It comes down to one

WHATS AT STAKE: The Kaua’i Interscholastic Federation Prep Baseball Championship and the lone league berth to the Wally Yonamine Hawaii State Baseball Tournament at Les Murakami Stadium on the campus of the University of Hawaii-Manoa from May 15-18.

Kamehameha and Mid-Pacific Institute of the ILH; Aiea, Kailua, Mililani and Roosevelt of the OIA; Hilo and St. Joseph of the BIIF; and Maui and Baldwin of the MIL have already clinched ten of the available twelve spots in the tournament field, while the OIA play-offs to determine that leagues seedings and fifth and final spot are ongoing.

STORY LINE: The Menehunes got off to an 0-3 start before reeling off 10 victories in their last 11 ball games. That one loss however, came at home at the hands of the Warriors in a wild 16-13 offensive slugfest that determined the KIF first round title. Since that contest, Waimea has been on a roll and easily clinched the second round crown with a 6-0 record.

The Warriors have ridden a roller coaster of emotion all season long and have never been more than a game above or below .500 at any point. With their backs to the wall early in the season at two wins three losses, they responded with a 5-3 victory over Kaua’i to force the first round play-off series and received a bye into the title game. They later answered Leonard Zalopany’s line-drive over the Hanapepe right field fence to put the Menehunes up 9-7, with nine runs over the last three innings to own the first-half crown with a 4-3 record.

TRENDS: Team offensive statistics are quite similar- in 14 games Waimea has racked up 97 hits in 371 at bats for a .261 team batting average while the Warriors have pounded out 94 hits in 354 plate appearances for a .266 average in 13 contests. Both squads have 15 doubles and 5 home runs to their credit. What does stand out is the league leading 82 team walks received by the Menehunes (led by Jay Parinas with 16) as compared to the Kapa’a total of 49. That has contributed to an abundance of base runners that eventually found their way around the bags for a KIF-high 101 runs scored. The Warriors managed the second best team season total of 76 plated runners as of this writing.

Warrior center fielder/shortstop Kaili Panui (.447) and Menehune catcher Brandon Ishibashi (.419) will take their battle to wrest the league individual batting title away from Red Raider shortstop Scott Serizawa (19 hits in 40 chances, .475) into the championship contest. Kapa’a outfielder Rayton Bonilla is currently hitting at a .500 clip but has only 20 at bats to his credit. Bonilla, who anchors the bottom of the Warrior hitting order, additionally leads the league with an on-base percentage of .583.

Menehune leadoff man Clarence Aki (.354) has displayed some recent power with a double and triple in his past start and leads the team with 17 runs scored and 6 stolen bases. Michael Ishibashi (.385), Robin Correa (.344), Shawn Yadao (.333) and Rayson Cacal (.313) are also major contributors. Leonard Zalopany has shown flashes of power with a pair of doubles and homers to his credit and Mark Ruiz tops the squad with 4 two-baggers.

Warrior catcher Brad Wakuta (.353) and Kawai Kupihea (.375 in a limited role), help shore up the Kapa’a offense. The Wakuta twins (Brad and Tyler) share 20 RBIs while Panui has driven in a team-high 11 runs.

Waimea skipper Kui Souza utilized virtually the same basic lineup that has carried his squad to the second half title in last Wednesdays regular season 11-4 finale over Kapa’a. The Warriors, on the other hand, have fully availed themselves of the invaluable services of school athletic trainer Samantha Grant to help recover from a host of nagging injuries and illnesses that have plagued them over the course of the season and hope to be at full strength.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: It may well be what you did NOT see at last weeks finale that will decide this years championship. Both head coaches pitched players that had previously seen little or no action on the mound during the regular season but that will not be the case today. Expect Menehune ace Buddy Taniguchi (4-1, 2.65 earned run average with a fastball in the 75-80 mph range) to get the starting nod for the visitors; the Warriors will counter with either Kyle Neuberger (with his league-leading 5 wins and a 3.41 ERA), lefty Kai Lopez (21 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched) or possibly surprise Moses Punzal. Punzal pitched sparingly while he recovered from an arm injury suffered early in the season, but the big right-hander shut out the Menehunes and Raiders over 2-2/3 innings in his only stints. Coach Souza won’t be as reluctant to pull his starter should Taniguchi falter since he also has starting shortstop Clarence Aki (2-2, 3.50 ERA) available for relief duty in a pinch.

An interesting statistic to consider when the leadoff batter has gotten aboard this year, he has scored 65% of the time. Key to the game will be a teams ability to get that initial hitter out in the inning.

Another major factor will be the continued defensive excellence displayed at the catching position when the game is on the line. All three KIF teams benefited from the stellar ability of their defensive backstops to contain errant deliveries in crucial situations.

The weather may play a part if the expected squall passes through the area, as any strong winds tend to blow in from the ocean and out to left. The only homers to leave the Ron Martin Field this season have been over the left field fence.

Expect a closer ball game than the last time these two met as both active managerial staffs jockey for advantage. Top-notch crew chief Mark Taylor takes up station behind the plate and base umpires Gordon Bonilla and Gene Padilla round out the officiating crew.

The possibility of bad weather shouldnt dampen the play-off atmosphere as the two teams each enjoy a large enthusiastic vocal backing.

Exuberant fans have only to hear the two magic words, “Play ball”!