Roosevelt's Mead fans 14, stops Kailua, 4-1
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
To knock off No. 1, Roosevelt High School ace Kaimi Mead turned to the deuce.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Mead, a senior left-hander, relied on his nasty curveball to pitch a four-hitter and strike out 14 with two walks yesterday to lead the Rough Riders to a 4-1 victory over previously unbeaten Kailua. Roosevelt's win also snapped a two-game losing streak and kept the Rough Riders (5-2) in the hunt for the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's Eastern Division championship.
Mililani catcher Ian Koki tags out 'Aiea's Chase Kaiuwailani, who was trying to score in the second inning.
Kailua fell to 7-1.
"After we lost to Kahuku (last Saturday), I think we focused on Kailua and looked over Castle (on Wednesday)," Mead said. "We have to take every game seriously, but this one was big because they were undefeated."
The Surfriders showed their power early, with No. 2 batter Kekoa Sua launching a solo home run over the right-center field fence in the top of the first inning.
"I threw a change, I misjudged his swing and he was right there behind it," Mead said. "Kailua is tough; (hitters) one through nine can hit anything."
Roosevelt tied it in the bottom half on Jared Furtado's run-scoring single and took a 2-1 lead in the second on Brandon Morimoto's home run to right. The Rough Riders stretched it to 4-1 in the fourth on Joshua Danz's RBI triple followed by Morimoto's double.
That was more than enough support for Mead, who had nine strikeouts by then. Mead's fastball was clocked at 84 mph to 87 mph and he worked it effectively on the inside corner. But he was at his best throwing the off-speed pitches, often freezing batters with wide and sharp-breaking nibblers.
"I wasn't really feeling my fastball today, it was all over the place," Mead said. "I had more confidence in my curve than my fastball. I'd mostly throw that and a cut fastball that is like a slider."
The Surfriders loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but Mead got a strikeout and then escaped the jam by throwing an outside curve for a called strike three on a 3-2 count.
"He has a number of 'out' pitches, but today he was confident and consistent with his curve and he threw it for strikes," Roosevelt coach Kerry Higa said. "I'm glad he kept his composure in those situations; it shows his mental toughness."
Mead cruised the rest of the way, striking out five and allowing only one baserunner. That was Ryan Rodrigues, who slammed a ball deep to left field for a leadoff double in the seventh but was thrown out at third trying to stretch it into a triple.
Mead then got two strikeouts to end the game.
"Anytime you have a good pitcher with a big strike zone, that can happen," Kailua coach Corey Ishigo said of Mead's 14 strikeouts. "We believed we could score some runs off him, but we just couldn't get the timely hit. We hit the ball decent at times and had some chances, but just didn't pull through."
Kailua (7-1) 100 000 0 — 1 4 1
Roosevelt (5-2) 110 200 x — 4 7 2
Bronson Kamaka, Chris Mahelona (4) and Ho'o Obed. Kaimi Mead and Kevin Fujii. W—Mead. L—Kamaka.
Leading hitters: Kailua—Kekoa Sua home run; Ryan Rodrigues 1-3, double. Roosevelt—Brandon Morimoto 3-3, double, home run; Jared Furtado 1-2; Joshua Danz triple.
• KAHUKU 3, KALAHEO 1: Brent Au's single in the bottom of the fifth scored Kaipo Souza, and two Kalaheo throwing errors advanced Au to third and into position to score on Walker Vave's single as the Red Raiders beat the visiting Mustangs.
Melvin Silva struck out eight batters, walked two, and allowed five hits in seven innings in the win.
Sean Ferdandez was 2-for-4 to lead Kalaheo.
Kalaheo (5-2) 001 000 0—1 5 4
Kahuku (5-2) 000 030 x—3 7 4
Scott Galusha, Sonny Harbottle (5) and Jake Myking. Melvin Silva and Alex Ponciano. W—Silva. L—Ponciano.
Leading hitters: Kalaheo—Sean Ferdandez 2-4. Kahuku—Kyle Juliano 2-2, double; Kaipo Souza 2-3.
• MOANALUA 14, MCKINLEY 5: Andrew Bromberg had three hits, and Dayne Dela Cruz, Neal Arakawa, Brett Tanigawa and Glenn Taijeron had two hits apiece to lead the Menehunes past the host Tigers.
Moanalua (5-2) 443 120 0—14 14 3
McKinley (0-8) 001 040 0— 5 4 7
Chance Daskaukas, Trevor Bell (7) and Brett Tanigawa. Jarren Hirasaki, Kai Kaino (4) and Andy Mitani. W—Daskaukas. L—Hirasaki.
Leading hitters: Moanalua—Andrew Bromberg 3-3, double; Dayne Dela Cruz 2-3; Neal Arakawa 2-2; Tanigawa 2-4; Glenn Taijeron 2-5; Andrew Kaneko double. McKinley—Micah Yonemura 2-3, triple; John Mai double.
• FARRINGTON 8, CASTLE 3: Matt Bell hit a two-run homer and grand slam, and Royce Machado added a two-run shot, leading the host Governors over the Knights at Joey DeSa Field.
Castle (2-5) 100 200 0—3 7 1
Farrington (2-5) 002 024 X—8 9 0
Travis Paaga, Charles Texeira (6), Darin Hamada (6) and David Mohika. Brian Cabral and Matt Bell. W—Cabral. L—Paaga.
Leading hitters: Castle—Ikaika Reppuan double; Mohika double. Farrington—Bell 3-4, 2-run homer, grandslam, 6 RBIs; Alex Mendoza two-run homer; Royce Machado 2-2.
• KALANI 3, KAISER 0: Randy Kitagawa pitched a three-hitter, striking out nine, and Len Shimabuku's two-run, bases-loaded single sparked a three-run third inning as the Falcons beat the Cougars at Kahala Field.
Kaiser (3-4) 000 000 0—0 3 1
Kalani (5-3) 003 000 X—3 3 2
Andy Uyehara, Michael Heu (3) and Jarryd Maeda. Randy Kitagawa and Preston Pires, Allen Komori (5). W—Kitagawa. L—Uyehara.
Leading hitters: Kaiser—Nyles Nakama double. Kalani—Len Shimabuku 2 RBIs.
OIA Western Division
• 'AIEA 5, MILILANI 2: Kepa Wong and Dylan Libadisos each batted 3-for-3 with a double for Na Ali'i as they defeated the Trojans to remain the only undefeated team in the OIA's Western Division.
Mililani (5-2) 000 002 0—2 8 1
'Aiea (7-0) 210 011 X—5 8 0
Chris Balatico and Ian Koki. Blaze Moleta and Aaron Asher. W—Moleta. L—Balatico.
Leading hitters: Mililani—Balatico 2-3, double, home run, 2 RBIs; Craig Sato double. 'Aiea—Kepa Wong 3-3, double, 2 RBIs; Bryson Tajiri double; Dylan Libadisos 3-3, double.
• LEILEHUA 6, RADFORD 0: Spencer Omalza allowed four hits in six innings with no walks and five strikeouts as the Mules beat the Rams. Daylen Hale pitched the seventh and batted 4-for-4 for Leilehua.
Leilehua (5-2) 000 302 1—6 11 0
Radford (0-8) 000 000 0—0 4 2
Spencer Omalza, Daylen Hale (7) and Ricky Paderes. Sunny Belcher and Matt Ryan. W—Omalza. L—Belcher.
Leading hitters: Leilehua—Paderes 2-4, triple; Ryan Basco triple; Hale 4-4, double; Patrick San Nicolas 2-4, double.
• WAIPAHU 13, NANAKULI 7: The visiting Marauders rallied from a 7-6 deficit with seven runs in the seventh to beat the Golden Hawks.
Waipahu (4-2-1) 001 410 7—13 17 7
Nanakuli (0-8) 042 100 0— 7 7 2
Mark Peralta and John Fauatea. Michael Nakagawa, Mario Bartholomew (4) and Nathan Naehu. W—Peralta. L—Bartholomew.
Leading hitters: Waipahu—Travis Apualov triple, 2 RBIs; Fauatea 2-3, double, triple; Shane Jelf 2-5, triple; Shane Garcia double; David Tausa 3-4, 2 triples; Jared Kiyabu 3-4, double, 2 RBIs. Nanakuli—Jaycee Alapai 2-5, double, 3 RBIs; Ikaika Asinsin 2-2; Nakagawa triple, 2 runs.
• WAI'ANAE 9, PEARL CITY 4: Keoni Taaca hit a three-run double in a six-run fourth inning as the Seariders downed the Chargers.
Pearl City (5-2-1) 000 002 2—4 8 1
Wai'anae (5-2) 000 603 X—9 12 2
Tony Ganigan, Davin Nakasone (5) and Corey Giammaluo. Dylan Guzman, Chevy Tevis (6) and Darryl Ohelo. W—Guzman. L—Ganigan.
Leading hitters: Pearl City— Scott Yasumoto 2-4, double. Wai'anae—Calvin Uyechi 2-4, 2 runs; Kevin Kauweloa 2-2, double, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Keoni Taaca double, 4 RBIs; Allen Holt 2-2.
• KAPOLEI 10, CAMPBELL 2: Bryan Badayao and Valana Aloy-Manuma each hit a two-run double, accounting for four of the Hurricanes six runs in the fifth inning to seal a win over the Sabers.
Campbell (5-2) 000 011 0— 2 5 0
Kapolei (2-5) 002 062 X—10 14 0
Prentiss Anderson, Brandon Tanigawa (4), James Banister (5), Ian Pantorilla (6) and Pantorilla, Kendall Hodson (6). Colin Dumlao and Drake Kula. W—Dumlao. L—Anderson.
Leading hitters: Campbell—Jonah Canionero double; Pake Coloma 2-3. Kapolei—Dumlao 3-4, 2 runs; Kula 2-3, 2 runs; Howard Vinhasa 2-3; Bryan Badayao 2-4, double, 2 RBIs; Bradley Badayao 2-3; Valana Aloy-Manuma double, 2 RBIs; Daryl Figueroa double.
OIA JUNIOR VARSITY
Yesterday's results
Pearl City 6, Wai'anae 5
'Aiea 2, Mililani 1
Moanalua 11, McKinley 4
Campbell 13, Kapolei 2
Roosevelt 8, Kailua 3
Castle 22, Farrington 1
MIL GAMES
• BALDWIN 9, MOLOKAI 2: Three base-loaded walks sparked a three-run fifth inning as the Bears beat the Farmers at Iron Maehara Stadium to remain unbeaten (12-0) and tied with idle Maui High (12-0) for first place in the Maui Interscholastic League.
• LAHAINALUNA 6, SEABURY HALL 0: Blaine Bernardes scattered three singles and struck out 15, and Tyler Fujiwara went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, leading the Lunas to victory.
• ST. ANTHONY 17, KA'AHUMANU HOU 3: Max Young hit two solo homers and an RBI double, and J.J. Pacheco went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, powering the Trojans over the Lions in a game called after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.
BIIF GAME
• WAIAKEA 10, HONOKA'A 0: Myles Ioane pitched a three-hit shutout with two walks and seven strikeouts as the Warriors beat the Dragons in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation game shortened to six innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.
