Red Raiders advance to championship game

WAIPAHU — The Kaua‘i Red Raiders advanced to the HHSAA Division II Championship game by defeating the Molokai Farmers 12-2 on Friday at Hans L’Orange Field in Waipahu. They will take on the winner of the St. Anthony-Maryknoll contest in the title game today at 4 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.

Kaua‘i’s semifinal contest was called after five innings when Kaua‘i was ahead by 10 runs, resulting in the victory.

The Red Raiders got off to a strong start, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Travis Koga had a two-run single to give Kaua‘i a 3-0 lead and Lanan Rice-Kashima followed with an RBI single.

That was all the scoring that starting pitcher Jensen Koga would need as he went three innings, giving up just two unearned runs on two hits while striking out five to earn the victory.

Shea Shimabukuro and Jordan Leanio pitched the final two innings without surrendering a run. Leanio struck out three Farmers in 1.1 innings of work and finished the game in style, striking out the final two Molokai hitters.

The Red Raiders never let up, even after taking a commanding 7-0 lead in the third inning. They actually had a chance to do further damage but left the bases loaded in that frame.

They tacked on another run in the fourth and plated four in the fifth. When Molokai failed to bring a runner home in the bottom of the fifth, the 10-run rule came into effect and Kaua‘i was just a win away from a state title.

Leading the offensive attack were right-fielder Dustin Prem, center-fielder Rysan Sakamoto, first-baseman Dalston Miyasato and catcher Rice-Kashima, each with two hits on the day.

The Red Raiders had 13 hits as a team.

Rice-Kashima had three RBIs and Sakamoto scored three runs, each team-highs.

Molokai scattered just four hits in the contest and left seven runners on base. Its two runs scored came on a pair of errors in the bottom of the third.