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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, May 13, 2007

Punahou captures fourth title in a row

Photo galleryPunahou vs. Pearl City baseball gallery
Video: State Baseball Championship
Video: State Baseball Championship highlights

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Punahou players flash the "four-peat" sign after defeating Pearl City, 7-1, to become the first team to win four straight state baseball titles.

PHOTOS ANDREW SHIMABUKU | The Honolulu Advertiser

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ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Most Outstanding Player

Harrison “Jeeter” Ishida, Punahou

Infield

Kellen Ushijima, Pearl City

Trysen Cosier, Kamehameha-Hawai‘i

Reece Kiriu, Punahou

Chad Quillopo, Pearl City

Ryne Acosta, Pearl City

Outfield

Tyson Goo, Kamehameha-Hawai‘i

Matt Suiter, Punahou

Rorry Nakayama, Pearl City

Catcher

Zach Kometani, Punahou

Pitcher

Toby Inouye, Kaiser

Utility

Paul Snieder, Punahou

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Jeeter Ishida, who had six strikeouts in the title game, was named the state baseball tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

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Punahou finally made "four-peat" an official word in the baseball state tournament vocabulary last night, cooling off Pearl City's hot bats to win, 7-1, to become the first team to capture four straight Wally Yonamine Foundation /Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Championships.

Junior ace Jeeter Ishida again shook off the effects of a sprained left ankle and pitched a six-hitter with six strikeouts and two walks to help the Buffanblu finish the regular and postseason with a record of 17-1.

"This feeling never gets old," said Ishida, a 6-foot right-hander who now has three state championship medals.

"This (title) doesn't just happen in one night; we work out long before the season starts, and even from then this is our only goal."

Ishida sprained his left ankle just minutes before Thursday night's quarterfinal victory over Hilo, in which he threw 111 pitches and struck out 10 with one walk in a seven-inning complete game effort.

Ishida then sat out Friday's semifinal win over Kamehameha-Hawai'i to rest the ankle, which had swollen overnight.

"It was a lot better today," Ishida said. "It swells up when I'm sleeping, but once I walk around and get the blood flowing, it gets better. I went to Sports Medicine Hawai'i and they worked on it and put a brace on it, and it felt real good during (pregame) warmups."

Punahou got Ishida a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning after Matt Suiter led off with a walk, advanced to second on Josh Bninski's groundout to second and scored on Paul Snieder's ground single to center field.

Ishida labored through the bottom of the first, throwing 28 pitches and loading the bases with two outs after consecutive walks. But he struck out Carlton Tanabe on a 1-2 pitch to escape the jam.

"I was struggling with my control in the first inning," Ishida said. "My arm was tired, so after that I was just trying to focus on hitting my spots."

The Buffanblu went up, 2-0, in the third after Bninski led off with a triple to left and scored on a balk. The Chargers closed it to 2-1 in the bottom of the third after Ryne Acosta got a one-out single, advanced to third on Bryson Nakamura's double to left and scored on Kellen Ushijima's groundout to second.

But that would be the only trip home for Pearl City, which had scored 56 runs in its previous six games.

"We haven't seen a pitcher like that, who has that kind of movement and good speed," Chargers coach Mel Seki said. "We had six hits and some good drives, but their defense made the plays, and that's what championship teams do."

Punahou made it 4-1 in the fourth after Jeremy Fujimoto and Evan Bisho walked and came home on Zach Kometani's double to right-center. The Buffanblu extended the lead to 6-1 in the sixth after back-to-back sacrifice flies by Bninski and Kometani, bringing home Geoffrey Kunita and Bisho, respectively.

Punahou added a final run in the seventh on Fujimoto's triple to left, bringing home Reece Kiriu.

"Pearl City is so dangerous, you gotta get ahead of them early and stay ahead," Buffanblu coach Eric Kadooka said. "Our team has been getting those two-out RBIs all season. They've been amazing."

That's the word Kometani, a junior catcher, also used to describe Ishida's performance, and also the historic fourth consecutive state championship.

"It's awesome," Kometani said. "To win four times in a row, no one's ever done that before. This one felt really, really good."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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