss for Kohala (0-11). He yielded five runs on two hits, striking out one and walking four.
Junior Jeremiah Kanehailua went 2-for-3 at the plate.
Kohala 000 000 0 — 0 3 4
Honokaa 500 210 0 — 8 5 0
• Hawaii Prep 9, Konawaena 4: The Ka Makani (7-5) won in Kealakekua to hand the Wildcats (10-1) their first loss of the season.
No further details were available at press time.
Water polo
Jillian Hughes and Coco Flores-Oishi scored in overtime to lift Waiakea to an 8-6 victory over Hawaii Preparatory Academy on Wednesday in Waimea.
Hughes and Lauren Hill each had two goals for the Warriors (6-2), and Kara Paulachak, Katie Torigoe and Rachelle Krahner added one apiece.
Scoring information was not available for the Ka Makani (4-4).