Kamehameha’s hitters provided instant offense against a Kalaheo staff that pitched to the No. 1 seed’s strength in the quarterfinals of the HHSAA Division II state baseball tournament.
The Warriors brought a hit parade and exploded for 11 runs in the first inning to rout the Mustangs 14-2 on Thursday night at Wong Stadium in a five-inning TKO lopsided affair.
Kamehameha (17-1), the five-time BIIF champion Warriors, plays ILH champion St. Francis (16-4) in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Wong Stadium.
The first inning was an ugly one for the OIA runner-up Mustangs (9-6), who faced 16 batters, gave up five hits and five walks and hit two batters. Six runs scored off those free passes (base on balls and beans).
Kalaheo starter Thomas Capllonch walked the bases full with two outs, and things quickly deteriorated from there.
Kyran Kai had a run-scoring infield single, Kaylen Cabatu-Gapusan and Kolbie Kinzie followed with RBI hit by pitches. With the bases still packed,Tennison Cantrell replaced Capllonch. Baron Victorino, the No. 9 hitter, greeted the second baseman turned reliever with a bloop two-run single.
It was 6-0 with more scoring to come.
Leadoff hitter Kegan Miura walked for the second time in the inning to load the bases. DallasJ Duarte smoked a three-run double to clear the sacks. Daylen Calicdan tomahawked a triple to the center field wall for a 9-0 cushion.
Makana Aiona, the cleanup hitter, walked and Jai Cabatbat followed with a two-run single, and Cantrell was pulled for Curtis Chung Jr., a third baseman turned first-inning fire extinguisher. He walked Kai, the guy who started the scoring avalanche, and Chung closed the nearly 30-minute first inning with a strikeout.
The Mustang pitchers didn’t throw all that hard, and they couldn’t get their off-speed stuff over for first-pitch strikes. That was a recipe for disaster. The Warriors feasted on fastballs in hitter’s count.
In the second, Kalaheo’s outfielders were playing much deeper, but Kamehameha’s base hits landed in front of the hard-charging Mustangs. Victorino singled with one out and one batter later Duarte tripled to right field. Then Calicdan followed with another medium-depth RBI single for a 13-0 cushion.
Capllonch got two outs in the loss. The 6-foot-1 senior right-hander allowed six runs on one hit and three walks. Cantrell recorded no outs and faced six batters. He gave up five runs on four hits and two walks. Chung went 4 1/3 innings and surrendered three runs on five hits and a walk.
Meanwhile, Kamehameha senior ace Brandyn Lee-Lehano blew fastballs by the Mustangs and finished with a three-hitter and five strikeouts. He walked none.
The 6-4 right-hander retired the first nine batters and lost his no-hit bid in the fourth when Cantrell singled up the middle. The shutout was gone a batter later when Capllonch crushed a run-scoring triple, and Kekai Smith followed with an RBI groundout.
Duarte batted 2 for 3 with four RBIs, Calicdan 2 for 4 with two RBIs, Cabatbat 2 for 3 with two RBIs, and Victorino added to the hit parade with a 3 for 3, two RBI performance.
Kalaheo 000 20 — 2 3 1
Kamehameha (11)21 0x – 14 10 2
Radford 6, Kauai 3: The OIA No. 3 Rams scored five runs in the fourth inning, and Tjader De Alba and Jacob Nishitomi combined on a four-hitter.
De Alba pitched 5 1/3 innings of three-run ball (two runs unearned) while Nishitomi fired 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Dylan Lewis had two RBIs while De Alba batted 2 for 4 to lead the Rams (10-4).
Micah Layosa went three innings in the loss and gave up five runs (four unearned) on three hits and a walk. Doug Miyasato pitched three innings of one-run relief, and Brayden Abreu added a scoreless inning.
Miyasato batted 1 for 2 with an RBI to lead the Red Raiders (11-2)
St. Francis 3, Molokai 0: Laakea Phillips blasted a solo homer in the sixth inning and fired a three-hitter with just two walks and 12 strikeouts.
Phillips batted 1 for 3 with an RBI to lead the ILH champion Saints (16-4).
Kairos Torres-Ume, who fired a one-hitter, went the distance in the loss for the No. 4 seed and MIL champion Farmers (11-1).
