Waiakea’s jump into the semifinals of the HHSAA Division I tournament was set up by a strategic move or smart gamble by coach Rory Inouye, who saved his ace to duel one of the state’s best pitchers.
Waiakea’s jump into the semifinals of the HHSAA Division I tournament was set up by a strategic move or smart gamble by coach Rory Inouye, who saved his ace to duel one of the state’s best pitchers.
In the quarterfinals on Thursday, Makoa Andres pitched six strong innings of one-run ball to spark the Warriors to a 3-1 win over the Surfriders at Les Murakami Stadium.
Waiakea not only beat Kailua, the No. 2 seed and OIA champion, but also roughed up Kailua ace left-hander Joey Cantillo, who signed with Kentucky.
Cantillo went 6 1/3 innings in the loss, gave up three runs (two unearned) on four hits and four walks and struck out six.
He threw 110 pitches and is ineligible to pitch again at states.
Andres allowed five hits and five walks and whiffed six. The senior right-hander threw 89 pitches and is also ineligible to pitch again.
Casey Yamauchi pitched a scoreless inning for his second save.
Waiakea (16-2) made the most of its four hits. Nate Minami went 1 for 2 with an RBI.
This is the first year of the mandatory pitch count under the National Federation of State High Associations, intended to protect pitchers from overuse.
The key pitch counts to remember are 35, 60, and 85, which require zero, one, and two days of rest, respectively.
To go over, even by one pitch requires additional rest. For example, if a pitcher throws 36 pitches, he’s required to rest one day; 61 and it’s two days; 86 and it’s three days.
In the first round on Wednesday, Waiakea edged Moanalua 4-3, and Inouye kept a close watch on his staff’s pitch counts.
David Nakamura started, couldn’t find his rhythm and struggled in two innings. He walked five and was pulled after 50 pitches.
Cody Hirata extended the staff with three innings of two-run ball and threw 51 pitches.
Both Warriors put in their mandatory one day of rest and are eligible to throw for the semifinals on Friday.
In another quarterfinal, Campbell, the OIA runner-up, employed the save-your-ace strategy in a 5-4 win over Hilo, the BIIF champion and No. 4 seed.
The Vikings scored four runs off Saber ace right-hander Markus Ramos, who signed with Oregon. He threw 98 pitches in 4 1/3 innings.
Nick Sampson provided 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief for the win.
The scouts saw another MLB draft prospect in Hilo right-hander Joey Jarneski, who went six innings in the loss. He surrendered four runs (two unearned) on five hits and three walks and whiffed three. He threw 104 pitches.
Campbell scored three runs in the sixth and escaped in the fourth unscathed when Hilo loaded the bases with no outs.
Nick Antony batted 2 for 4 to lead Hilo (14-3), which committed five errors and stranded 11 on base.
While the save-your-ace strategy worked like a charm for Waiakea and Campbell, which both had to play in the first round, it’s a gamble that has backfired before.
It’s always a disappointment for scouts when a prospect is pitching in a consolation game, and that happened in 1998 when Kauai left-hander Neto Quiroz stunned Kalani 2-0.
Former Waiakea coach Tom Correa, who’s now the athletic director, remembers Quiroz and that first-round game quite well.
That year, the Falcons had right-hander Shane Komine, who played ball at Nebraska and was later drafted by the Oakland A’s, but saved him.
With his quirky delivery and spinning pitches, Quiroz whiffed 12 and fired a one-hitter against the Falcons.
Correa’s Warriors were the BIIF champions and fell to Baldwin 5-2 in the quarterfinals for their first loss. (Iolani took its third straight state title.)
But at least, Correa slept well that night. That’s because he didn’t gamble and pitched his ace, Jason Takamoto.
Division II
Kamehameha 8, Radford 1:
Tai Atkins, Zakaia Michaels, and Kyran Kai combined on a three-hitter, and the No. 1 seed Warriors exploded for four runs in the first.
Atkins pitched four innings for the win. He allowed one hit, no walks and struck out eight. Michaels went two innings and whiffed three while Kai pitched a scoreless frame with one strikeout.
Kai and Kegan Miura each batted 2 for 3 and scored a run while Kekona Naipo-Arsiga had two RBIs for the Warriors (17-2).
Hawaii Prep 3, Waianae 1: Jonah Hurney fired a three-hitter to hand the No. 2 and OIA champion Seariders (12-1) their first loss.
Hurney allowed an unearned run, walked one and struck out four at Hans L’Orange Field.
Finn Richmond batted 2 for 4 with an RBI to lead the BIIF runner-up Ka Makani (10-10).