Micah Layosa and Cal Koga combined on a four-hitter to help unbeaten Kauai edge Ewa/Ewa Beach 3-1 on Tuesday and advance to the championship game of the state PONY League baseball tournament at Victor Stadium.
Kauai (3-0) will battle Mililani (3-1) at 10 a.m. today at Victor in the title contest. If Kauai falls, the teams will battle again at 1 p.m. The eight-team, double-elimination tournament is for players ages 13-14.
Layosa started and earned the win, lifting the Garden Island team into the final. Koga picked up the save. Dorrien Hermosura was saddled with the defeat.
Ewa/Ewa Beach plated a run in the bottom of the first inning before Kauai tied it at 1-1 with a run in the fifth. The Garden Islanders then pushed across two runs in the seventh inning to take the lead for good.
Koga led Kauai’s eight-hit attack with a double and a triple, while Layosa added a triple. No one paired hits for Ewa/Ewa Beach in the winners bracket contest.
The tournament champion will represent the Hawaii Region in the upcoming Western Regional in California.
Kauai 000 010 2 — 3 8 1
Ewa 100 000 0 — 1 4 3
c Mililani 4, Ewa/Ewa Beach 3: Codie Paiva provided strong pitching and ripped a triple to lead Mililani to the win over Ewa/Ewa Beach in a losers bracket game. With the hard-earned win, Mililani advanced to the title contest against Kauai while Ewa/Ewa Beach (2-2) was eliminated from the tournament.
Paiva recorded the win. Ian Kahaloa took the loss.
Paiva and Ty DeSa each had triples, while teammates Kaimana Bartolome and Landen Moran banged out doubles in Mililani’s five-hit attack. Blayze Arcano-Llacuna (double) led Ewa/Ewa Beach with three hits, and Kahaloa added two.
Ewa 000 110 1 — 3 8 1
Mililani 000 30 x — 4 5 3
Late Monday
c Mililani 18, Maui 4, 5 innings: Codie Paiva had three hits, and Kaimana Bartolome, Dancin Ah Quin (double) and Randy Romero two hits apiece to fuel Mililani’s 11-hit attack. Lane Kashiwamura (triple) led Maui with two hits. The game ended after five innings because of the tournament’s mercy rule.
Ah Quin was the winning pitcher. Kingsley Ballao took the loss.
Mililani 421 74 —18 11 1
Maui 004 00 — 4 3 2
