Kapa‘a — Although the Kaua‘i Red Raiders had already clinched the first round of the KIF baseball season, Jensen Koga played like the Raiders were battling for the season. Koga had two hits and doubled in the go-ahead run in
Kapa‘a — Although the Kaua‘i Red Raiders had already clinched the first round of the KIF baseball season, Jensen Koga played like the Raiders were battling for the season.
Koga had two hits and doubled in the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning to give the Red Raiders an 8-7 extra-inning win over the Kapa‘a Warriors Wednesday afternoon at Ron Martin Field in Kapa‘a.
Erin Doi picked up the win for the Raiders in relief of starter Cal Koga.
The win improved the Raiders’ KIF record to 5-1, easily clinching the first round of the KIF. The loss dropped the Warriors record to 1-5. The Waimea Menehune finished in the middle of the pack with a 3-3 record.
The Warriors looked to start strong after countering a Kaua‘i run in the top of the first with three of their own in the bottom of the inning. But the Red Raiders tied the game in the third inning with three consecutive singles by Austin Oshiro, Doi and Cody Juarez. The third hit brought in the first two runners to even the score. The Raiders took the lead in the fourth with a Jensen Koga sacrifice fly and tacked on the lead in the fifth with three runs, highlighted by a two-RBI Nicholas Vallatini triple.
Not to be outdone, the Warriors countered in the bottom of the inning with four runs of their own. Bronson Aiwohi singled in a run, Mick Voigt doubled in another and was followed by a run-scorring Grant Mitchell fielder’s choice and a Chaz Pacleb RBI single to tie the score at 7-7.
After a scoreless seventh inning, Kellen Aquino was hit by a pitch with one out to put a runner on first for the Red Raiders. The next batter, Dreyke Smith-Butac, drove a ball into the rightfield gap for a triple. But the excellent Kapa‘a relay attempt caught Aquino at the plate to prevent the go-ahead run.
The Kapa‘a good fortune didn’t last long, as the next batter, Jensen Koga, drilled a sharp liner into right field for the run-scoring double.
The Warriors put runners on first and second with one-out in the bottom of the inning, but the game ended when Kalen Iwai grounded into a double play.
With the first round over, there will be no game played on Saturday. The first game of round two will be on April 7 when the Menehune visit the Red Raiders for a doubleheader at Vidinha Stadium.
