Kamehameha wins, 15-8
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Kamehameha Schools baseball team turned yesterday's Interscholastic League of Honolulu game against Mid-Pacific Institute into a home run derby, slamming four balls out of the park in a 15-8 victory.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Nick Freitas, Keoni Ruth, Dayne Ogawa and Matt Morgado each cleared the fence at MPI's Damon Field to help the Warriors (10-2) remain tied for first place with Iolani, also 10-2 after surviving a 6-5 scare from Pac-Five yesterday.
Kamehameha's Dayne Ogawa misses the plate as the ball gets away from Mid-Pacific catcher Jeffrey Mizokawa in the third inning. Ogawa touched the plate on a second attempt and was ruled safe.
Kamehameha routed Iolani 14-3 on Tuesday, meaning it has produced 29 runs on 31 hits in the past two games. The Warriors banged out 16 hits yesterday, with each starter getting at least one. No. 7 batter Ryson Mauricio went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs, and No. 9 hitter Travis Young went 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs.
"We didn't even take (batting practice) yesterday because it was raining," Mauricio said. "Our whole lineup can hit; there's no real No. 9 (hitter). Everybody is hitting the ball."
That included sophomore Freitas, who started the barrage with a solo home run in the first inning. Freitas returned to his spot at No. 2 in the order Tuesday after sitting out last week with a back injury.
"I don't know what it is, but everybody just seems more comfortable when he's there," Kamehameha coach Vern Ramie said. "We had our lineup set for awhile, and when he was out we never really found anyone who could produce in that spot. Now we've got all our planets aligned, I guess."
Mauricio's RBI double in the second inning gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead, but MPI (5-6-1) answered with five runs in the bottom half. Keven Whalen's two-run homer highlighted the rally.
Kamehameha then exploded for seven runs in the third, on Mauricio's two-run single, Young's three-run double and Ruth's two-run homer.
The Warriors made it 12-5 in the fourth on Ogawa's two-run homer and a run-scoring single by Ruth. The Owls got a run back in the fifth after Jonathan Hee tripled and scored on a wild pitch, but Kamehameha made it 15-6 in the sixth on J.P. Kennedy's RBI double and Morgado's two-run homer.
MPI mounted one last rally in the seventh, scoring on Hee's RBI groundout and a run-scoring single by Ryan Asato, but Warriors right-hander Kanekoa Texeira got the final three outs to complete 5¡ innings of relief.
Owls coach Dunn Muramaru said his pitching staff simply had no way to silence the Kamehameha bats.
"You need real quality pitching against a team like that, and we had a couple of sophomores out there who normally wouldn't be pitching in a game like this," Muramaru said. "They're just an offensive machine."
Kamehameha (10-2) 117 303 0 — 15 16 2
Mid-Pacific (5-6-1) 050 010 2 — 8 5 1
Kaulana Chang, Kanekoa Texeira (2) and Baba Merino; Grant Yamaguchi, Jayson Kramer (3), Conan Young (5) and Jeff Mizokawa, Kip Masuda (7). W — Texeira. L — Yamaguchi.
Leading hitters: Kamehameha — Ryson Mauricio 3-3, 2 doubles, 3 RBIs; Keoni Ruth 2-4, home run, 3 RBIs; Travis Young, 2-4, two doubles, 3 RBIs; Matt Morgado 2-4, home run, 2 RBIs; Nick Freitas 2-4, double, home run, RBI; Kahe Santos 2-4; J.P. Kennedy 1-3, double, RBI; Dayne Ogawa home run, 2 RBIs. Mid-Pacific — Keven Whalen 1-2, home run, 2 RBIs; Ryan Asato 1-3, RBI; Jonathan Hee triple, RBI.
• IOLANI 6, PAC-FIVE 5: Galen Komo singled in the tying run and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning as the Raiders edged the Wolfpack at Ala Wai Field.
Komo's hit scored Kelly Teramoto and Komo scored on Reid Saito's hit.
Iolani (10-2) 020 013 0—6 7 4
Pac-Five (4-7-1) 014 000 0—5 9 4
Eric Muraoka, Dustin Goya (3), Wally Marciel (6) and Kala Kaaihue. Owen Simmons, Tyler Inouye (6) and Colby Holt. W—Muraoka. L—Simmons.
Leading hitters: Iolani—Kahiwa Letman 2-3; Kaaihue double. Pac-Five—Jacob Mellor 2-3; Paul Nishimura 2-3; Andrew Ontai triple; Ryan Ureabe double.
• PUNAHOU 14, DAMIEN 4: Kyle Kabei hit two-run doubles in the first and second innings to lead the Buffanblu over the Monarchs at Joey DeSa Field.
Punahou's Logan Narikawa and Tyler Togikawa combined on a five-inning two-hitter.
Damien (2-9-1) 110 02— 4 2 2
Punahou (8-4) 442 04—14 11 0
Justin Cole, Jason Luke (3), Brandon Baguio (5) and Baguio, Nick Zieser (5). Logan Narikawa, Tyler Togikawa (2) and Robert Kurisu. W—Togikawa. L—Cole.
Leading hitters: Damien—Elijah Souza double, 2 runs; Cole double. Punahou—Landon Nakata double, 2 RBIs; Kyle Kabei 2-2, 2 doubles, 4 RBIs; Kurisu double; Justin Ariki double.
• SAINT LOUIS 16, MARYKNOLL 1: Marc Nobriga and Justin Goo combined on a five-inning three-hitter as the Crusaders routed the Spartans at Ala Wai Field.
Saint Louis' Bobby George had three RBIs, and Dan Lee and Skyler Wells each drove in two.
Saint Louis (6-5-1) 212 47—16 10 5
Maryknoll (1-11) 001 00— 1 3 1
Marc Nobriga, Justin Goo (3) and Jowen Thornton-Murray. Peter Kirst, Chris Lum (5), Kory Kawaguchi (5) and Brian Tabata. W—Nobriga. L—Kirst.
Leading hitters: Saint Louis—Thornton-Murray 2-3, double, 2 runs; Dan Lee 2-2, triple, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Bobby George 2-2, double, 3 RBIs; Skyler Wells 2 RBIs.
