By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Local product John Holley was brilliant in the middle innings of his first start for the Hawaii Stars, retiring 11 in a row at one point, but it was his early and late work that threw a bit of mud on his overall performance.
The Na Koa Ikaika Maui capitalized on five walks and two hit batters to hold a 3-2 lead through six innings against the Stars in a suspended North American Baseball League game on a rainy Tuesday night before 400 fans at Wong Stadium.
The suspended game between the North division second-place Stars (9-9) and Na Koa Ikaika (9-9) will continue at 3 p.m. today and admission is free for fans who have their ticket stubs. The second game will start at 5:35 p.m.
Also, Maui’s Eri “Knuckle Princess” Yoshida and Hawaii’s Ronnie Loeffler will start in Saturday’s game.
Holley, a 2005 Pahoa High graduate, recorded two outs in the sixth inning, before walking in the go-ahead run when the game was stopped. That inning consistent of two walks and two hit batters.
“He did pretty well and got stronger as the game went on,” Stars manager Garry Templeton II said. “Once he gets better command of his fastball, I think he’ll be right there for us. He gave up three runs and all were because of walks. He threw a little for us last Friday. But before that, he didn’t throw for a month.”
Through 6 2/3 innings, Holley surrendered three runs on three hits, five walks and two hit batters, and whiffed five. He retired 11 straight from the third inning to the first hitter of the seventh inning, shaking off rust and growing sharper.
“It was nice to have my first start back in Hilo,” he said. “It could have been a lot better and a lot worse. Unfortunately, the elements played a big part. I wanted to get out of the inning. It’s something to build on.
“In the beginning, I was a little nervous. I wanted to play awesome, especially in front of my family and friends. In the middle innings, I got in a rhythm and stuck to it. In the later part of the game, it’s just hard to throw a wet baseball. I think I have a lot of growth left. I look forward to doing that in Hilo.”
The Stars scored two runs off Maui starter Mike Williams in the bottom of the sixth — on Brendan Davis’ run-scoring single, and a wild pitch. In 5 2/3 innings, Williams allowed two runs on four hits and three walks, including two costly free passes; both runs came off walks.
He struck out four and through the first five scoreless innings the 6-foot-6 left-hander pitched as if he were a mind reader, throwing changeups when the Stars sat hard cheese, and generally keeping hitters off-balanced — something of a continuing problem for Hawaii.
The Stars lost two in a row to the San Rafael Pacifics, batted .142 (9 for 63) in the two games, and won two of the six games in the series. For the season, Hawaii is batting .234, second to last in the league.
Meanwhile it was a return home for Holley, 24, who pitched for UH-Hilo in 2010, along with Hawaii Stars teammate Loeffler and Aaron Correa, who’s a reliever for the Sioux City (Iowa) Explorers of the American Association.
In his first appearance for the Stars, Holley had a no-decision in three innings in a 9-7 win over San Rafael last Friday on the road. He allowed three runs on three hits and three walks, and struck out one, rounding himself back into pitching shape.
He pitched for Na Koa Ikaika last year, and went 0-5 with a 6.35 ERA in 18 games, including four starts. Holley started this season with the Evansville (Ind.) Otters of the Frontier League, and was 0-0 with a 31.50 ERA in two innings. He gave up seven runs on six hits and four walks.
Entering his first start for the Stars, Holley’s independent pro ball career record stood at 0-5 with a 7.84 ERA in 39 innings. He averaged 6.46 strikeouts and 8.07 walks per nine innings; a 3-to-1 ratio is considered ideal.
Against Maui, Holley walked three batters over the first two innings, and two runs scored — on Chema Sanchez’ RBI single in the first, and Kalaika Kahoohalahala’s double play grounder in the second inning.
From there, a transformation took place and Holley found himself in a rhythm, retiring 11 straight and rolling along — until the rain caused an interruption.
Maui 110 000
Hawaii 000 002