KEAAU – Tai Atkins pumped his fist after his ninth strikeout, popped off the mound and ran to high-five a teammate.
A game that technically didn’t matter had meant just a little more to Kamehameha’s hard-throwing senior-left-hander.
And this time Atkins got to finish what he started, delivering his first complete game. As Atkins was taming Waiakea bats, Braedan Coloma put a charge into a pitch with his, hitting a solo home run as Kamehameha claimed an anticipated battle of BIIF baseball unbeatens 5-2 in front of a large crowd at Kameeiamoku Field.
“We prepared for it as just another game, but, of course we’ve been looking forward to it from the beginning of the season,” Atkins said after a five-hitter in which he allowed just one earned run. “The entire week I was having visions, having dreams, just trying to psych myself up. So the day finally came, and everybody was on it.”
Atkins has been an accomplished pitcher since his freshman season, and previously there had been only one man who stood between him and complete games: coach Andy Correa, who usually prefers to save the University of Hawaii-bound Atkins’ arm during the final inning or two.
“He was feeling good,” Correa said. “We were talking to him from about the fourth inning. He felt strong, and he really wanted to finish.”
Waiakea (10-1) sustained its first regular season loss since March 24, 2016, a game Atkins also played a role in.
Waiakea came in averaging just a shade under 14 runs a game, but Atkins was stingy after Devon Hirata led off the third with a triple and scored tripled and scored on Khaden Victorino’s double to make it 3-2.
Atkins, who walked only one but hit three batters, limited the top three hitters in Waiakea’s lineup, Stone Miyao, Kalai Rosario and Safea Mauai – Miyao and Mauai hit left-handed – to two singles.
“The better team won today, period,” Waiakea coach Eric Kurosawa said. “Still old school, good pitching always beats good hitting. Hats off to (Tai).”
Coloma launched his first high school home run to left-center in the fifth to make it 5-2, chasing Waiakea’s No. 1 starter, Cody Hirata.
Kamehameha (13-0) will hold senior day Wednesday against Honokaa and then it has more than a week to rest its staff at enters the playoffs as the overwhelming favorite to claim its eighth consecutive BIIF Division II title.
“We have to work just as hard,” Coloma said, “just because we won now doesn’t guarantee it later.
“We’re going to try our best. Really, it’s just another game. Every game counts.”
Coloma hit a run-scoring single in the first inning as Kamehameha scored three times. With one out, Rydge Ishii singled and scored on Bula Ahuna’s ground-rule double.
Ishii and Bryce Furuli, who singled in a run in the third inning, joined Coloma with two hits each.
It’s been all hands on deck in the order since Dustin Asuncion, the usual No. 3 hitter, suffered an injury that’s caused him to miss the past five games.
“A lot of kids picked the team up offensively,” Correa said. “We spread out the hits and put on some pressure.
“We’ve scored a lot on walks, but they knew today the ball was going to be around the plate.”
Hirata went 4 2/3 innings and was charged with seven hits and five runs with two walks, a strikeout and two hit batters. Ty Honda went 1 1/3, working two around two hits and two walks, and Rysen Ross struck out the only batter he faced.
Atkins hit the third batter of the game, Mauai, and two fielding errors brought home the game’s first run, but he got stronger as the game went on, retiring the side in order in the fourth and sixth and striking out the side in the sixth.
He said the closest he had come to a complete game was his masterpiece as a freshman at the HHSAA tournament against Saint Francis in which he struck out 13 before being lifted after 6 2/3 innings.
He almost faced a similar situation Saturday. He a hit batter to put two runners aboard with two outs in the seventh. With the tying run at the plate and down to his last batter after surpassing the pitch maximum and the count full, Atkins ended the afternoon with a swing-and-a miss on his 112th offering.
“When I came to the mound the adrenaline was running, there were a lot of people here,” he said. “The first two batters I was pumping pretty hard, but eventually (I settled).
“We all know the teams we really want to beat. More of a pride thing.”
Waiakea’s pride shouldn’t hurt too much.
The Warriors have their senior day next Saturday against Kealakehe, and they’ll be a solid favorite to repeat as Division I champion.
The only BIIF team seemingly with pitching good enough to shut them down is in the rear-view mirror.
“We just have to get back to work,” Kurosawa said.
