A pandemic, and only a pandemic, finally slowed Kamehameha baseball down, but the Warriors’ four seniors never really let that get them down.
Salvatore Martino never thought about it, Jonah Reich never worried about it and Spencer Yoshizumi focused on the “brotherhood.”
Before the pandemic nixed two seasons, Kamehameha graduated five consecutive senior classes that left with four BIIF Division II titles to their name. This group was happy enough to get a final one after Saturday’s 12-1 victory against Konawaena at UH-Hilo, capping a disjointed, compacted comeback season with the school’s ninth consecutive title.
“It feels good now,” Keahi Hisashima said, “because missing out the best years was tough. Sometimes, you never thought it was going to come back.”
Martino took a star turn in the championship game, striking out seven in four hitless innings and shrugging off a bout of wildness. Two hit batters and an error helped the Wildcats (4-3) score an unearned run in the third, and another hit batter loaded the bases with two outs. Martino dropped his head, and coach Andy Correa strolled to the mound.
“He just told me to settle down, not to overthrow the ball and stay straight,” Martino said.
He got a called third strike to get out of the jam, and in the bottom of the inning he flared a two-out single to right to score Clemson Julian and give Kamehameha (7-0) a 4-1 lead, finishing with three hits and three runs scored.
Noah Palea, a freshman, put up two more goose eggs for a Warriors’ bullpen that never allowed a run all season, striking out the side in the sixth after allowing the Wildcats their only hit on Charlie Kuwada’s leadoff double.
Reich never got a chance to close the game out in the seventh. Kamehameha scored five runs in the fifth – Dylan Hanson, Hisashima and Martino singled to open the inning, Boston Matsu and Liwai Correa drew bases-loaded walks and singles by Yoshizumi and Justin Kubojiri scored runs – then Correa’s two-run double in the sixth ended the game.
Hisashima and Matsu each had two hits as Kamehameha finished with 12, which was seven more than Warriors pitchers allowed all season, much of it against overmatched D-II competition.
“Hammers,” Reich said of a staff that struck out more than 70 batters in 41 innings.
His players might have been too young to remember, so Andy Correa reminded them that the one time Kamehameha stubbed its toe since moving down to D-II came when BIIFs was held at UHH, a 2011 semifinal loss to Hawaii Prep.
“I let them know, last time we came to UHH, we didn’t go to states,” he said.
And with that, Kamehameha gets a chance to play at home in the state tournament for the first time since it claimed its lone title in 2016. Konawaena also has a spot in the eight-team tournament, set for May 5-7 at Wong Stadium, and Correa appreciated the Wildcats’ fight.
“They aren’t scared of anybody,” Correa said.
Taven Hiraishi pitched Konawaena to its 11th appearance in 13 state D-II tournaments with a one-hit gem Wednesday at Honokaa in the semifinals, but Hiraishi wasn’t eligible to take the mound in the final because his pitch count had exceeded 80, Correa said.
Trez Uemoto retired the side in order in the first, but a walk, a bloop single and an error opened the door to a three-run inning in the second. Matsu, the No. 9 hitter, stroked a run-scoring single, reaching in all four of his plate appearances, and a hit batter made it 3-0. Uemoto worked 4 1/3 innings, allowing four walks with three strikeouts.
Correa credited his players and their commitment for sticking it with during the pandemic and staying in baseball shape on their own. Another challenge came early in the season when the coaching staff had to get “creative” to simulate game situations during a three-week layoff between games.
That’s where the “brotherhood” – Martino and Yoshizumi each used the term – comes in.
“It’s a blessing being on this team,” Hisashima said. “Our younger guys, they’re fun. It’s fun having a last year with people I actually enjoy being around.
“That’s what helps us come to practice.”
