HANAPEPE — In its doubleheader Saturday, the Kapa‘a High School Warriors came from behind in both games to sweep the Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders at Hanapepe Stadium. The games were moved from Vidinha Stadium due to poor field conditions.
HANAPEPE — In its doubleheader Saturday, the Kapa‘a High School Warriors came from behind in both games to sweep the Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders at Hanapepe Stadium. The games were moved from Vidinha Stadium due to poor field conditions.
In game one, the Warriors found themselves down by one heading into the sixth inning, until a trio of base knocks from Kapa‘a and poor Red Raider defense would enable the Warriors to net two runs to take a 2-1 lead. The Warriors would add one more run in the seventh off of the bat of A.J. Cummings, who laced a triple down the right field line, which Robert Soares scored and gave Kapa‘a the 3-1 win.
Game two, had a very different feel. In the bottom of the fourth, Cal Koga would get himself on base with a single. A batter later, Tyler Manibog drove a double into the gap, which gave the Red Raiders runners at second and third with one out.
Two pitches later, Head Coach Ryden Domingsel opted to go with small ball and had Pono Bukoski lay down a perfect squeeze-bunt, which got the Red Raiders on the board first. That was followed by a clutch two-out double from John Dumlao, which scored Manibog and gave Kaua‘i a commanding 2-0 lead.
Kaua‘i seemed to have the game in control, but the Warriors had a bigger answer planned in the top of the fifth.
Kaua‘i starter Dreyke Smith-Butac got the first batter to pop out. He then hit pinch-hitter D.J. Lacaden, and the Red Raiders decided to hand the ball to Shane Ogata. Ogata got Matthew Schmidt to ground out while moving Lacaden to second.
With two outs, Kapa‘a’s offense would wake from its slumber. Cummings came up big again connecting for a single, which put runners on first and third. Chaz Pacleb put the Warriors on the board thanks to a Red Raider error, which put runners on first and second with Kapa‘a down 2-1.
Cummings went a combined 3-for-6 in both games with an RBI and a walk.
Rashan Kuhaulua and Keola Lutz both singled, which drove in both Cummings and Pacleb and put Kapa‘a up 3-2. After a Tommy Stern single, Kaua‘i’s defense faltered, this time with the bases loaded. A fielding error allowed another run to come across leaving the score 4-2.
Lutz by far had the biggest day at the plate for the Warriors finishing a combined 4 for 6 with two doubles and two RBIs. Lutz is hitting an impressive .429 on the year.
At that point it was Kapa‘a’s game to lose, and Head Coach Bryan Aiwohi’s scrappy bunch would never relinquish control of the game.
“Finally the bats woke up. That was the good part about it,” Aiwohi said. “I told them hitting and scoring runs will fix anything. That’s what we believe, and that’s what we have been stressing.”
A Pacleb and Lutz single in the top of the sixth would put the Warriors out in front 6-2, which is how the game would end.
Kuhaulua, coming off a relief appearance in game one, threw a complete six innings and gave up two runs while striking out nine batters and walking one in a game which ended after six innings due to lack of light.
“(Kuhaulua) struggled in the one inning,” Aiwohi said. “But we knew what he can do, and the pitching coach made some adjustments, and he was right back where he needed to be.”
Kuhaulua has been impressive all season and the numbers don’t lie. Kuhaulua has given up four runs in nearly 18 innings, for a 1.19 ERA with 22 strikeouts and just four walks.
Kapa‘a’s offense has been streaky this season. In both games Saturday it struggled early on with very few hits. Like in most of the season, when its offense wakes up, it can get very hot and string together hits.
“We try and teach the boys to go up to the plate and have a plan.” Aiwohi said. “You are not up there just trying to walk, just have a plan up there.”
Game two was in the hands of the Red Raiders, but the game slipped away, a familiar pattern for the Raiders. Kaua‘i now falls to a dismal 0-6 and have virtually killed any hope of competing for a KIF title.
“We kind of fell apart. In the fifth inning, when we have leads, we give them free outs and they capitalized on it,” Domingsel said. “All we can do now is re-focus and let this first round go and battle in the second.”
Kaua‘i now has a week to reassess and prepare for the second half of the season, in search of its first win.
Kapa‘a doesn’t have much time to savor its victories, as it must prepare for possibly the most important game of the season against the Waimea Menehune in Kapa‘a Tuesday.
The Menehune are 5-0, while the Warriors are now 3-2.
• Rick Killeen, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or sports@thegardenisland.com.
