It’s always encouraging when the last hitter in the lineup is the most productive, and that was the case for Waiakea catcher Curren Inouye.
The junior left-handed hitter batted 2 for 3 with three RBIs, and Waiakea eliminated Kealakehe 14-4 in the BIIF Division I semifinals Saturday at the Warriors field.
In the other D-I semifinal, Hilo ousted Keaau 12-2.
The Warriors (13-1) play the Vikings (11-3) in Game 1 for the BIIF championship at 5 p.m. Friday at Wong Stadium.
Inouye also drew a walk, one of nine free passes, so the No. 9 hitter was on base three times.
While Inouye’s production was to nice see for his brother and Waiakea coach Rory Inouye, the plethora of walks by both teams was a long exercise in strike-throwing inefficiency.
There were 15 walks in the game, and nine of those free passes scored. A walk with the bases full by Waiakea also brought in the final run for the Waveriders. (There were also four hit by pitches, too.)
Still, a win is a win, even if it isn’t a quick walk in the park.
Reese Mondina went five innings for the victory. The sophomore left-hander allowed three runs on five hits and five walks and whiffed four. Khaden Victorino gave up a run on two hits and a walk.
Makana Kaluau pitched 1 1/3 innings in the loss for the Waveriders (2-12). He allowed eight runs (four unearned) on two hits and six walks and struck out one.
After the sophomore lefty departed, senior right-hander Markus Degrate, who throws much harder, entered. But Degrate couldn’t get his offspeed pitches over for strikes.
The Warriors sat on his fastball, quickened their swings, and tagged him for five runs on six hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings.
Inouye belted a two-run single in the first, a run-scoring single in the second, and walked in the sixth. He flied out in the fourth, missing a chance to go 3 for 3.
His extra time in the batting cage paid off for the youngest Inouye, who had his eldest brother Dane Inouye as a P.E. teacher in eighth grade and Rory as a math teacher.
Rory Inouye is now a math teacher at Waiakea High, and Curren has so far avoided him.
“The best advice my brother (Rory) gave me is don’t let emotions get to you and play the game,” Curren said. “Kealakehe is a good team. My teammates got on base, and we kept hitting.”
Waiakea’s top four hitters — Nate Minami, Trayden Tamiya, Taylor Mondina, and Makoa Andres — went a combined 0 for 7.
But that’s sort of deceptive because Minami walked once, Mondina twice and Andres once. Off those free passes, Waiakea scored four runs.
“Walks are like a free hit. They kill you,” said second-year coach Inouye.
When the Warriors weren’t taking walks, at least they were making contact. They only struck out twice. They kept setting the table for the bottom of the lineup.
That’s where Curren Inouye was waiting. And his extra work in the batting cage paid off with his three RBI day and pushed Waiakea into the BIIF championship for the 14th straight year.
Waiakea 651 002 — 14 8 0
Kealakehe 101 011 — 4 7 3
Hilo 12, Keaau 2: Joshua Breitbarth, Stone Miyao and Noah Higa-Gonsalves led off the top of the fourth with hits to spur a go-head rally at Wong Stadium, and Boston Cabarloc drove in four runs to help the Vikings pull away for a sweep and a berth at the HHSAA tournament.
Josiah Factora worked five innings, allowing seven hits and two runs with two strikeouts and two walks for Hilo.
Cabarloc was 3 for 3 with a double, Breitbarth collected three hits and Miyao and Factora each had two. Ryan Ragual drove in two runs.
The first of five pitchers for the Cougars (4-10), Edward Oguma was charged with four runs – three earned – in four innings.
Keaau’s Erik Arnold went 2 for 2 with two RBIs.
Hilo 011 233 2 – 12 16 2
Keaau 101 000 0 –2 8 7
