Pearl City tops Kaua'i in eight innings, 6-3
| • | Punahou tops Kaiser in first round, 3-2 |
| • | Leilehua routs error-prone Honoka'a, 13-0 |
| • | Roosevelt's late rally knocks off Hilo, 4-3 |
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Pearl City broke through against one of Kaua'i's best pitchers yesterday in the first round of the HHSAA/Wally Yonamine Foundation State Baseball Championships at Les Murakami Stadium.
Corey Giammalvo singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning to lift Pearl City (11-4) past Kaua'i (9-4), 6-3, and advance the Chargers into today's quarterfinal game against No. 2 seed Waiakea (14-0).
Kaua'i left-hander Alec Reichle tossed five innings of relief and held Pearl City scoreless for three consecutive innings before surrendering three runs in the eighth.
It was Reichle's first game since recovering from an auto accident in which he crashed into a tree driving home from practice on a rainy day in February.
"He's one of the better left-handers; he would be tough in any league," said Pearl City coach Mel Seki of Reichle. "We were trying to manufacture runs and get on base in any way possible. He was meeting every challenge."
In the eighth inning, Pearl City's Blake Kaneshiro led off by beating out a ground ball to first base for an infield hit. He was replaced by pinch-runner Ricky Mendiola, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Rex Yamaguchi. Giammalvo then singled to right field to score Mendiola for a 4-3 lead.
"Watching Blake beat out the grounder gave me a lot of confidence knowing that we had the winning runner on base," Giammalvo said. "When I was on deck, I was thinking they got a big hole in the opposite end (right infield). I figured I would work that side."
After the next batter struck out, Thomas Yamasaki pulled the first pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run home run and a 6-3 lead.
"I felt pretty good actually," said Reichle, who signed a letter of intent with Brigham Young last Saturday. "Things didn't go our way. That home run, I just hung the pitch."
Pearl City starter Anthony Ganigan pitched seven innings for the win. He allowed nine hits, three runs and five walks. He struck out one.
Kaneshiro pitched the eighth inning for the save.
Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.
