BIIF baseball: HPA makes opening-day mark by beating Hilo

WAIMEA — If an opening day matchup against perennial BIIF Division I contender Hilo was meant to be a measuring stick for Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s season, Ka Makani have to be happy how they stack up.

Last year’s BIIF D-II runner-up overcame an early error and rode the arms of its two senior aces to down the visiting Vikings 3-2 on Saturday.

DJ Sekiya earned the three-hit victory, striking out two and not allowing an earned run in five innings. Koa Ellis finished the game, allowing one hit and striking out four in two innings.

“This is huge,” Sekiya said. “It’s really going to kickstart our season and give us momentum heading into the rest of our games.”

Sekiya also produced at the plate going 2 for 4, with a double, triple and run scored. Tristan Sinkowitz and Jonah Hurley also had multihits, each with two singles.

Ellis and Sekiya join Cyrus Inglis as HPA’s senior core. All three have different skill sets and bring a wealth of experience to a youthful roster.

“We have three seniors in Cyrus, Koa and DJ and those guys are the heart of this team,” HPA head coach Jordan Hayslip said. “Anytime we play a school from Hilo it is a big game, so the boys were motivated and they played great today.”

Kaiden Cox took the loss, allowing three hits and two earned runs in 3 1/3 innings.

In a day of offensivewoes, Joey Jarneski led the way for the Vikings with a pair of singles and a stolen base.

Hilo registered the first hit of the game on a single from Jarneski. He easily scored on an error as the throw from first-year catcher Braden Kojima sailed over the head of third baseman Sinkowitz.

In the third inning a solid shot from the Vikings’ Noah Higa-Gonsalves fell just a few feet short of a home run. He took second, but HPA got out of the inning on a double play.

In the bottom of the inning, leadoff man Sekiya sent a rocket to right field that the outfielder misjudged and couldn’t get under. That is a perk of practicing in the unpredictable Waimea winds that can cause fly balls to float and make outfielders look like cartoon characters trying to track them down.

“It is definitely a little home-field advantage,” Sekiya said of his triple. “At the plate, I knew the wind blows to the right-field corner, so I tried to send everything the other way. I just wanted to sit back and drive it.”

Sekiya then coasted in to tie the game at 1-all on a sacrifice fly from Inglis.

HPA started strong again in the fourth inning with a Kanai Gaughen single, but a heads-up play by Hilo catcher Josh Breitbarth picked him off at first. Despite the minor mistake, HPA continued to rally. Hurley golfed a shot to left field for a single, and then back-to-back singles from Kojima and Sinkowitz loaded the bases with just one out.

With the bases loaded and just one out, Hilo head coach Tony DeSa brought in Ryan Ragual in relief.

Ragual walked his first batter, giving HPA a 2-1 lead.

A quick out brought up Sekiya — already 2 for 2 on the day. He sent a high fly ball to center field, but with the gusting winds it was anything but a sure out. Three Vikings converged on the ball, and center fielder Micah Bello made the diving catch to end the inning.

The Vikings struggled to produce in the fifth inning, and HPA’s bats stayed hot.

With two runners on, Kojima hit a ball to second base that was too hot to handle and HPA took a two-run cushion into the sixth.

A leadoff double by Jarneski gave Hilo life in the sixth inning, and he advanced to third on a wild pitch by Sekiya. With the potential tying run coming up to the plate, Hayslip brought in the reliable Ellis.

The senior hurler started a little rough, letting a ball get away from him that allowed the runner to score from third, but quickly found his groove. He struck out four of the next six batters over the next two innings to seal the win.

“Koa is a great competitor,” Hayslip said. “When the game is on the line he is the guy.”

Hilo 100 001 0 — 2

HPA 001 110 x — 3