The Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) baseball and softball seasons continued over the weekend across the isle. Matchups will resume today — see the paper for updates.
Kona 6, Kealakehe 3
Konawaena baseball won consecutive games for the first time since the beginning of the season after a 6-3 victory over local rival Kealakehe on Saturday morning in South Kona. The winning Wildcats improved to 5-3 on the season, while the Waveriders lost their fourth straight — falling to 1-7.
Kona posted 10 hits to Kealakehe’s three. Armenio Blanco led the winners with two hits and two RBI, while teammates Kolt Baptista, Hayden Nishida, Jaeden Meyers, Kawika Fukunaga, Tate Garana, Travis Fediuk, Aycen Blanco and Tylan Corbin all logged one hit each.
Fukunaga, Kahiau Rivera and Koa Nakagawa all saw time on the mound for the Wildcats, combining for three hits and three runs allowed with nine strikeouts. Rivera leads the team in innings pitched (26.9), saves and strikeouts (26).
Kona will next play Hilo on Tuesday night at Wong Stadium. The game will serve as a rematch from the 5-4 win the Wildcats secured on Match 15.
Rome Joaquin, Elijah Sunderman and Kaleb Kajikawa posted the ‘Riders three hits with one each. Joaquin and Drake Kennedy pitched on the mound for Kealakehe. Joaquin leads the team in hits (five), runs (five), innings pitched (19.9), wins (one) and strikeouts (14).
The ‘Riders will look to get back in the win column with their next matchup on Tuesday against Kamehameha-Hawaii at Kealakehe High School. When the two schools last played one another on March 15, the Warriors won 10-0.
HPA 4, Ka‘u 2
Hawaii Preparatory baseball won its third and final matchup of the season against Ka‘u on Saturday, leaving Pahala with a 4-2 victory. Ka Makani improved to 6-3, while the Trojans remained winless at 0-8.
HPA posted eight hits to Ka‘u’s six. Ka Makani second baseman Asher Anderson logged a game-high three hits, while first baseman Owen Smith had two for himself. Third baseman Wyley Ament, center fielder Ren Kamoshita-Langan and left fielder Leon Kikukawa posted one hit apiece for Ka Makani.
Anderson and Lex Ni saw time on the mound for Ka Makani, combining for six hits and two runs allowed while striking out 10.
Trojan shortstop Caleb Crook hit the game’s only home run, while teammate Obtan Boaz logged two hits. Center fielder Eli Crook, first baseman Devin Alpin and catcher Ian Beck additionally logged one hit each for Ka‘u.
Boaz and Crook were the only two Trojan pitchers on the mound.
HPA next faces Pahoa on Thursday afternoon in Waimea, while Ka‘u will play the Dragons on Wednesday in Honoka‘a town. Ka Makani is 1-1 against the Daggers this season, while the Trojans are 0-2 against the Dragons.
Pahoa 10,
Honoka‘a 6
Pahoa baseball won its second straight game after beating the hosting Honoka‘a Dragons 10-6 on Saturday afternoon on the Hamakua Coast. The Daggers elevated themselves to 6-2, while Honoka‘a dropped to 8-2 — losing its first game in almost a month after winning the last six.
Right fielder K. Clear led the Daggers with the sole homer of the afternoon with three hits, followed by pitcher Tripp Kahsen, catcher Max Potter, center fielder George Kocher and first baseman Brayden Conda-Tolle with one base hit each. Kahsen and Landon Hall were on the mound for Pahoa, combining for nine allowed hits and six runs with 12 strikeouts.
The Dragons were led by pitcher Jayden Salazar and catcher Isaac Derego with three hits each, including a Derego homer. Teammate second baseman Chrys Coelho added two more hits, while center fielder Josyah Napoleon-Umeda logged one.
Salazar and Napoleon-Umeda were on the mound for Honoka‘a, combining for eight allowed hits and 10 runs with 10 strikeouts.
Pahoa’s next challenge will be against Kohala this afternoon at home. When the two schools last played on April 7, the Daggers won 7-2.
The Dragons will try to get back in the win column against Ka‘u on Wednesday in Honoka‘a town. When the two squads last played on March 15, the Dragons won 8-6.
Hilo 10, Kea‘au 3
Hilo softball maintained its perfect start to the season after a 10-3 rout of Kea‘au on Friday afternoon on the road. The Lady Vikings moved to 7-0 on the season while the Lady Cougars fell to a winless 0-4.
Hilo posted 14 hits to Kea‘au’s four. Mackenzie Valentin and Kylie Kaniaupio logged a game-high three hits each for the Lady Vikings, while Jeyla Bettis-Shigeishi, Vaiqueen Porter and Dashley Arurang added two hits each. Molly Davi and Zaydee Amar rounded out the rest of Hilo’s hits with one apiece.
Davi picked up another win for the Lady Vikings in the circle, allowing no hits and no runs while striking out 16 batters across 5.0 innings. Porter also saw time in the circle.
Davi leads Hilo in innings pitched (46.0), wins (seven) and strikeouts (109). Davi also comfortably leads the state in strikeouts.
Through seven games, the Lady Vikings are out-scoring opponents 50-7 — including three shutouts. Hilo will finish off the regular season on Tuesday at home, set to take on Konawaena for the second time this season. When the two teams last met, the Lady Vikings won 8-0.
Tiani Kaupu led Kea‘au in hits with two, including a double. Teammates Reyna Pettypool and Tammy Respicio-Mercado smacked one each.
Kaupu was also the Lady Cougars’ lone pitcher in the circle. Kea‘au next faces Waiakea this afternoon at home. When the two teams last met, the Lady Warriors won 16-0 in three innings.
Hilo 11, Kea‘au 0
Hilo baseball continued its hot streak against Kea‘au with an 11-0 shutout of the Cougars on Friday at Wong Stadium. The Vikings clinched their fifth straight win to elevate to 6-2, while Kea‘au fell to 0-8.
Cole Hatayama led the winners by going 2-for-3 at the plate, while teammates Talus Sato and Jaydon Gerachi went 1-for-4. Tyson Satiago also went 1-for-2, while Braden Oda went 1-for-1.
Axel Akau was the game’s winning pitcher.
Hilo has out-scored opponents 56-19 thus far — with Gerachi leading in hits, Kamren Agpalza in runs and Sato in RBI. The Vikings’ next test will be against Konawaena on Tuesday night in Hilo town. Hilo will look to get vengeance on the Wildcats, who won 5-4 in the last meeting on March 15.
The Cougars will return to the diamond this afternoon against Waiakea in Kea‘au Village, setting up the second matchup this season between the two teams.
Honoka‘a 22,
Pahoa 7
Honoka‘a softball got back to winning ways after dropping its last four, routing Pahoa 22-7 in the team’s most dominant performance of this season. It was also the second time the Lady Dragons beat the Lady Daggers.
Honoka‘a improved to 2-4, while Pahoa fell to 3-2. The paper was unable to locate a stat sheet for this matchup by deadline.
The Lady Dragons will be back in action against Ka‘u on Wednesday in Honoka‘a town, while the Lady Daggers will match up with Kohala this afternoon in Pahoa town.
Other matchups
The paper was unable to locate the following scores by deadline. If any readers have official results, please email clangs@westhawaiitoday.com:
• 4/12 Kealakehe softball at Konawaena
