Pitching powered Waiakea’s perfection

By KEVIN JAKAHI

Tribune-Herald

HONOLULU —On the journey to a perfect 20-0 run and the state championship, Waiakea proved that its two aces could trump all challengers.

Senior left-hander Quintin Torres-Costa and sophomore lefty Kodi Medeiros stockpiled amazing numbers at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association tournament in three games, pitching the Warriors to their first state title in school history.

They combined on a no-hitter and the Warriors dispatched Baldwin 5-2 in the Division I baseball tournament Friday night at Les Murakami Stadium, tag-teaming for 14 strikeouts and leaving no doubt that defense (pitching is the first line of defense) wins championships.

Torres-Costa’s numbers against the Bears were staggering: six innings, no hits, two unearned runs, one walk and 13 strikeouts. Mix in his stats against Castle in his 5-0 quarterfinal win and it’s all-tourney Most Outstanding Player-worthy: 13 innings, six hits, two unearned runs, two walks and 21 strikeouts in two starts.

In his start against Pearl City in the semifinals, a three-hitter in a 2-1 win, and his one inning of relief work, Medeiros’ numbers are one level down from Torres-Costa’s perfect 0.00 ERA: eight innings, three hits, one earned run, two walks and nine strikeouts for a 0.88 ERA.

Next season, Medeiros will get a promotion. He will inherit Torres-Costa’s shoes as Waiakea’s pitching ace and he’ll need help, not just to make a repeat state title run, but also in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation. That’s because Hilo figures to have more pitching depth.

The Vikings (16-6), who edged Pearl City 9-8 for third place, return staff ace Kian Kurokawa, plus a wealth of state experienced pitchers in Nick Fukunaga, Jordan Tagawa, Jodd Carter and Chayce Kaaua, who kept smashing line drives all over the field.

It’s likely the BIIF will have only one automatic berth to the Division I state tourney next year. The league runner-up would have to travel to play on Oahu, which means three closely tied pitching dates: the BIIF semifinals, championship and the play-in game, if states doesn’t offer a one-week break like it did this year.

Kurokawa pitched May 2 in a 6-5 state play-in win over Campbell. He had five days of rest before his 5-3 first-round win over Punahou, a former seven-time state champion, on Tuesday. That may not be the case next year if there isn’t a one-week window.

Pitching depth isn’t Waiakea’s only issue. Finding new starters to replace six seniors will be equally challenging. Torres-Costa, who also played center field and hit leadoff, third baseman Korin Medeiros, shortstop Davy Camacho, right fielder/pitcher Reyn Kihara, first baseman Kylen Uyeda and left fielder Robbey Meguro are seniors.

“We’ll still be very competitive, but we won’t match the caliber of this year’s team,” Waiakea coach Kevin Yee said. “We have to see where everybody fits. Hopefully, we can make it back to states and defend our state championship.

“It’ll take a complete team effort. I’m very optimistic about the guys coming in from our eighth-grade class, and the freshmen, sophomores and returning juniors.”

The only starters back are catcher Kean Wong, Kodi Medeiros — the Nos. 2 and 3 hitters — and second baseman Alika Guillermo, who batted ninth. As far as depth on the bench, pitcher Jace Okutsu and hitters Tyler Ishimoto and Dean Hosaka — all valuable contributors — are seniors, too.

Camacho was a defensive anchor, setting the infield in place. Last year, he played second base and Wong started at shortstop. With Wong behind the plate, he called the pitches and gave the defense a handy weapon — a catcher with a strong arm capable of neutralizing the running game.

“Kean is the biggest team player,” Yee said. “He even offered to be in the bullpen. But I told him, ‘No, no. We’re not going to let you throw breaking balls and hurt your arm.’ He could play any position at the next level.

“Davy played an unreal shortstop for us. He played with so much confidence. This year he really stepped up. Defensively, he was one of our verbal leaders. Between him and Kean, they took charge of the defense.”

There will be a lot of job openings for the next season’s Warriors, who will have a bull’s-eye on their backs as the defending state champion.

But those are concerns for down the road. After the game was long over, Yee soaked in the good vibes at Les Murakami Stadium and looked at the big picture.

“Hopefully, we made the Big Island proud,” he said. “It’s a big win, not only for the kids and their families, but for the entire Big Island community.”

Note: The team was scheduled to return to Hilo on Saturday night.

Team members

Players: Alika Guillermo, Jace Okutsu, Matt Camacho, Lance Tanaka, Robbey Meguro, Chase Komatsu, Kylen Uyeda, Korin Medeiros, Reyn Kihara, Tyler Ishimoto, Davy Camacho, Aaron Nishimura, Rylan Kawazoe, Kean Wong, Kodi Medeiros, Quintin Torres-Costa, Dean Hosaka, Ray Iyo.

Statisticians: Ali Nakata, Chelsea Mitsuda, Kodie Ishikawa.

Coaches: Kevin Yee, head coach, James Hirayama, Cody Urasaki, Gregg Waki, Shannon Camero, assistants.