It was a perfect feel-good win for host Hilo at the 23rd annual Stanley Costales Sr. Memorial Baseball Tournament on Saturday, receiving contributions from valuable spare parts.
It was a perfect feel-good win for host Hilo at the 23rd annual Stanley Costales Sr. Memorial Baseball Tournament on Saturday, receiving contributions from valuable spare parts.
The Vikings scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to rally past Kamehameha-Maui 3-2 for third place at Wong Stadium, finishing their preseason run with a 6-1 record. Hilo went 3-0 at the Leilehua tourney a week ago.
In other games, Waiakea beat Pac-5 12-4 for the championship, Kamehameha-Hawaii blitzed Hawaii Prep 14-7 for fifth, Leilehua defeated Kealakehe 6-4 for seventh, and Hilo’s underclassmen beat Konawaena 8-1.
Toa Barclay, a junior right-hander, and Riley Macanas, a senior right-hander, didn’t pitch much last season for the Vikings, who won the BIIF Division I title. But Barclay drew the start and threw three innings of one-run ball, and Macanas followed with a scoreless inning.
The duo built a stable bridge for the Vikings, who trailed 2-1 entering the seventh inning where the team’s youngsters produced a spark, and the Warriors’ demise was compounded with two harmful errors.
Sophomore center fielder Micah Bello led off with a single, and freshman second baseman Stone Miyao reached on an error. Then Logan Respecio, another sophomore, worked a walk off Iokepa Supnet.
A wild pitch brought home the typing run, and junior catcher Chase Costa-Ishii chopped a 2-2 pitch over the shortstop in a drawn-in infield for the game-winner.
Hilo freshman Pu’ukani De Sa followed Macanas with two innings of one-run relief, and sophomore Ryan Ragual fired a scoreless inning for the win.
“We wanted to get everybody in the tournament. That was our goal,” Hilo coach Tony De Sa said. “We showed a lot of grit on the mound. That last inning where we produced a couple of runs was huge for us. We came together at the end. It was a great team win.
“It wasn’t the top of the order, but the bottom of the order that did it. That’s what baseball is. Sometimes it balances out.”
Hilo committed no errors and had a few spectacular plays.
In the top of the seventh, Bello, who reads the ball of the bat well, made a running catch on a shallow flyball look easy. Junior shortstop Joey Jarneski showed his footwork and strong arm on several plays, including a charging run, scoop and throw from the hole in the third.
A week ago on Oahu, the Vikings beat Castle, host Leilehua and Waipahu in a preseason tournament. They suffered a 3-2 loss to Pac-5 in the first round on Thursday.
Josh Breitbarth went 2 for 2 while Austin Aina and Ragual each batted 2 for 3 to lead Hilo. Breitbarth had an RBI single in the third and Costa-Ishii was 1 for 2 with the pivotal RBI.
But Barclay and Macanas also stood out. They recorded enough outs and gave Hilo a nice boost of momentum. Barclay pitched tough when he needed to, stranding the bases loaded in the third.
KS-Maui starter Rylie Velez singled, and Barclay eventually walked consecutive hitters with two out. Then he struck out Kainoa Sanchez, the No. 7 batter, to extinguish the threat.
“Toa kept the ball down and got his breaking ball over. His curveball is perfect enough behind his fastball to keep hitters off-balanced,” De Sa said. “When Riley came in, he shut the other guys down. We’ve seen it happen before. He knows how to pitch.”
Of course, it’s the preseason, and there’s always room for improvement.
The Valley Isle Warriors scored two runs off free passes — a hit by pitch in the first and a walk in the fifth.
“We’re 6-1, and it’s the best start we’ve had in the preseason,” De Sa said. “Maybe it’s a good thing we lost one game because you can learn from that loss. We’ve got things to work on, like situational hitting, movement on defense, and executing great pitches with runners on base. We can’t give up first batter walks. That hurt us. That’s something we have to change.”
The Vikings played a nice brand of baseball in the third-place game. They pitched tough, were flawless on defense, and fashioned a walk-off, bottom of the seventh inning exciting win. They also got everyone in the tourney, a good a goal as any for the preseason.
KS-Maui 100 010 0 — 2 5 2
Hilo 001 000 2 — 3 10 0