LIHU‘E — Micah Furtado slammed a two-run homer in the second inning against the Keaukaha Warriors of the Big Island, Sunday. That shot gave Hanapepe a 7-4 lead in the battle for third place at the 75th Annual Americans of
LIHU‘E — Micah Furtado slammed a two-run homer in the second inning against the Keaukaha Warriors of the Big Island, Sunday.
That shot gave Hanapepe a 7-4 lead in the battle for third place at the 75th Annual Americans of Japanese Ancestry State Baseball Tournament at Vidinha Stadium.
But an RBI single by Troy Fujii in the fourth frame knotted the game, 9-9 and a two-RBI shot from Mark Veneri pushed Keaukaha up 11-9 en route to a 12-9 win for third place.
The Kaua‘i AJA Association played a perfect host, accepting its fourth place berth after dropping the opener, 16-6 against the Maui Daimyo on Saturday, the opening day of the tournament.
The O‘ahu All-Stars, comprised largely of players from the Wai‘alae team, including centerfielder Ken Morimoto who has Kaua‘i roots, came with its bat bags overflowing.
O‘ahu, working behind the hitting and play of Chad Itokazu who was awarded the tournament’s Batting Champion at .600 and the tournament Most Valuable Player, clinched the state title behind a 19-3 win over the Maui Daimyo, Sunday.
On Saturday, O‘ahu pounded out a 9-4 win over the Big Island AJA all-stars.
Behind Itokazu, Thad Estrada of the Big Island team was awarded the RBI Champion with seven runs and the Daimyo went home with the Mayor’s Cup for earning the runner-up spot. O‘ahu accepted the Governor’s Cup for nailing the championship, ending its Kaua‘i stay 2-0.
Kaua‘i AJA honored the father-son pitcher-catcher duo of Mel Chiba and Ichiro Chiba of the Makaweli Indians, Mel being inserted into the action when he was a sophomore at Waimea High School.
Today, Mel serves as President and CEO for the Kaua‘i Community Federal Credit Union.
Tom Shigemoto, president of the Kaua‘i AJA, also serves as the Hawai‘i State AJA. First vice president is Royden Okunami, Neal Fujiwara serves as second vice president. Shaun Ushijima is third vice president, Russell Maeda is the state treasurer and Gerald Ako is the state secretary.
