Kapaa High School’s varsity baseball team lost in the semifinals of the 2018 Wally Yonamine Foundation Baseball State Championships–Division II tournament.
The No. 3 seeded Warriors of the Kauai Interscholastic Federation lost to Radford of the Oahu Interscholastic Association, 3-2, in eight innings Thursday afternoon at the Les Murakami Stadium in Honolulu.
“We couldn’t string the hits like we normally do. That pitcher did a good job against us. He mixed it up well,” said Kapaa head coach Bryan Aiwohi in a phone interview Thursday.
“We were hitting line drives right at guys. We were hitting ground balls and popping up,” he added. “We weren’t getting the base hits.”
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Radford walked off to advance to the Division II championship game. With the bases loaded, Warriors relief pitcher Ka’eo Kamau walked Rams designated hitter DJ Kabua to plate the game-winning run.
“I told the boys these things happen. You got to try and rise to occasion, and we did. We were down, and we got back up,” Aiwohi said. “We fought well. I was happy with the way the boys fought. The second round (of the KIF season) was like that. We were behind against Waimea twice, and we came back to beat them. We were behind against Kauai High, and we came back to beat them. They know what it’s like to come back, and they have the confidence to do it. They just couldn’t do it today.”
Kapaa got two runs on three hits and recorded one error. Warriors second baseman Kade Kupihea was 1-3 and scored two runs.
Kupihea also pitched in relief and took the loss. In 5.6 innings, Kupihea allowed two runs on three hits and had two strikeouts and six walks.
Warriors starting pitcher Nainoa Cardinez went two innings and allowed one run on zero hits and had one strikeout and two walks.
“There were times in the game where we weren’t at our best,” Aiwohi said. “We had to battle back. We started Cardinez, but he couldn’t get it going. We put in Kupihea, and he carried us the rest of the way. He did a pretty good job (until) he maxed out.”
Radford had three runs on three hits and recorded one error. Rams center fielder Damon Nelson was 1-3 and scored two runs.
Radford starting pitcher Richard Akana got the win. In an eight-inning complete game, he allowed two runs on three hits and had three strikeouts and one walk.
Kapaa (12-4, 1-1 HHSAA) will play for third place at 11 a.m. today against Farrington of the OIA at Les Murakami Stadium.
“We’re going to give Cardinez another shot at it, because he’s still got pitches left,” Aiwohi said. “We’re still going to treat it like a championship game and try to go out a winner for our seniors.”
Radford will play against Damien Memorial of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu in the Division II championship game at 4 p.m. today at Les Murakami Stadium. Damien defeated Farrington in the other D2 semifinal game Thursday, 8-3.
Information from Hawaii High School Athletic Association and ScoringLive.
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Nick Celario, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or ncelario@thegardenisland.com.
