Punahou's Pate stymies MPI, 2-1

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Punahou junior right-hander Jared Pate doubled his satisfaction yesterday in pitching a 2-1 win against host Mid-Pacific.

"He had so much determination on his face," Punahou coach Eric Kadooka said of Jared Pate, who hurled a six-hitter with five strikeouts. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

With Saint Louis' 14-5 win against Kamehameha, the Owls, Buffanblu and Crusaders share the ILH lead with 11-3 records.

Punahou will play Saint Louis at 3:45 p.m. today at Iolani. The winner plays Mid-Pacific for the regular-season title at 3:45 p.m. tomorrow at Ala Wai Field. It was determined by draw earlier yesterday that the Owls would have the bye.

Pate's performance not only gave his team a shot at the regular-season title, but provided some sibling rivalry satisfaction.

"It's very special for me," Pate said. "I've always wanted to beat them and show my brother."

Justin Pate, a sophomore pitcher at Concordia University in Irvine, Calif., pitched for MPI's state championship team in 2002.

Pate minimized damage when the Owls scored their only run in the third inning. Chris Freshour led off with a double to left-center, but could only make it to third on Christopher Goya's line single to left-center. Freshour held up when Punahou shortstop Landon Nakata faked as if he was going to catch the liner.

With runners at the corners and no outs, Pate got Ryan Asato to ground to shortstop for a force at second as Freshour scored the game's first run. He then got Kuroda to fly out to center before striking out Kip Masuda to end the inning.

"I know Ryan's a good hitter, so I tried to keep (the pitch) low," Pate said. "But I had to challenge him and got him to hit the grounder."

The Buffanblu responded in the top of the fourth. With one out, Kasey Ko singled off the right-center field fence and an out later, moved to second on Nakata's single to left. Daniel Cho, pinch-running for Ko, then scored on Robert Kurisu's line single to left that sent Nakata to second. Nakata scored the go-ahead run on Justin Ariki's line single to center.

Pate got into trouble in the fifth when Brenton Endo led off with a single and Freshour was hit by a pitch. Pate then threw out the lead runner at third on Goya's bunt.

Left fielder Reyn Kubota, inserted as a defensive replacement for starter Mark Veneri, snagged Asato's liner and Kuroda grounded into a force at second to end the threat. Pate then retired six of the last seven batters.

"It was an awesome performance," Punahou coach Eric Kadooka said. "To give up one run on this field ... he had so much determination on his face."

Pate said he struggled with command of his curveball, but he was able to locate his fastball.

"I was trying to get everything low for strikes," he said.

For Punahou, the bottom third of the order had five of the six hits.

"It just shows how tough Punahou is," Kuroda said. "Their 7 to 9 could very well be 1-2-3 (in the order)."

Kuroda, who has pitched in crucial games since his sophomore year, could appreciate Pate's effort.

"He brought his 'A' game," Kuroda said. "He showed up to play. We didn't and he did a better job. But what's done is done."

Notes: For today's playoff at Iolani, Punahou is designated the home team. For tomorrow's championship at Ala Wai Field, Mid-Pacific is the home team ... The ILH tournament starts Friday at various sites. The tournament continues Saturday with two games at Ala Wai Field (3 p.m. and 6 p.m.) and two at Les Murakami Stadium (10 a.m. and 1 p.m.).

Punahou (11-3) 000 200 0—2 6 0
Mid-Pacific (11-3) 001 000 0—1 6 0

Jared Pate and Robert Kurisu. Harrison Kuroda, Jayson Kramer (7) and Kip Masuda. W—Pate (5-1). L— Kuroda (4-3)

Leading hitters: Pun— Landon Nakata 2-3, Justin Ariki 2-3, RBI; Robert Kurisu 1-2, RBI; Kasey Ko 1-2. MPI—Chris Freshour 1-2, double.

• SAINT LOUIS 14, KAMEHAMEHA 5: Chester Wilson batted 4 for 5 to spark the Crusaders' 17-hit offense.

Saint Louis (11-3) 521 120 3—14 17 1
Kamehameha (9-5) 050 000 0— 5 8 3

Marc Nobriga and Jowen Murray-Thornton. Kanekoa Texeira, Shige Purdy (5), Josh Antonio (7) and Stuart Kam. W—Nobriga. L— Texeira.

Leading hitters: Saint Louis— Kelii Zablan 3-5, double; Danny Lee 3-4, double, 3 RBIs; Chester Wilson 4-5, double, RBI; Johnny Gentry 2-4, 3 RBIs; Nobriga 2-3, double, 2 RBIs; Sheldon Santiago 2-4, 2 RBIs. Kamehameha—Brandon Ogimi 2-3, RBI; Stuart Kam double, 2 RBIs; Ryson Mauricio double.

• IOLANI 7, DAMIEN 2: Kahiwa Letman and Greg Hackler homered, powering the Raiders past the Monarchs.

Iolani (6-8) 300 110 2—7 11 0
Damien (2-12) 000 110 0—2 8 3

Sean Freas, Trent Muraoka (4), Ian Mopas (5), BJ Takushi (6), Jon Sakoda (7) and Riley Yamamoto, Bert Mitsunaga. Duncan Ebert and Nick Zieser. W—Freas. L—Ebert.

Leading hitters: Iolani— Galen Komo double; Riley Yamamoto 2-3, double; Greg Hackler HR; Kahiwa Letman 3-4, HR. Damien—Zieser double; Elijah Souza 2-4; Sean Michael Stoltzman double; Ranson DeCosta 2-4.

• PAC-FIVE 4, MARYKNOLL 3: Ryan Taketa had two RBIs to spark the Wolfpack's four-run second inning.

Maryknoll (1-12-1) 000 201 0—3 5 2
Pac-Five (4-9-1) 040 000 0—4 3 3

Peter Kirst, Nick Holmberg (3), Spencer Kim (6) and Brian Tabata. Tyler Inouye, Owen Simmons (5), Paul Nishimura and Reid Uyehara, Shane Osaki (5). W—Inouye. L— Kirst. S— Nishimura.

Leading hitters: Maryknoll— Kirst 2-2; Hiroshi Kuroda triple. Pac-Five—Cheyne Abbey-Chong double, RBI; Ryan Taketa 2 RBIs.