Pearl City ousts Kaiser

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Defense may not have won the Pearl City High School baseball team a championship yesterday, but it did get it a step closer to one.

The visiting Chargers' clutch play in the field lifted them to a 3-1 victory over Kaiser in the opening round of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association tournament. Pearl City, the OIA Western Division's No. 6 seed, improved to 7-4 and will play at West No. 2 Leilehua (8-2) in a 4 p.m. quarterfinal game today at Fred Wright Park.

Kaiser, the East's No. 3 seed, ends its season at 8-3.

"I told the kids it was good defense today that did it for us," Chargers coach Mel Seki said. "Those two double plays (in the last two innings) saved us. But I thought it was a well-played game on both sides. It signified the kind of balance we've had in the league."

Pearl City actually made an error on its first defensive play — allowing leadoff batter Andy Uehara to reach first base — but was perfect in the field thereafter. Uehara eventually scored on a groundout by Colby Ho to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.

Casey Fujishige's two-run single in the third inning put the Chargers up 2-1, and Paul Domingo's solo home run over the right-field fence in the seventh inning made it 3-1.

Kaiser threatened in the fourth, when Landon Ka'aua singled and advanced to second on Ho's sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Ho'o Obed singled to center, but Ka'aua was thrown out in a close play at home.

The Cougars loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, but Pearl City turned a 6-4-3 double play to escape the jam. Kaiser again got its leadoff runner aboard in the seventh, but the Chargers turned a 6-4-3 double play and then got an unassisted out at second to end the game.

"We just couldn't push that run in," Cougars coach Peter Ho said. "That close play at home plate (in the fourth) was big, because it could have turned the game around. I thought (catcher Domingo) made the tag when our runner was already on home plate. But (with the out), the momentum switches, it makes a difference."

Seki said the two double plays in the final two innings also were huge, and added the competition his team faced in the West prepared his team well.

"We faced all the aces in the Western Division, and hopefully that will help us in this tournament," Seki said.

Ho agreed that Pearl City's No. 6 seed did not mean much.

"It doesn't really make a difference, because everybody is almost the same," Ho said. "It shows how much depth there is in this league."

• Pearl City (7-4) 002 000 1 — 3 6 1
• Kaiser (8-3) 100 000 0 — 1 4 1

Craig Calantoc, Matthew Ko (6) and Paul Domingo; Trent Hamada, Evan Garcia (4) and Jarryd Maeda. W — Calantoc. L — Hamada. S — Ko.

Leading hitters — Pearl City: Casey Fujishige 3-3, double, 2 RBIs; Domingo home run. Kaiser: Landon Ka'aua 2-2.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.