Kamehameha senior right-hander Brandyn Lee-Lehano completed the first part, and now it’s up to freshman left-hander Tai Atkins to finish the job on the diamond.
Lee-Lehano threw an eight-hitter, and the Warriors defeated Konawaena 10-1 in Game 1 of the BIIF Division II championship series on Friday at Wong Stadium.
If Kamehameha (16-1) sweeps the Wildcats (11-6) at 11 a.m. on Saturday, then Lee-Lehano cements his legacy as the latest in line of senior championship aces.
In each of the past four years during their BIIF title reign, the Warriors have relied on a different senior ace: Malu Peralta last year, Chay Toson in 2014, Kupono Decker in 2013, and Kaimana Moike in 2012.
Lee-Lehano allowed a run, walked none and hit two batters. He also had five timely strikeouts and got stronger as the game grew old. The 6-foot-4 Warrior retired the side only twice, in the sixth and seventh innings.
“We always make it a point to throw strikes because you can’t protect against walks,” Kamehameha coach Andy Correa said. “Brandyn pitched out of several situations, and that was good to see.”
He stranded two on in the first, second, fourth and fifth frames. Lee-Lehano got a closing strikeout in the first, a double play in the second, a groundout in the fourth, and consecutive strikeouts in the fifth — the key inning.
The Wildcats had runners on first and third with one out, and the trail runner stole second. That was a favor for Lee-Lehano, who then went from the stretch to the full windup, where his mechanics flow a lot smoother. After his back-to-back punchouts, Konawaena never threatened again.
“The first couple of innings my stuff was iffy, but after I got the jitters out everything fell into place,” Lee-Lehano said. “The defense helped me out a lot. DallasJ (Duarte, the catcher) threw out a runner trying to steal, and we had a double play.”
In the fourth, Kolu Alani doubled and later scored on Vohn Yamaguchi’s RBI single. Tevin Canda was the only one to pair hits for the Wildcats, who stranded 10 on base.
Sometimes, walks can be an offense’s best friend, and a ton of free passes helped Kamehameha put a maximum amount of pressure on Kona’s two hurlers.
Right-handed starter Logan Canda, who went 4 1/3 innings in the loss, gave up five hits and walked seven. Southpaw reliever Stevie Texeira walked two. Four of those free passes scored. A Warrior who reached on a hit by pitch also scored, and DallasJ Duarte walked with the bases loaded in the five-run fifth, highlighted by Daylen Calicdan’s two-run single.
Basically, all those free passes (nine walks, one hit by pitch) were a major inconvenience for the Wildcats, who saw Canda make clutch pitches in the first and second innings to escape bases-filled jams.
Kyran Kai had an RBI single in the first, but Canda closed the inning with a strikeout. The Warriors loaded the bases with two out in the second. After the balk, Canda recorded another inning-ending strikeout.
Through four innings, Canda, who painted the outside corner, shackled Kamehameha’s offense. The Warriors had just three singles, and the score was 2-1, the four-time champs ahead. Things turned lopsided in the fifth.
With one out, Jai Cabatbat walked, Kyran Kai reached on a fielder’s choice, and Cabatbat advanced to third on an error. Then Kolbie Kinzie and Kegan Miura had back-to-back RBI singles to chase Canda.
Texeira came in and walked Duarte with the bases loaded, and Calicdan followed with his two-run single. (Calicdan displayed his plate discipline in the first with a 10-pitch walk.)
In the sixth, Baron Victorino whacked a two-run double, and one of those runs came on a walk — the ninth of the game for the free-pass issuing Wildcats.
Miura and Kinzie each had two hits while Calicdan and Victorino had two RBIs each for the Warriors, who also left 10 runners on base.
The Warriors had two harmless errors and relied on their patience to draw nine walks and produced timely hitting to break the game open in the fifth.
Of course, it helped that Lee-Lehano pitched like Kamehameha’s traditional senior ace, too.
Konawaena 000 100 0 — 1 8 2
Kamehameha 110 053 x — 10 8 2
