HONOKAA – Taven Hiraishi was almost unhittable.
The Konawaena junior won a pitcher’s duel against Dragons’ starter Justin Birch, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning of Wednesday’s BIIF D-II semifinal against Honokaa.
Hiraishi ultimately settled for a one-hit shutout to seal the Wildcats’ 1-0 victory against the Dragons, punching their ticket to the BIIF D-II Championship and securing a spot in the HHSAA championship in the process.
The win didn’t come without some late drama. Down one in the bottom of the seventh, Birch ended Hiraishi’s no-hit bid with a single, and then stole second base. With two outs and a runner in scoring position, Jake Bannister in the batter’s box for Honokaa with a shot to send the game into extra innings.
“I didn’t want to give up that one run,” said Hiraishi of his mindset facing Bannister. “I dug deep, threw my curveball, stayed with my slider, came with my fastball. That’s all we need.”
Hiraishi notched his 12th strikeout of the day against Bannister, bringing a swift end to the contest as Konawaena’s dugout emptied onto the field in celebration.
Opposing Hiraishi, Birch turned in an impressive performance of his own on the mound, taking his no-hit bid into the fourth inning before Konawaena’s Maika Akamu finally recorded the game’s first hit.
The Wildcats then found a way to manufacture the game’s lone run off Birch in the top of the fifth. After a fielder’s choice by Kingston Lee, a walk by Hayden Nishida and a single by Hiraishi, Kolt Baptista entered the batter’s box with the bases loaded. Baptista’s patience at the plate was rewarded with a walk, scoring Lee from third base.
“It was very difficult; both pitchers threw strikes,” said Konawaena head coach Aaron Mori of scoring runs against the Dragons. “Our batters were disciplined at the plate… Not trying to do too much, having a good approach at the plate. That’s all we preach every day at practice.”
Finally playing with a lead, Hiraishi was able to lean on a stellar defense, throwing just four pitches in the bottom of the fifth, punctuated by a stellar play by Trez Uemoto at shortstop to end the inning.
“It was a total team effort; everybody stayed in the game in the dugout,” added Mori. “Everybody cheered on everybody… It was probably the best game we played all season.”
Konawaena’s best performance of the season was enough to earn at least two more games. The Wildcats will square off against Kamehameha Saturday at UH-Hilo before preparing for the state tournament, set to begin Thursday, May 5.
Kamehameha 11, Pahoa 0: Salvatore Martino and Jonah Reich combined on a five-inning no-hitter and retired 15 of 16 batters, Dylan Hanson hit a two-run double to key a four-run first inning and the Warriors tacked on five more in the second to reach the championship game and lock down a state berth.
Seeking their ninth consecutive BIIF Division II title, Kamehameha (6-0) will face Konawaena (4-2) at 3 p.m. Saturday at UH-Hilo.
After Hanson’s double made it 3-0, he scored on Keahi Hisashima’s double. Liwai Correa led off the second with a hit and the next three batters reached on a walk, hit by pitch and an error. Dominic Christensen’s double made it 8-0, and Christensen scored on a single by Cross Pola. Hisashima finished with two hits.
The only blemish for Kamehameha’s pitching came when Martino hit Tripp Kahsen with one out in the first inning.
Martino worked three innings, and he and Reich each struck out four batters.
Kahsen started but was removed before getting an out in the second. Shane Sale-Silva pitched the final three innings.