Hilo sophomore Donald Saltiban pitched only one inning but his short work stood out in a lopsided error-fest. ADVERTISING Hilo sophomore Donald Saltiban pitched only one inning but his short work stood out in a lopsided error-fest. Saltiban was part
Hilo sophomore Donald Saltiban pitched only one inning but his short work stood out in a lopsided error-fest.
Saltiban was part of a combined no-hitter as the Vikings walloped Keaau 16-0 in a four-inning TKO BIIF Division I baseball game Wednesday night at Wong Stadium.
The Cougars apparently left their defense back home. They committed nine errors, which led to 11 unearned runs.
Noah Kalaloa-Richardson, a junior right-hander, went two innings and struck out four for the win. Saltiban followed with two strikeouts, and another sophomore Briden Silva pitched the final inning and walked one.
The perfect game was lost long before the fourth when Kalaloa-Richardson hit Keian Kanetani with a pitch in the first inning.
Last Thursday, Waiakea junior right-hander Makoa Andres pitched an 11-0 no-hitter against Hilo, the first in the longtime crosstown rivalry between the two schools.
Under the lights for the first time at Wong, the Vikings had trouble picking up Andres’ release point and swung late at all his pitches. He whiffed eight and lost his perfect game with a walk.
The Viks had no such trouble squaring up on starter Anson Kauwe (two innings) and Edward Oguma (two outs). Christian Sprinkel got one out and gave up no runs.
Austin Aina batted 2 for 2 with two RBIs and Josiah Factora was 2 for 3 with an RBI to lead Hilo (2-1).
No one came close to getting a hit for Keaau (2-2). Although cleanup hitter Riley Costa hit a ball deep in the shortstop’s hole.
However, Joey Jarneski was perfectly positioned and didn’t need to move. He dropped the ball but fired a fastball to get Costa in the fourth.
Hilo’s most impressive sophomore is center fielder Micah Bello, who landed on the All-BIIF first team last year. He went 0 for 2, reached on two errors and scored two runs.
The next one is a close tie between designated hitter/pitcher Ryan Ragual and Saltiban, a lanky right-hander.
Saltiban struck out Keaau’s No. 8 and 9 batters and got leadoff hitter Kauwe on a routine groundout.
He attacked the strike zone and flashed a quick whiplash arm action, showing the makings of a future ace.
“He’s got a bright future,” Hilo coach Tony De Sa said. “And Noah had a lot of spin on his ball and late pop.
“If we get to a slugfest in a three-game series (in the BIIF playoffs) where it’s back and forth, hopefully by that time the young guys will help out.”
Last season, Hilo won the BIIF title on the strength of co-aces Jarneski and Factora. Both picked up wins against Waiakea in the semifinals and Keaau in the championship series.
Jarneski is just a junior, so he’ll be around for a while, along with impressive sophomores Bello, Ragual (1 for 2, run scored), and Pu‘ukani De Sa (1 for 1, RBI), another pitcher/hitter.
And don’t forget Saltiban, who was part of a no-hitter.
Keaau 000 0 — 0 0 9
Hilo 736 x — 16 10 0
• Waiakea 14, Pahoa 1: Jacob Igawa batted 2 for 2 with two RBIs, and Aaron Kimura pitched three innings of one-run ball.
Khaden Victorino and Dillon-Jon Gabriel each pitched a scoreless inning, and Anthony Benevides had three RBIs while Trayden Tamiya, David Nakamura and Shaun Kurosawa had two RBIs each for the Warriors (4-0).
Julian Biemier batted 2 for 3 and Lava Benn took the loss for the Daggers (0-4).
Waiakea (10)02 02 — 14 11 0
Pahoa 100 0x — 1 5 3
