Hilo’s defensive issues never really went away. The fielding and throwing woes were dormant for a while. But they sprang to life and made life much easier for Punahou in the HHSAA Division I baseball semifinals.
The Buffanblu defeated the Vikings 9-2, scoring four unearned runs off four errors on Friday at Maui’s Iron Maehara Stadium, spoiling a solid debut for first-year coach Baba Lancaster, whose first objective was to fix the defense.
But there were bigger issues on the Valley Isle, namely stopping Punahou’s offense. The Buffanblu scored in every inning, except the fourth, and had basehits from six different hitters.
Junior right-hander Logan Wilson went the distance in the loss and took one for the team. He surrendered 10 runs on 11 hits and three walks and struck out none.
There were no easy outs in No. 2 seed Punahou’s lineup and a lot of balls were put into play. Makana Murashige batted 2 for 3 with five RBIs, including a grand slam in the fifth, Cody Hirano, Kalae Harrison, and Jake Tsukada each had two hits.
By the time, No. 3 Hilo’s offense got started in the bottom of the fifth inning it was already 7-0. Ocean Gabonia had an RBI basehit against Landon Carter, who pitched six innings of two-run ball for the win.
Jantzden Kahee batted 2 for 2 to lead Hilo (14-4), which plays Baldwin for third place at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Punahou 111 042 1 — 10 11 1
Hilo 000 020 0 — 2 7 4
KS-Kapalama 5, Waiakea 4: Christian DeJesus pitched five innings of one-run relief to eliminate the Warriors (15-5), who managed just three hits in six innings in a time-limited game.
Stone Miyao went 1 for 1 with an RBI, Makana Ducosin singled, and Brandon Nakayama batted 1 for 2 with an RBI. The rest of Waiakea’s lineup went 0 for 17.
Rysen Ross pitched 1 1/3 innings and gave up four runs in the loss. Khaden Victorino started and threw three innings of one-run ball. Braxton Cagampang pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
KS-Kapalama 010 310 — 5 6 1
Waiakea 040 000 — 4 3 3
Division II
Waimea 4, Kamehameha 1: Zakaia Michaels fired a three-hitter but took the loss because of the four runs he gave up three were unearned because of three errors.
In six innings, he allowed just one hit and hit a batter but struck out seven. His counterpart, Tysson Unciano, scattered seven hits, and walked two and struck out three in the win. His defense committed zero errors.
The Menehune struck for a run in the second, helped by a free pass, when Kainalu Lazaro was hit by a pitch, and Levi Snowden had an RBI single off Michaels.
The Warriors tied it 1-1 in the fourth when Braeden Coloma tripled and scored on Michaels’ sacrifice fly.
Waimea retook the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Snowden reached on a two-out outfield error and never stopped running until he touched home plate for a 2-1 lead. It was a four-base error when the ball went to the outfield wall and the run scored.
Through five innings, Waimea led 2-1, despite just one hit.
The Warriors had a scoring opportunity in the sixth when Coloma doubled with one out and took third on a passed ball. But he was stranded at third when Unciano recorded a strikeout.
In the bottom of the sixth, Kanaan Ephan singled and Lazaro reached on an infield error, Kamehameha’s third. Lacin Montemayor had an RBI single, and Snowden had an RBI groundout for a 4-1 lead.
The Warriors (19-1) play Radford for third place at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Konawaena 7, Seabury Hall 6: Jaimison Medeiros pitched five innings of two-run ball for the win. He allowed six runs, four unearned on nine hits and no walk to pick up the win.
Tevin Canada batted 2 for 3 with an RBI, Bronson Rivera was 2 for 2, and Kanai Rivera went 2 for 2 with an RBI for the Wildcats (12-9), who play Waipahu for fifth place at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Konawaena 023 110 — 7 7 4
Seabury Hall 202 20x — 6 9 4