Kamehameha freshman Tai Atkins displayed his dominant stuff with 13 strikeouts against Saint Francis in the semifinals of the HHSAA Division II state baseball tournament.
Kamehameha freshman Tai Atkins displayed his dominant stuff with 13 strikeouts against Saint Francis in the semifinals of the HHSAA Division II state baseball tournament.
The 5-foot-10 left-hander pitched according to plan as the Warriors defeated the Saints 9-1 on Friday night at Wong Stadium, advancing to the championship for the third time in four years.
No. 1 seed Kamehameha (18-1), the five-time BIIF champion, plays No. 3 seed and OIA champion Kapolei (15-0) in the championship at 7 p.m. Saturday at Wong Stadium.
The Warriors finished fourth last season, after runner-up finishes in 2013 and 2014, both times to Maryknoll, which is in Division I.
In the other semifinal, Kapolei beat Radford 9-0.
In 6 2/3 innings, Atkins allowed one unearned run on three singles and three walks. After his 13th strikeout, Atkins yielded a single to Samson Kaleikau.
Atkins was at 113 pitches and was pulled for second baseman/closer Daylen Calicdan, who got No. 9 hitter JP Tilley on a forceout. Tilley, in two at-bats, was the only Saint to not strike out against Atkins.
With Kamehameha’s 14-2 five-inning victory over Kalaheo in the quarterfinals on Thursday, the Warriors could bring back senior ace right-hander Brandyn Lee-Lehano, who fired a two-hitter. That was coach Andy Correa’s game plan: get a five-inning TKO in the opening round and let Atkins mow down a semifinal foe.
Kolbie Kinzie batted 2 for 3 with three RBIs to lead the Warriors, who scored six runs off free passes (three walks and three hit by pitches) off Jared Yara, who went the distance. He allowed nine runs (five unearned) on six hits, three walks and three hit by pitches and struck out four.
Atkins didn’t strike out the side in any inning but whiffed three Saints in the opening frame after a walk, showing early that his powerful arsenal (fastball, cutter, curveball and changeup) was at his full disposal.
In the first, Yara struggled with his fastball command as if it were playing hide-and-seek. The 5-foot-10 junior right-hander would throw a strike then his release point would disappear for long stretches.
Yara walked leadoff hitter Kegan Miura and DallasJ Duarte on full-count fastballs way off the plate. Then Calicdan reached on second baseman Zach Alcos’ error, which scored Miura.
Cleanup hitter Makana Aiona was beaned, and Jai Cabatbat struck out, more evidence of Yara’s hide-and-seek fastball command.
Then his defense continued to struggle as well. Catcher Makana Poole had a passed ball for another unearned run, and shortstop Kai Akana booted Kyran Kai’s grounder to load the bases.
Lee-Lehano hit a sacrifice fly to center, and Kolbie Kinzie followed with the inning’s only hit, an RBI seeing-eye single between first and second base for a 4-0 lead.
All four runs were unearned, and three were courtesy of free passes (two walks and a hit by pitch). Two fielding errors and passed ball didn’t help either.
In the second, as if on reboot, Yara found his fastball and whiffed Miura and Duarte and got Calicdan on a first-pitch flyout to third base.
Yara made quick work of the Warriors and threw just eight pitches in his second time through the top of the order. Even better, his pitch total through two innings was a manageable 48.
Meanwhile, Atkins had full command of his fastball, cutter, curveball and changeup and struck out six of the first eight hitters.
But in the third with one out, Atkins walked No. hitter JP Tilley, the only left-handed hitter in the lineup. Atkins pitches from the third-base side of the rubber and couldn’t find the same rhythm that he had against the right-handed bats.
One batter later, Yara, the No. 2 hitter, drilled a single to center field, but Baron Victorino overran the ball and Tilley scored for an unearned run to trim Kamehameha’s lead to 4-1.
In the bottom of the third, Yara’s fastball command took a coffee break at an inopportune time with two on, two out and an 0-2 count on Kinzie, the No. 8 batter.
Yara made too fat a pitch over the plate, and the Kamehameha first baseman punished the mistake with a two-run single to right field for a 6-1 lead. One of the runs came off a free pass (hit by pitch).
In the fifth, the Saints put a little pressure on Atkins. Tilley reached on shortstop Cabatbat’s error, and leadoff hitter Poole walked. On a full count to Yara, Atkins buried a down-and-in fastball for his 10th strikeout.
The Warriors added another run in the bottom of the inning when Cabatbat walked with one out, and one batter later Lee-Lehano had another sacrifice fly.
In the sixth, Duarte had an RBI groundout, and Aiona followed one batter later with a run-scoring single for a 9-1 cushion and the comfort that a championship berth was an inning away.
Saint Francis 001 000 0 — 1 3 3
Kamehameha 402 012 x — 9 6 2
Kapolei 9, Radford 0: Garrett Wong fired five shutout innings, and Kyler Nakashima pitched two scoreless innings to combine on a three-hitter.
Corey Slade batted 2 for 4 with two RBIs, and Joseph Ching went 3 for 4 with two RBIs to lead No. 3 seed and OIA champion Hurricanes, who scored four runs in the first and three in the second to build a 7-0 early lead.
Quintin Iriate gave up eight runs on eight hits and five walks in the loss. Jacob Nishitomi pitched three innings of scoreless relief, but Kapolei already led 8-0.
Nishitomi, Iriate, and Richard Akana had singles for the OIA third-place Rams (9-5).
Kauai 6, Konawaena 3: Brayden Abreu fired a four-hitter with five strikeouts in a six-inning game. Gunner Vallatini batted 2 for 3 with an RBI while Sam Nakata added two RBIs for the No. 2 seed Red Raiders (12-2).
Stevie Texeira pitched two innings in the loss and allowed four runs on three hits and four walks. Tristin DeAguiar followed with three innings of one-run relief, and Logan Canda closed with a scoreless inning.
Kolu Alani batted 1 for 3 with an RBI and Tevin Canda went 1 for 2 with an RBI to lead the BIIF runner-up Wildcats (11-9), who lose two senior starters in pitcher/shortstop Logan Canda and catcher Tyler Kitaoka. Canda and Kitaoka each batted 1 for 3.
Molokai 7, Kalaheo 1: Chelsen Victorino fired a two-hitter with six strikeouts in a six-inning game. Levi Horner-Villa batted 3 for 4 and Moses-Don Espaniola had two RBIs for the No. 4 seed Farmers (12-1).
Kaliu Lapera pitched 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball in the loss. Kekai Smith record an out, Thomas Capllonch tossed 1 1/3 innings of four-run relief, and Tennison Cantrell pitched an inning and allowed an unearned run.
No one paired hits for the OIA runner-up Mustangs (9-7).
Division I
Mid-Pacific 7, Waiakea 0: Ethan Fujikami scattered seven hits over five innings while Daniel Nishihara and Nick Tokuhara each tossed an inning of scoreless relief.
The No. 1 seed and ILH champion Owls (17-5) had just one more hit, 8-7, than No. 4 and BIIF champion Waiakea (15-5) but more timely ones.
Waiakea junior Jamieson Hirayama pitched three innings in the loss and allowed four runs (two unearned) on three hits and two walks. Dillon-Jon Gabriel tossed 1 2/3 innings of three-run relief. Khaden Victorino finished with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.