Hilo High almost extended the coaching career of Tony De Sa despite failing to capitalize again and again with runners on base.
The Vikings didn’t, failing to punch their ticket to states for the first time since 2008, because Leilehua came up with the type of seeing-eye single Hilo was pining for all afternoon at Wong Stadium.
That’s a wrap for Hilo in 2018. A new future beckons for seven seniors, others will try to hone their game in the offseason, and De Sa will call it a career Friday after the Mules edged them 4-3 in an HHSAA Division I tournament play-in game.
Asked if this was the sort of back-and-forth contest that would draw De Sa back to the dugout, he chuckled and said, “I’m good. I’m good.”
“I’ve said before when I wasn’t coaching, I was busy,” he said. “We’ll see how my life is after.”
While he’s done after eight seasons – and three before that as a Kamehameha assistant – and three BIIF championships, other Vikings, such as senior Micah Bello, are just getting started with their careers.
“He’s not just a coach to us, he’s like a dad to us,” Bello said. “He supports us no matter what. He treats us like our sons.”
Bello and BIIF runner-up Hilo (10-6) won’t get to join league champion Waiakea, the third seed, at states on Oahu, so the center fielder’s next order of baseball business will come later this month when he attends predraft workouts on the mainland scouted by the Angels, Dodgers and Padres.
“We’ll see what happens,” Bello said, pointing toward the MLB draft in June.
Bello took a called third strike to start the game, but then the Vikings started to make solid up-the-middle contact against right-hander Jerin Po’opa’a. Hilo outhit the OIA Mules 9-8, but Vikings hit into three double plays, two with the bases loaded.
“A lot of good swings, but we couldn’t cash in,” De Sa said. “One of those …. ah, whatever. One of those years. That’s baseball.”
Hilo was playing without injured senior Ryan Ragual, one of its best pitchers and hitters.
The Vikings took their only lead when Bello and Logan Respicio hit back-to-back doubles to deep left to start the fifth, and two batters later Donald Saltiban’s sacrifice fly made it 3-2.
Junior right-hander Ocean Gabonia pitched four-plus solid innings (six hits, three runs, one strikeout, no walks), leaving after allowing a leadoff single in the fifth to Christian Ontai.
“Ocean wasn’t 100 percent, but he battled and that’s what we like to see out of our kids,” De Sa said.
Nainoa Kane-Yates came on and walked his first two batters. With the bases loaded and clean-up hitter Jaku Hanonoha at the plate, Kane-Yates made a good 2-2 pitch, but Hanonoha’s ordinary groundball found a hole between third and short to plate two runs and give Leilehua the lead back.
Ty Yukumoto came on and fired two scoreless innings of relief, allowing just a hit, and that was the ballgame.
“Their hits had eyes, and ours didn’t,” De Sa said.
In the top of the first, Respicio and Pu’ukani De Sa singled, and Saltiban drew a walk to load the bases. Maui Ahuna hit a ball hard but right at center fielder Ontai, who doubled up a runner at second to end the inning.
The Vikings scored a run in the second when Ryan Cabreira, Briden Silva and Holden Paiva bunched together hits, but they could have had more. Bello’s walk loaded the bases with one out, but a runner was thrown out at home trying to score on Respicio’s fly out.
In five innings, Po’opa’a was charged with eight hits and three runs with two walks, a strikeout and a RBI single. Mason Yamashiro finished 3 for 3 for the Mules (11-8), who will take on OIA rival Kalua in a state first-round game Tuesday.
Dayson Urbanozo-Moses was 2 for 3 for Hilo, Respicio went 2 for 4 and Kane-Yates walked five in two innings.
But it’s not the numbers that De Sa will remember. It’s the faces.
“It’s easy to coach Hilo High because we have great players and coaches,” he said.
Hilo 010 020 0 – 3 9 2
Leilehua 110 020 x – 4 8 0
States
After a first-round bye, Waiakea (15-0) faces either Kamehameha-Maui or Campbell at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the quarterfinals at Les Murakami Stadium.
In D-II, BIIF champion Kamehameha (16-1) is seeded second and draws Radford at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Hans L’Orange Field. In the preceding quarterfinal, BIIF runner-up Konawaena (9-8) takes on top-seeded Damien.