In the long history on the diamond between crosstown rivals Hilo and Waiakea, no one had accomplished what Makoa Andres fashioned on the mound on Thursday night at Wong Stadium. ADVERTISING In the long history on the diamond between crosstown
In the long history on the diamond between crosstown rivals Hilo and Waiakea, no one had accomplished what Makoa Andres fashioned on the mound on Thursday night at Wong Stadium.
The senior right-hander pitched a no-hitter as the Warriors blistered the Vikings 11-0 in a BIIF Division I baseball showdown, just missing a perfect game with a walk and another chapter in the history books.
“Makoa threw a gem,” Waiakea coach Rory Inouye said. “What we really liked was how he controlled the tempo, especially in a big game. He pitched at his pace. His slider (Andres calls it a sharp curveball) was good. It was one of those nights that he had his stuff.”
It’s believed that Andres threw the first no-hitter between longtime foes Hilo and Waiakea, a storied annual battle that has featured more than a handful of pitchers drafted by Major League Baseball.
Andres walked No. 8 hitter Austin Aina on four pitches in the sixth inning. Otherwise he was flawless and so was his defense, which got to rest periodically behind eight strikeouts. There were no highlight defensive plays such as a diving outfield catch or a shortstop’s throw from deep in the hole.
“During the fourth inning, I thought I could get a no-hitter,” said Andres, who threw a four-inning no-hitter against Hawaii Prep last year. “Mostly my fastball and curveball were working. The coaches told me to keep my pitch count low and let my defense work. I have to credit my teammates. They made all the plays.”
While Waiakea threw its No. 1 pitcher, the Vikings started senior right-hander Bud Cox, who didn’t pitch much last season and lasted 1 1/3 innings. He was followed by Ryan Ragual (3 2/3 innings), No. 2 starter Josiah Factora (1 1/3 innings), and Brett Komatsu (two outs).
Hilo ace Joey Jarneski only played shortstop but would have closed if the defending BIIF champion had a late lead.
The BIIF regular season champion earns the league’s first berth to the HHSAA state tournament. The other berth is available at the four-team, best-of-three series BIIF tournament.
However, there’s a catch this season.
Waiakea athletic director Tom Correa recently checked with the HHSAA to confirm that the BIIF will have two guaranteed spots to states. There was a concern the league might have a play-in game because Maryknoll, of the ILH, jumped up to Division I.
The BIIF is employing a 1.5 game schedule, so the Division I teams will play each other twice. Hilo and Waiakea will meet again on Saturday, April 9 at the Warriors field, right before the BIIF playoffs.
If both teams have the same record or anyone else in Division I, no one earns the first state berth. Hilo gets something of a second chance.
That’s the catch, perfectly summed up by Hilo coach Tony De Sa.
“You can’t win the league with one pitcher,” he said. “We wanted to get a few other people on the mound, and if the game was close at the end I would have Joey close. Makoa threw a good game. All the credit goes to him.”
With the 1.5 game schedule, it makes the rematch really intriguing. Too bad, it can’t be played at Wong Stadium because there was a sizable and energized crowd on Thursday. Also, UH-Hilo is on Oahu that weekend.
Meanwhile, Waiakea piled up 12 hits but only two balls were absolutely smoked. Andres clobbered a double in the second inning, and Gehrig Octavio nuked a triple to the right-center field outfield fence.
It didn’t help that three of Waiakea’s runs came off walks and two more off hit by pitches.
Taylor Mondina batted 2 for 4 with three RBIs, Anthony Benevides 2 for 5 with two RBIs, and Andres was 2 for 4 with an RBI to highlight Waiakea’s offense.
Still, the night belonged to Andres, a stocky 5-10 ace, who spotted his fastball on the corners, threw his sharp curveball in the lower-half of the strike zone, and was a model of efficiency with just 81 pitches.
In the second inning, Hilo had two harmful errors that led to a pair of unearned runs, and a two-run single by Mondina, Waiakea’s No. 3 hitter, produced an early 4-0 lead.
Andres doubled and Octavio hit a grounder to first baseman Nick Antony, who tried to cut down courtesy runner Joey Ongais, but his throw sailed over third base, leading to the first unearned run.
Shaun Kurosawa followed with a ground ball to third baseman Factora, who fired to first base but the ball was dropped for another error and unearned run.
Cox then allowed a single to No. 9 hitter Mackanzy Maesaka and walked Nate Minami before being pulled for Ragual, who entered in quite a pickle: bases full, one out and Mondina on deck.
Ragual got a forceout at home, on a throw from Factora to catcher Josh Breitbarth. But Mondina was up next and dunked a 2-1 pitch into shallow center for a two-run single.
Waiakea made it 5-0 in the third when Octavio crushed a triple to right center field and scored on Kurosawa’s groundout.
In the sixth, the Warriors added three insurance runs off Factora, who gave up two-out RBI singles to Trayden Tamiya and Benevides and beaned Andres with the bases filled for an 8-0 cushion.
Waiakea wasn’t finished scoring and didn’t need to hit the ball hard to push across three more runs in the seventh. Mondina walked with the bases loaded, and Benevides lofted a high ball that dropped between a pair of infielders.
That’s scored as a hit, despite two Vikings in position to catch the ball. Two runs scored on that play. And three of the runs were off hit by pitches.
Basically, it wasn’t Hilo’s night, mostly because Andres pitched like a historic ace.
Waiakea 041 003 3 — 11 12 0
Hilo 000 000 0 — 0 1 2
