The hitting hero hails from West Hawaii. The pitching prowess was grown in East Hawaii. For good measure, the team has a North Hawaii feel as well.
Their name is the Hilo Nobu Yamauchi All-Stars, but together they scream Big Island.
“I got players from all over the island,” coach Tracy Miyashiro said. “That’s the great thing about RBI, everybody gets along well.”
Winning always helps, especially when it comes in dramatic fashion.
Bethany Batangan hit a three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning Friday, and the All-Stars stunned Arizona 6-5 for their first of two victories at the RBI West Regional in Compton, California.
The under-19 softball team was the only one of four to escape unscathed during the first day the tournament. The All-Stars will face Anaheim (1-1) at 8 a.m. Hawaii time Saturday with a chance to advance to Sunday’s championship game.
The All-Stars trailed Los Angeles early before fighting back to prevail 11-7 for their second victory Friday, but the comeback of the day occurred in the opener.
“We kind of went a little crazy when Bethany scored the winning run,” Miyashiro said.
Down to their last out with runners on first and second, Batangan (Konawaena) hit a shot to the gap and scooted all the way around the bases ahead of Jessica Camero (Kamehameha) and Skylar Thomas (Waiakea). Camero came into the game after Aliesa Kaneshiro (Hilo High graduate) walked, and Thomas reached on a single. Thomas and Batangan each finished with two hits.
The rally made a winner of Kaneshiro. The Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I Player of the Year struck out one in a complete game.
Tavian Taketa (Kealakehe) collected two hits in each victory.
Mykala Tokunaga, the BIIF Division II Player of the Year for Kamehameha, went the distance in the second game and struck out three. She also came up with two hits, including an RBI double.
“I feel like I have two aces,” Miyashiro said. “As the game went on, Mykala got in a groove.”
The All-Stars went ahead for good against Los Angeles during a three-run fourth. Kohala High’s Ashlyn Van Zandt and Batangan reached on singles and Reisha Hoopii-Haslam (Hilo graduate) and Kamehameha’s Kekai Wong-Yuen provided run-scoring singles.
Hoopii-Haslam had a double among her two hits, and Wong-Yuen also finished with a pair.
“We obviously felt a lot of momentum after the first win,” Miyashiro said. “We fought back, scratched and did whatever we needed to get runs against Los Angeles.
“(Saturday) has the potential to be pretty exciting.”
BASEBALL
Caleb Freitas-Fields hit two home runs as Hilo beat Arizona 5-3 to remain in title contention at the West Regional in Los Angeles.
Freitas-Fields, a junior at Waiakea, enjoyed a big day at the plate in the four-team tournament for ages 13-15, also driving in three runs in a 6-2 loss to Los Angeles earlier in the day.
The team ace, Freitas-Fields worked six innings in defeat and struck out nine.
Hilo will face Anaheim, California, at 5:30 a.m. Hawaii time Saturday, and the winner will likely earn a trip to Dodger Stadium for Sunday’s title game.
“That’s what everybody is playing for,” Hilo coach James Hirayama said. “Los Angeles is very disciplined and probably the front-runner. We want to win, but at the same time we’re giving our kids an opportunity to play and learn baseball.”
Kamehameha-Hawaii junior Kelii Montibon pitched four innings to get the victory against Arizona, striking out five and allowing two hits and four walks. Kyle Oshiro, one of two players from Maui on the team, worked three hitless innings with three strikeouts to get the save.
Freitas-Fields cranked a two-run shot in the first inning and a solo shot in the sixth. In the loss to Los Angeles, he was 2 for 3.
Oshiro finished 2 for 4 in both games, and Montibon was 2 for 3 against Los Angeles.
SOCCER
Ayleemomi Amaral completed her hat trick early in the second half, and Chicas turned in another seamless defensive effort, beating FCW Lady Vikings from Washington 8-0 to open play at the Beaverton Cup.
Including a four-game sweep en route to a title last weekend at the Adidas Premier Cup, the under-14 Chicas still haven’t yielded a goal in Oregon.
Karla Ishii and Saige DeMotta shared in the shutout against FCW, and Chicas had their best offensive showing of the trip, getting two goals by reserve Dashney Murray.
“Nanea Rabang and Dashney Murray both provided valuable minutes off the bench,” coach Skee Saplan said.
Kalena Kekaulua, Caneel Corpuz and DeMotta also scored for Chicas, which has two games on tap Saturday in a 12-team tournament that wraps up Sunday.
