There was no history-making event in the rematch between crosstown rivals Waiakea and Hilo on the diamond, only an exciting ballgame all the way to the finish. ADVERTISING There was no history-making event in the rematch between crosstown rivals Waiakea
There was no history-making event in the rematch between crosstown rivals Waiakea and Hilo on the diamond, only an exciting ballgame all the way to the finish.
David Nakamura got a strikeout with two runners on in the seventh, and the Warriors prevailed over the Vikings 5-4 in a BIIF Division I game on Friday night at Wong Stadium.
With the win, Waiakea (11-1) clinched the BIIF regular season title and a berth to the HHSAA state tournament.
The other state spot is available in the four-team BIIF playoffs, which start next Friday with the best-of-three semifinals at the higher seed’s home field.
Hilo (9-3) was stuck in the role of spoiler. To claim the league’s automatic state berth, a team needs to win the BIIF regular-season title outright.
A month ago, Andres threw an 11-0 no-hitter against Hilo, the first in the long history between the longtime foes. Andres finished with eight strikeouts and walked one, which left him short of a perfect game.
That night the Vikings just couldn’t pick up his release point and swung late at all his pitches. It felt like he was throwing 10 feet closer than the distance of 60 feet, 6 inches from the mound to home plate.
A month later, Hilo had much better rhythm at the plate and hit a lot of balls hard. Andres lost his no-hit bid in the second when first baseman Bud Cox ripped a single to left. Unlike a month ago, Andres didn’t have his pinpoint fastball command and his late, lateral movement on his curveball, which he calls a hook but is actually a slider.
Leave it to coach Tony De Sa’s Vikings to make a late comeback attempt and keep the energetic crowd on its toes in the seventh inning. That’s when Josiah Factora walked with one out and Ryan Ragual doubled him home. That made it 5-3.
Andres got a strikeout for the second out and his fifth punchout of the game. Then Austin Aina sliced an RBI double down the right-field line. It was now 5-4.
Then pinch hitter Chase Costa-Ishii singled to left, putting runners on the corner with two out. Up next was Cox, who was 2 for 3 against Andres.
Waiakea coach brought in left-hander David Nakamura, who ran the count full and then got a game-ending strikeout for the save.
Andres went 6 2/3 innings for the win. The junior right-hander allowed four runs (two unearned) on eight hits and three walks and whiffed five.
Hilo gave the ball to sophomore right-hander Donald Salitban Jr., a nod in a big-game start, though no carrot, that he’s the future ace of the ballclub.
In the first, Waiakea took advantage of three errors to score two runs or was it three?
Nate Minami led off with a single, Trayden Tamiya sacrificed and Taylor Mondina followed with another single to load the bases. Then it got a little crazy.
Andres, the cleanup hitter, reached on an error, which scored a run. Gehrig Octavio dribbled a grounder and was out at first, but the double-play attempt at second was dropped for another error. Somewhere in that time frame, a catcher’s throw sailed into the outfield for the inning’s third miscue and a 2-0 lead.
In the second, Saltiban issued back-to-back walks with the bases loaded and was yanked for Brett Komatsu, who faced an unenviable situation: bases loaded, two out and Octavio, the No. 5 hitter, hungry for RBIs.
On the first pitch, Octavio sliced a dying duck to left center, but center fielder Micah Bello got a great jump on the ball and made a diving catch. Komatsu stranded the bases, saved Salitban’s ERA from ballooning, and kept the lead to 4-0.
Salitban pitched 1 2/3 innings and allowed four runs (three unearned) on four hits and two walks. None of the singles were hit particularly hard, and his defense did him no favors with four errors, including three in the wild first inning.
The Warriors jumped to a 5-0 lead in the third when Jaron Kawaguchi reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on Mackanzy Maesaka’s RBI single off Komatsu.
Waiakea had its own defensive issues in the fifth, which cost Andres two unearned runs and also challenged him to pitch through a low hurdle of obstacles on a night when he didn’t have no-hit stuff.
Cox reached on an infield error, No. 9 hitter Stone Miyao followed with a walk and Noah Higa-Gonsalves reached on an outfield error. Joey Jarneski hit an RBI single up the box, Andres recorded a strikeout, and Ragual had a fielder’s choice RBI.
The score was suddenly 5-2 with one out and the bases still filled. But Andres got Bello, the No. 5 hitter, and Austin Aina on flyouts.
After Komatsu departed with his 2 1/3 innings of one-run relief, Hilo co-aces Factora and Jarneski each fired a scoreless frame to keep the game within striking distance.
Jarneski batted 2 for 4 and Cox 2 for 4 to lead Hilo, which stranded 10 on base. No one paired hits for Waiakea, which left six on base.
The Vikings made a nice two-run rally in the seventh, but, in following tradition between the two rivals, Nakamura came in saved the day, adding another chapter of great games with the playoffs around the corner.
Hilo 00x 020 2 — 4 8 5
Waiakea 221 000 x — 5 7 3
