Mahelona pitches Kailua to 4th OIA title in row
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Kailua starting pitcher Christopher Mahelona admitted having a shaky day on the mound, but his defense wouldn't let him lose.
Mahelona pitched a six-hit, complete game and Ryan Rodrigues singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as Kailua edged previously undefeated 'Aiea, 2-1, in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Tournament championship yesterday at Mililani High School.
Kailua (12-1) won its fourth consecutive OIA title and will advance with 'Aiea (12-1) into the Wally Yonamine State Championship, May 14-17 at Iron Maehara Stadium on Maui.
In other tournament games, Roosevelt blanked Wai'anae, 6-0, for third place and Kalaheo defeated Pearl City, 4-2, for fifth place.
Mahelona, a junior right-hander, overcame arm fatigue and outdueled opposing right-hander Nelson Ho, who pitched a six-hit, complete game and set down the Kailua lineup in order in the first, second, fourth, and sixth innings.
Yesterday, Mahelona showed his stamina by throwing 115 pitches after coming off a 90-pitch effort on Thursday. Ho threw 104 pitches.
"Actually, I was tired coming into the game," Mahelona said. "I was tired throughout the whole game."
Mahelona allowed the lead-off batter to get on base in every inning except the final two innings. He walked four batters and struck out five, and admitted struggling with his fastball, curveball, slider and cut fastball.
"Today I was just wild," Mahelona said. "None of my pitches were working. My defense helped me out so much. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have made it this far."
In the first inning, Mahelona was bailed out when catcher Sean Medeiros threw out a runner trying to steal third base with one out. In the second inning, with runners on first and second with no outs, the Kailua defense turned a double play and Mahelona struck out the next batter to end the inning.
In the seventh inning, Kailua third baseman Jordan Montgomery made a diving stop of a hard grounder by Dustin Grace and fired to first for the first out.
"I didn't think (Mahelona) had his stuff today at all," Kailua coach Corey Ishigo said. "He just went out there and battled and he won the game with his mind and not with his physical ability."
In the top of the seventh, with the score tied at 1, Shaun Sasaki led off with a walk and advanced to second on Medeiros' sacrifice bunt to set the stage for Rodrigues. The sophomore first baseman pulled Ho's first pitch down the left field line to score Sasaki.
"I thought the ball was going to go foul because it was curving toward the line," Rodrigues said. "It bounced in fair territory, and I said, 'Yeah, I did my job at the plate.' "
Hao, who finished with three walks and four strikeouts, said he threw a high slider to Rodrigues.
"They made the hits when it counted," Hao said. "You got to tip your hat to them."
Kailua got on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning with two outs. Derek Mailau walked, stole second, moved to third on Michael Kealoha's single and scored on Kekoa Sua's bloop single to center.
'Aiea responded with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Jordan Shibata led off with a walk, reached second on Jonny Sakurai's sacrifice bunt, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Dylan Libadisos' sacrifice fly.
"They're a great ballclub," 'Aiea coach Ryan Kato said of Kailua. "Bar none, they are the best in the OIA. They proved it again this year. We got to regroup, lace up the cleats and try again next week (at the state tournament)."
Kailua (12-1) 001 000 1—2 6 1
'Aiea (12-1) 001 000 0—1 6 0
Chris Mahelona and Sean Medeiros. Nelson Hao and Aaron Asher. W—Mahelona. L—Hao.
Leading hitters: Kailua— Michael Kealoha 2-4; Derek Mailau double. 'Aiea—Taylor Watanabe 2-4, double; Bryson Tajiri 2-3, double; Jordan Shibata double.
Third place
• Roosevelt 6, Wai'anae 0: Cameron Kimura took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before allowing a single and combined with Ivan Fujii for a two-hitter.
Kimura had two strike outs and two walks in six innings. Fujii pitched the seventh.
Both teams already earned state tournament berths.
Wai'anae (9-4) 000 000 0—0 2 2
Roosevelt (9-4) 011 400 x—6 8 1
Calvin Uyechi, Dillon Guzman (5) and Darryl Ohelo; Cameron Kimura, Ivan Fujii (7) and Kevin Fujii. W—Kimura. L—Uyechi.
Leading hitters—Roosevelt: Kimura 2-3, 2 RBIs; Jared Furtado 2-3, 2 RBIs.
Fifth place
• Kalaheo 4, Pearl City 2: Sean Fernandez hit a two-run double in the top of the seventh to break a 2-all tie and give the Mustangs the OIA's fifth and final state berth.
Kurt Okamura walked and Cody Racoma was hit by a pitch before Fernandez hit his double.
KalAheo (7-7) 100 100 2—4 4 1
Pearl City (8-5-1) 020 000 0—2 5 1
Kurt Okamura and Jacob Myking; Tony Ganigan, Devan Nakasone (4), Chad Itokazu (7) and Corey Giammalzo. W—Okamura. L—Nakasone.
Leading hitters—Kalaheo: Sean Fernandez 2-run double. Pearl City: Michael Higa, 2-3, double, RBI.
