By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
On an exciting night, fate, for at least one game, replaced Murphy’s Law — anything that can go wrong will go wrong — the curse seemingly invented for Hawaii Stars pitcher Dallas Mahan, who has been incapable of catching a break, drawing only bad luck, hard luck or no luck.
But good fortune was on Hawaii’s side and the Stars scored on an error to upend Na Koa Ikaika Maui 3-2 in the bottom of the 11th inning in a North American Baseball League game on Tuesday night at Wong Stadium.
The Stars (22-22) and Na Koa (26-24) play the third game of a six-game series at 5:35 p.m. today at Wong. Bryan Herrera (3-2, 4.79 ERA) is scheduled to start for Hawaii. It is Seniors Night at the Park with free admission for ages 55 and over. There will be tank top T-shirt giveaway each inning.
Maui falls four games back of the North division leading San Rafael Pacifics, who topped the Sonoma County Grapes 3-2 to keep the Stars at five games back. Hawaii has 10 games left.
Maui manager Jamie Vermilyea said Eri “Knuckle Princess” Yoshida will pitch out of the bullpen and be available from today or she could start on Friday or Saturday. Yoshida (3-5, 5.95 ERA) has lost her last five starts, and hasn’t lasted longer than five innings in any outing.
In the ninth, Hawaii rallied to tie it 2-2 in a fashion best described as unusual and exciting. It was that type of ballgame.
Matt Hibbert led off with a bloop single off Maui closer Victor Ferrante. Keoni Manago absolutely nuked a liner to center field that caught Keith Kendal off-guard. He took a step in, but the rocket flew over his head, and Hawaii manager Garry “G2” Templeton II waved Hibbert home.
But Kendal ran down the ball, recovered and threw a bullet to catcher Alan Rick, who was waiting eagerly with the tag. With Manago on second, G2 was aggressive yet again, calling a hit-and-run. It worked to perfection. Anthony Lopez hit the ball, and Manago was running, and scored ahead of left fielder Waylen Sing Chow’s throw, tying the game.
But for much of the marathon Murphy’s Law was against Mahan, and that favored Maui starter Matt Walker. The right-hander, with a fastball that’s not all that fast, pitched seven innings of one-run ball. Walker (3-3, 3.28 ERA) yielded five hits and no walks, and struck out five, getting a no-decision.
The Stars staked Mahan to a 1-0 in the second inning when Arnoldo Ponce tripled to center field, and scored on Reece Alnas’ sacrifice fly to right field. However, that good fortune had an early expiration date.
In the fourth, Murphy’s Law fell from the sky, false-cracked Mahan on the chin, and cost him an unearned run — the story of the 6-foot-3 left-hander’s life as a Hawaii Star.
Mahan brushed the uniform of leadoff hitter Sing Chow. Beaned hard or not, it counts all the same as a hit by pitch. Two batters later, Nick Valdez bounced a dribbler to third baseman Dion Pouncil, who fumbled the ball, allowing the unearned run.
With Danny Sandoval, who singled earlier, on second and Valdez on first, Chema Sanchez swung mightily but bounced a dribbler to Mahan, who showed the pass-catching, soft hands of a young Jerry Rice, made a nice snag, and threw Joe Montana-like from his knees to Pouncil at third.
Pouncil whipped a strike to first baseman Lopez for a rare 1-5-3 double play. The Stars ran off the field, thinking the inning was over, and apparently forgetting Mr. Bad/Hard/No Luck was pitching. The first-base umpire called Sanchez safe, the crowd roared its disapproval, and G2 made a brief argument.
But the call stood and Murphy’s Law was batting 2 for 2 against Mahan. Hawaii’s 34-year-old southpaw and pitching coach didn’t let his sore chin bother him, and made a good pitch on the hands to Rick, the strapping 6-2 catcher with a pair of first names, getting an inning-ending popup to second base.
In nine starts, Mahan (0-6, 3.16 ERA) has made six quality starts (at least six innings and three runs or less). On a beautiful, rain-free night against the Valley Isle, he surrendered two runs (one unearned) on four hits and no walks and one hit batter, and struck out three, drawing a no-decision.
Murphy’s Law also works overtime against Mahan, even when he’s sitting in the dugout.
In the fifth, Adam Jacobs, the rare catcher with good wheels, legged out a two-out triple, after ripping a Walker mistake into the left-field corner. But Hawaii’s season-long nemesis — lack of timely hitting — visited the ballpark, and No. 9 hitter Anthony Williams softly flied out to first.
Maui scored the go-ahead run the next inning when Kendal, a former Star who was traded before the team returned to Hilo, reached on an infield single. Then small-ball paid big dividends. He was sacrificed to second and scored on Sanchez’ sinking liner to left field.
That 2-1 lead seemed like Mount Everest — highest mountain in the world — to climb for the cold-hitting Stars, and grew taller even with a runner on second in the seventh, after Alnas doubled to right field. But there were two outs, and Reggie York struck out, making Murphy’s Law 4 for 4 against Mahan.
Even when the Baseball Gods graciously give Mahan a favor, Murphy’s Law is waiting in the shadows to steal it away. Such is fate for Mahan, who got punched in the stomach in the eighth with the Stars at-bat, again.
Jacobs, the catcher with speed but not base-stealing speed, walked against left-hander Yoshihiro Doi. But he was thrown out trying to steal, apparently on a Williams missed bunt or a broken hit-and-run play. Rick gunned down Jacobs.
Then to throw salt on the wound and massage it in, Williams singled, offering the Stars a small grain of hope. But as it is, leadoff hitter Pouncil grounded into a double play, maintaining Maui’s 2-1 lead and setting up the ninth.
The 10th for the Stars was exciting, too. They loaded the bases against Ferrante, but Lopez hit the first pitch he saw, a sinking liner to right center. But Kendal was playing shallow, and made a tough catch look easy, going from goat to hero-at-the-moment, and extending the thriller.
In the 11th, after Sing Chow walked to snap Hawaii’s string of retiring 13 in a row, he advanced to second on closer Roman Martinez’ wild pitch. Then Maui’s No. 3 batter, Sandoval, cracked a long, deep drive to center field.
Hibbert got on his horse, ran with his back to the plate, dived and made the catch, saving a go-ahead run and giving Hawaii at chance for a walk-off win in the bottom of the 11th.
Against Vinnie St. John, Maui’s fourth pitcher of the night, Logan Kanamu, a former Na Koa player, walked and went to second on a wild pitch. Then Alnas blistered a hard grounder that bounced off second baseman Gered Mochizuki, allowing the pinch-hitting catcher to race home for the winning run.
Martinez picked up the win with three scoreless innings. St. John, who didn’t record an out, got the loss. Hibbert and Lopez each went 2 for 5 to lead the Stars.
Alnas didn’t need a timely hit for the game-winner. He just needed to hit the ball. He went 1 for 4, with that important RBI sacrifice fly.
On June 29, Hawaii beat Maui 3-2 in 14 innings at Wong Stadium. The two starting pitchers in that scheduled seven-inning ballgame? Walker, and who else but Dallas Mahan.
Maui 000 101 000 00 — 2 4 2
Hawaii 010 000 001 01 — 3 10 1
