Buffanblu beat Warriors in ILH
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Punahou School baseball team knocked Kamehameha out of first place and stayed in the thick of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu title hunt yesterday with an 8-3 victory at Ala Wai Field.
The Buffanblu's win leaves Iolani (8-1) alone again in first, followed by the defending champion Warriors (7-2) and Punahou (6-3). Iolani defeated Maryknoll, 16-6, yesterday.
Although the Buffanblu have three losses, Kamehameha coach Vern Ramie said they always have been regarded as contenders.
"They're a good ballclub," Ramie said. "People say they're young, but even their sophomores are seasoned veterans who have a year and a half under their belts now. They got some big two-out hits, and once they got the lead, they just kept padding it."
Punahou took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Kaohi Downing's RBI groundout and made it 3-0 in the third after run-scoring singles by Landon Nakata and Kyle Kabei with two outs. Kasey Ko's two-out, two-run single in the fourth pushed the lead to 5-0.
The Warriors answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth on Dayne Ogawa's delayed steal of home and Travis Young's RBI single.
But the Buffanblu came right back with two runs in the fifth, after Bucky Aona's run-scoring single and Justin Ariki's RBI groundout. Nakata made it 8-2 in the sixth with an RBI single.
Kamehameha loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, but got only one run on Young's RBI groundout. The Warriors left 10 runners on base — at least one in every inning but the fifth, when they went down in order.
Punahou starter Jared Pate allowed 10 hits and struck out three, but he went the distance and managed to get the top two batters in Kamehameha's order — Keoni Ruth and Ryson Mauricio — to go a combined 0-for-8.
"I thought Pate was fantastic, he was in command," Ramie said. "He kept us off-balance and he had a good defense behind him. And the big thing was he kept our leadoff guys off the bases."
Pate said "it was kinda rough" the last time he faced the Warriors, a 4-1 loss on March 21.
"This time I just tried to mix it up more," Pate said.
Buffanblu coach Eric Kadooka said a key for Pate was staying ahead in the count.
"He hit his spots well," Kadooka said. "He did a good job changing speeds."
Punahou (6-3) 012 221 0 — 8 13 0
Kamehameha (7-2) 000 201 0 — 3 10 0
Jared Pate and Michael Kim. Issac Kamai, Kaulana Chang (5) and Baba Merino. W—Pate. L—Kamai.
Leading hitters: Punahou—Landon Nakata 3-4, 2 RBIs; Kyle Kabei 2-3, RBI; Bucky Aona 2-4, double, RBI; Kim 2-4, double; Michael Lam 2-5, double; Kasey Ko 1-3, 2 RBIs. Kamehameha—Kahe Santos 2-4, double; Merino 2-4, double, Matt Morgado 2-3, Dayne Ogawa 2-3, Travis Young 1-3, 2 RBIs.
PAC-FIVE 4, DAMIEN 4: Damien's Justin Cole hit a single that scored Brian Greenert from second to tie the game and the game was called shortly after because of lightning.
Greenert scored immediately after teammate Jason Luke, who was on third, was thrown out at the plate.
Pac-five (3-5-1) 202 000—4 8 1
Damien (2-6-1) 200 011—4 13 3
Owen Simmons, Nick Miyamoto (5) and Colby Holt. Chase Masuda and Nick Zieser.
Leading hitters: Pac-Five—Miyamoto 2-3, double. Damien—Elijah Souza 2-4, 2 runs; Justin Cole 3-4; Zieser 2-3, double.
IOLANI 16, MARYKNOLL 6: The host Raiders had 13 hits, including four triples, in a six-inning win over the Spartans.
Iolani's Galen Komo batted 4-for-4 with four RBIs.
Maryknoll (0-9) 004 110— 6 10 7
Iolani (8-1) 311 038—16 13 2
Peter Kirst, Jarrett Lee (6), Chris Lum (6) and Kawika Calizar. Ian Mopas, Trent Muraoka (3), Jon Sakada (4), Eric Muraoka (5) and Kala Ka'aihue. W—Muraoka. L— Lee.
Leading hitters: Maryknoll—Kody Seminara double; Lee double; Alika Lee 2-2; Brett Ikei 2-2. Iolani—Galen Komo 4-4, 2 triples, 4 RBIs, 3 runs; Ka'aihue double; Reid Saito double, 2 RBIs; Travis Nishioka 3-3, triple, 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Kelly Teramoto 2-4, triple.
SAINT LOUIS 4, MID-PACIFIC 3: Sheldon Santiago doubled in Shane Butcher with the go-ahead run in the sixth inning as the Crusaders rallied past the Owls at Ala Wai Field.
Mid-pacific (4-4-1) 210 000 0—3 11 2
Saint Louis (4-4-1) 000 211 X—4 6 1
Harrison Kuroda, Blake Kaneshiro (5) and Jeffrey Mizokawa. Marc Nobriga and Jowen Thornton-Murray. W—Nobriga. L—Kaneshiro.
Leading hitters: Mid-Pacific—Ryan Leong 2-4; Jonathan Hee 2-4, triple, 2 RBIs; Keven Whalen 3-4, double; Randy Rundgren double. Saint Louis—John Gentry triple; Thornton-Murray triple; Pono Moises 2-3; Sheldon Santiago double.
MIL
KING KEKAULIKE 14, KA'AHUMANU HOU 0: Ivan Mende pitched a one-hit shutout, and Kealii Murray batted 4-for-4 with two doubles, a homer and six RBIs as King Kekaulike routed Ka'ahumanu Hou.
King kekaulike (3-6) 035 42—14 9 1
Ka'ahumanu Hou (0-9) 000 00— 0 1 7
Ivan Mende and Kato Puha. Kealii Washington, Ethan Cravalho (2), Washington (3), Cravalho (4), Caleb Pacheco (5) and Pacheco, Cravalho (5). W—Mende. L— Washington.
Leading hitters: King Kekaulike—Jordan Iwata 2-3, triple; Kealii Murray 4-4, 2 doubles, homer, 6 RBIs; Dain Shimabuku double.
MAUI 7, ST. ANTHONY 4: The Sabers scored four runs in the fifth inning aided by two walks, two errors and two wild pitches en route to beating the Trojans.
Maui (9-0) 000 241 0—7 4 4
St. Anthony (4-5) 201 100 0—4 5 4
Vance Otake and Gavin Takakura. Kory Kahalekai, Travis Castillon (4) and Max Young. W—Otake. L—Castillon.
Leading hitters: Maui—Joseph Kala 2-3, 2 RBIs. St. Anthony—Kahalekai double.
