LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i High School baseball suffered its first loss of the 2023 Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation baseball season, when the Red Raiders split its doubleheader with the Kapa‘a High School Warriors at the Ron Martin field on Saturday, according to information from ScoringLive.com.
Earlier in the week, Waimea High School pitcher Zyden Vea threw a two-hitter to hold Island School to just four runs in the Menehune’s 17-4 win at Vidinha Stadium on Friday.
Waimea went on to take the nightcap with a 2-1 edge over the Voyagers with a tie-breaking run in the fifth inning.
Facing a 4-0 deficit in the opener of the doubleheader on Saturday, Kaua‘i pushed its sole run across the plate in the fourth inning bef0re Kapa‘a closed the door with a run in the fifth frame. The Red Raiders, despite showing just one run, were in the thick of things, as Kaua‘i whacked seven hits compared with the Warriors’ eight hits for five runs.
Zaeden Tupou had the hot bat for Kapa‘a in the win, scoring once, smacking two hits with a run batted in. Shayden Yamaguchi scored twice on a double, Makoa Chong had two hits, Rylan Yamaguchi had a hit with 1 RBI along with Canaan Coleman.
Zeke Bukoski marked three hits, including a double to lead the Raiders bats with Joshua Rego finishing with two hits. Racen Pegedor scored once and finished with a hit.
Kaua‘i rebounded in the nightcap to take a 6-4 win over Kapa‘a by driving three runs across the plate in the sixth inning. Kapa‘a answered with just one run in the home half of the inning, finishing the contest with four runs on five hits.
Austin Renaud, whacking a triple, and Pegedor each marked two hits, and a run apiece in the Raiders’ win that came on nine hits. Other Raiders marking hits included Rego, Haka Bukoski, Zeke Bukoski, Evan Batalucco, Aukai Arruda, and Radon Sebastian.
Waimea’s Noah Delanoza topped the hitting in the Menehune’s 17-4 victory that came on 14 hits. Delanoza whacked three hits, scored four times, and marked a pair of RBI. Robbie Correa followed with a hit and three RBIs. Tysen Haumea, scoring once, finished with two hits and 2 RBIs. Kody Erdman scored twice, had a hit with an RBI.
Xailer Duarte and Blake Braun each marked a hit and an RBI apiece for Island School.
Erdman and Kalai Philips topped the Menehune’s nightcap with a hit and an RBI apiece to lead the 2-1 edge that came on three Waimea hits. Vea, the winning pitcher with just two hits allowed, had the third Menehune hit.
Kameron Lee topped the Voyager lumberyard by scoring once and nailing a hit. Canaan Bowen finished with a hit and an RBI, and Andy Anderson marked a Voyager hit.
Kaua‘i High School hosts Waimea on Friday at Vidinha Stadium as the KIF continues its Round 2 play. The first pitch goes at 4 p.m. Island School will visit Kapa‘a High School at Ron Martin field on Saturday with the first pitch of a doubleheader going at 9 a.m.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
