When it gets here, it promises to be the BIIF baseball game of the year, but believe it or not Waiakea coach Eric Kurosawa and senior right-hander Ty Honda say they have no idea when their game against Kamehameha is.
On the other hand, why look too far ahead when everything in the present is going so smoothly?
The Warriors’ focus was evident in their fundamental play Tuesday night at Wong Stadium, where Waiakea was the much sounder team in beating Hilo 8-3.
“Each inning, each pitch, one at a time,” said Honda, who delivered five solid innings before handing the ball to ace Cody Hirata. “We don’t really care what’s going on after this, just now.”
The teams collected five hits apiece, but the similarities ended there. The Vikings (5-3) committed each of the game’s six errors and Hilo starter Micah Freeman walked three batters in the second inning and watched each come around to score.
“Typical Hilo High baseball,” said first-year coach Baba Lancaster, who has watched as errors have become a season-long bugaboo. “We kill ourselves.”
Since losing to Hilo in the 2017 BIIF championship series, Waiakea (8-0) has beaten Hilo six times in row.
Hirata pitched his team to victory in the 2018 BIIF championship clincher as well as in the rivals’ first meeting this season – an 8-2 Waiakea win Feb. 26 at Wong – but Kurosawa was happy to see Honda thrive in a big-game situation.
He walked only one and struck out four while giving up five hits and three runs, overcoming a bumpy fourth inning before Hirata fired two perfect innings with a strikeout.
“Good command, good fastball life,” Kurosawa said of Honda. “We have some other pitchers we haven’t used.”
The top three hitters in Waiakea’s lineup, Stone Miyao, Kalai Rosario and Safea Mauai, did their job, combining to drive in six runs, but so to did the bottom of the lineup. Khaden Victorino, Devin Midel and Cody Kunimitsu got on base via hit, walk, hit batter or error and combined to score five runs.
“We’ve been getting good at-bats from (No. 7 hitter) and down,” Kurosawa said. “Very good at-bats from those guys.”
The theme of the night was set when Miyao and Rosario reached on errors to open the bottom of the first. Mauai hit a sacrifice fly in the first and ripped an two-run double in the second inning, finishing 2 for 3 with three RBIs and the only extra-base hit of the night.
Along with strong defense, Honda said his fielder’s communication was key
“Stone Miyao, he always helps us on on defense,” Honda said. “Playing shortstop, he just slows the game down for you and it’s really beneficial.”
Trailing 8-0, Hilo got to Honda in the fourth for three runs as Maui Ahuna, Ocean Gabonia and Dayson Moses bunched together consecutive singles, then Ryan Cabreira lifted hit a sacrifice fly and Kahiau Vincent hit a run-scoring single. Moses was 2 for 3 with an RBI single.
“Hats off to (Hilo),” Honda said. “The inning I was getting hit, the whole infield came in and helped me get through it.”
Junior Logan Wilson provided a bright spot for the Vikings with 4 2/3 innings of stellar relief in which he was charged with three hits and two runs, none earned. Wilson issued one walk with three strikeouts, retiring the final six batters he faced.
“We’re trying to find pitchers to prepare ourselves for the playoffs,” Lancaster said. “We just have to clean up the errors.
“(Logan) probably is going to one our starters now for the playoff games, especially against (Waiakea).”
The outcome almost certainly means Waiakea will be the first seed in the BIIF Division I playoffs and the Vikings second.
Last season, BIIF runner-up Hilo didn’t garner an automatic berth in the HHSAA tournament and had to take part in an HHSAA play-in game, losing 4-3 to Leilehua at Wong. BIIF baseball coordinator Tommy Correa, Waiakea’s athletic director, said Tuesday he hadn’t received final word on this season’s state format.
Oh yeah, Waiakea and Division II Kamehameha are scheduled to play April 6 at Kameeiamoku Field in Keaau in a likely battle of unbeatens.
Waiakea, Kurosawa said, hasn’t had time to look that far ahead.
“We’ve been working hard, practicing six days a week,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s showed up on the field, but I’m very proud of the boys.”
