KEALAKEKUA — It was a “beautiful, ugly game.”
KEALAKEKUA — It was a “beautiful, ugly game.”
At least that is how Konawaena head coach Adam Tabieros described his teams loss to Kealakehe on Thursday in a game where both schools looked just a little bit off. However, the Waveriders managed to spoil the Wildcats’ senior night at Gabby Inaba Field with a 7-6 victory.
“There is a lot of good competition on the west side of the island and this was a battle,” Kealakehe head coach Josh Hansen said. “This game was for pride and both teams competed. It is a shame someone had to lose but it was fun to watch.”
Hansen went on to say that he didn’t think his team necessarily won the game, but they were able to take what they were given and capitalize on the mistakes made by the Konawaena defense.
“Our best asset was that we were able to compete with two strikes,” Hansen said. “We put the ball in play and made their defense make a play. This was a good win for us.”
Putting the ball into play has been a specialty for the Waverider cleanup hitter Eli Lai. He picked up three hits in four at-bats against Konawaena, scoring twice and knocking in one run. His lone RBI came on his only out — an infield groundout — showing he can be productive even when he isn’t getting on base.
Dennison Joaquin and Tehvyn Isabel picked up two hits each for Kealakehe. Joaquin scored twice and Isabel knocked in one run.
Lai started the game on the hill but exited in the fifth inning. He took a no-decision, allowing six runs, four earned, off six hits in four official innings of work. He walked none and struck out four.
“Eli has been our workhorse all year and he gave us a chance at the end,” Hansen said. “He did not have his best stuff, but he had enough to keep them off-balance.”
Makana Kaluau entered the game in the fifth and quickly forced a double play, but then walked and hit a batter. However, he was able to escape the jam by forcing a popout.
“I started slowly but the more pitches I threw, the more loose I got and the more I got into it,” Kaluau said. “This win means a lot to me.”
Kaluau allowed only one hit in his three innings of relief. He struck out four and walked one.
Tristan DeAguiar was the starting pitcher for the Wildcats and he deserved a better fate than his no-decision. He allowed only two earned runs, four total, off six hits in five innings on the hill. He struck out four and walked three.
“Tristan kept us in the game,” Tabieros said. “He allowed a few hits and walked a couple, but mostly pitched to contact.”
Austin Ewing led the Konawaena offense, going 2-for-4 with a run.
“He showed a lot of hustle by stretching out a single into a double,” Tabieros said.
Kealakehe took advantage of their opportunities early in the game, pushing a run across the plate in the top of the first inning when Joaquin was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a sac bunt, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and score on a Lai groundout to the shortstop.
Konawaena tied the game in the bottom of the second inning. Kolu Alani led off the inning with a single and advanced to third on a throwing error off a pickoff attempt. He scored on a flyout to center by AJ Alani.
The Waveriders would take 2-1 and 3-2 leads over the next couple of innings only to see the Wildcats tie the game each time.
In the bottom of the fourth, Konawaena finally managed to take a lead. Down 3-2 heading into the inning, Kolu Alani reached on an error and AJ Alani was hit by a pitch. Stevie Texeira beat out a bunt single to load the bases. Kanai Rivera was then hit by a pitch, tying the game. AJ Alani scored on wild pitch and Texeira crossed the plate on a groundout to second by Bryce Dorvall to put the Wildcats up 5-3.
Konawaena maintained a lead through the fifth inning, but Kealakehe was ready to pounce in the top of the sixth, with a little help from the Wildcats.
Texeira, who entered the game for DeAguiar at the start of the inning, struck out the first batter he faced but then walked the next two. Tupu Toafili beat out a chop shot to third to load the bases. Hunter Cuaresma and Lai followed with a pair of infield hits that scored two runners to tie the game at 6-6.
The winning run came in a wild top of the seventh. With one out, Kalani Piltz doubled to left and Kaluau singled to put runners on the corners. Lewi hit a grounder to Texeira on the mound, who fired home to get Piltz trying to score. Joaquin then beat out an infield single and Kaluau scored on a throwing error by the shortstop.
The Wildcats went down in order in their last at-bat but AJ Alani gave the Waveriders a scare with a warning track shot to left field.