KEA‘AU — Tied 11-11 with Konawaena in the bottom of the seventh inning, Kea‘au softball second baseman Reyna Pettypool smacked a one-run walkoff single, sending home center fielder Tihana Kalawe to escape with a 12-11 win Wednesday at Kea‘au High School.
Both teams collected nine hits in the back-and-forth affair. Lady Wildcat first baseman Aleisha Estranero struck first, sending home second baseman Jerzie Lopez off an RBI groundout. In the second inning, outfielder Kalena Okimura sent home another run after doubling to center field. Okimura then scored after shortstop Kailey Apigo grounded out. Estranero then added a pop-fly RBI to left field, sending Lopez home to go up four runs.
The inning concluded with Leilani Lebrun-Ward singling to center, bringing Estranero home.
Okimura chipped in another RBI at the top of the third, singling a hard ground ball to shallow left field. In the fourth inning, Lebrun-Ward flew out to center field, sending Lopez home. After advancing to third after an error in the outfield, Estranero then scored off a wild pitch to push the lead up to 8-0.
The Lady Cougars finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, beginning their multi-run comeback. After scoring its first two runs off fielders’ choices, Kea‘au shortstop Thaliya Kokubun homered to center field, bringing in three runs to cut the deficit to 8-5. Tiani Kaupu helped drive in the final run of the Lady Cougars’ six-score inning, whacking a fly ball to center field that was dropped — leading to Kaupu advancing to second base and first baseman Serentee Kapano finding home plate.
Kona responded quickly at the top of the fifth, as Okimura scored after a ground-out RBI to go up 9-6. Kea‘au answered right back when shortstop Tihani Kalawe struck a ground ball that forced another error, driving in two more runs. A few at-bats later, Pettypool hit a moonshot homerun to right field, driving in three runs to take the 11-9 lead.
But the Lady Wildcats weren’t ready to go out quietly. At the top of the sixth with the Lady Cougars on the brink of victory, Lebrun-Ward smacked a line drive to Kaupu, who was pitching in the circle for Kona. Kaupu dropped the ball, giving Estranero — who was on third — a window to score. Lebrun-Ward then found home plate in similar fashion — scoring on an error to tie things up at 11-11.
Both teams went scoreless until Pettypool saved the day for Kea‘au in the final bat of the afternoon.
Pettypool led both teams in RBI with four, adding two hits in five at-bats. Kalawe and Kapano also produced two hits each. Kaupu led the group in the circle, pitching 7.0 innings while allowing nine hits, 11 runs and striking out six batters.
Kona was led by Lopez, Lebrun-Ward, Okimura and Sunny Taketa with two hits apiece. Lebrun-Ward pitched 6.2 innings, allowing nine hits and 12 runs while striking out seven.
The next matchup for both teams is to be announced.
Honoka‘a 19, Ka‘u 2
Honoka‘a baseball scored two runs in the first inning, six in the third, two in the fourth and nine in the sixth in its 19-2 rout over Ka‘u on Wednesday in Pahala. The Dragons’ strong pair of hitting and fielder was too much for the hosting Trojans to counter.
Honoka‘a produced 16 hits to Ka‘u’s four. Around the diamond, the Dragons suffered just two errors to the Trojans’ six.
Pitcher Jayden Salazar and catcher Isaac Derego led Honoka‘a with three hits each, followed by center fielder Josyah Umeda, second baseman Chrys Coelho and shortstop Ezekiel Hood with two apiece. Umeda also vaulted a two-run home run to right field at the top of the sixth inning, sparking the Dragons’ nine-run frame. Derego also logged an inside-the-park home run later that inning, sending home Salazar.
Third baseman Kiakahi Lindsey, first baseman Donovan Valera and right fielder Noah Erwin rounded out the rest of Honoka‘a’s hits with one each.
On the mound, Salazar went 6.0 innings — allowing four hits and two runs while striking out nine.
Ka‘u infielder Riley Koch led his team with two hits, followed by Caleb Crook with a line-drive home run to right field at the bottom of the third.
Eli Crook was the Trojans’ main man on the mound — pitching 5.2 innings while allowing 18 runs on 15 hits, striking out nine. Reliever Devin Alpin went on to the mound briefly at the end of the game.
The Trojans’ next matchup will be at 1 p.m. Saturday against the Daggers in Pahoa town, while the Dragons’ next opponent is to be announced.
Kona 1, Kea‘au 0
Konawaena baseball scored against Kea‘au early on Wednesday on the road, but the Wildcats were able to hold their lead through strong pitching and defense in the 1-0 win.
Kona center fielder A.J. Blanco produced an RBI single in the first inning, driving in the only run of the afternoon.
The story of the game was the strong pitching from both sides. Wildcat Kahiau Rivera struck out 13 batters on just two hits, going 7.0 innings on the mound. Lefty Cougar Scott Ebesuno-Tahara also pitched all 7.0 innings, allowing six hits while striking out four.
Blanco, shortstop Kolt Baptista, third baseman Jaeden Meyers, right fielder Tavis Fediuk and catcher Aycen Blanco tallied six total hits for Kona. Ebesuno and catcher Luke Brophy produced Kea‘au’s two hits.
Both teams’ next matchup is to be announced.
