Waiakea got together for a team dinner Thursday night, and coach Rory Inouye left confident in the knowledge that the Warriors had each other’s backs.
Waiakea got together for a team dinner Thursday night, and coach Rory Inouye left confident in the knowledge that the Warriors had each other’s backs.
A day later, Makoa Andres also had his own.
Andres singled through a drawn-in infield with no outs in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday night to atone for his blown save, and Waiakea beat Kamehameha 2-1.
“He loves the spotlight,” Inouye said. “He works hard at practice and times like that he eats it up.
“We tell them all the time, you work hard at practice, and this is your reward.”
Waiakea is the only undefeated Big Island Interscholastic Federation baseball team remaining after winning a well-played interdivision showdown under the Wong Stadium lights.
Nathan Minami led off the eighth with a triple against Kobi Candaroma, and Kamehameha (3-1) elected to walk the next two batters to set up a force at home. Andres stroked a single to right on an 0-1 pitch, securing the victory for himself.
“(Kamehameha) wanted me,” Andres said. “I just wanted to hit it hard.”
In the top of the seventh, Candaroma extended the game with a two-out double off Andres to bring in Kegan Miura with the tying run. Miura walked to lead off the inning, chasing Waiakea starter Caleb Freitas-Fields.
“My heart dropped,” Andres said. “I wanted to get it back with my offense.”
Both team aces were masterful and worked their pitch counts into the triple digits.
Kamehameha’s Malu Peralta allowed Taylor Mondina’s sacrifice fly for an unearned run in the first and then settled down, allowing five hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
“They battled,” Kamehameha coach Andy Correa said. “Malu pitched a great game. They played good defense and made some plays in the field. Just couldn’t capitalize with with men on base. “That’s a credit to their pitchers. They threw well.”
Candaroma was 2 for 4.
In six innings, Freitas-Fields struck out seven and allowed four hits, one run and five walks.
“Caleb knows,” Inouye said. “He’s here to lead us and keep us in the game.”
Gehrig Octavio was 3 for 3 for Waiakea (4-0), while Andres struck out four in two innings and gave up a hit and a walk. On Tuesday, Andres threw 47 pitches in a four-inning no-hitter against Hawaii Prep.
In the bottom of the first, Minami walked, moved to second on a single by Freitas-Fields (2 for 3) and after an error he scored on Mondina’s flyout.
“It was nerve-wracking preparing for this game,” Minami said. “It took a lot of effort and practice.
“My teammates helped out, giving me a lot of confidence going up that last at-bat.”
Both teams can tighten their grips on first place in the next two weeks as they look to repeat, but both coaches had the same message: don’t take anyone for granted
In Division I, Waiakea will play Keaau, which stands a half-game behind, on March 31 and then be back at Wong on April 3 to play Hilo (3-2). Waiakea beat Kealakehe, the other D-I team, 6-5 in its opener.
“It got the boy focused, and we were lucky to escape that one,” Inouye said. “From then on the boys really kicked it into gear.”
Kamehameha is the only Division II team with a winning record and stands as the clear favorite . It hosts the Cougars on Wednesday and then welcomes 2014 runner-up Hawaii Prep on Saturday.
“You can lose to anybody any day,” Correa said. “We always prepare that way.”
Kamehameha 000 000 10 – 1 5 1
Waiakea 100 000 01 – 2 7 1