HILO — The Waimea High School baseball team came close, but was overpowered by the Damien Monarchs Saturday night at the Wally Yonamine Foundation Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Division II state baseball championships contested at Francis Wong Stadium in Hilo.
HILO — The Waimea High School baseball team came close, but was overpowered by the Damien Monarchs Saturday night at the Wally Yonamine Foundation Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Division II state baseball championships contested at Francis Wong Stadium in Hilo.
The Monarchs pounded out 10 runs in the first inning and held on to win 10-5 behind 10 hits to capture the D2 trophy. Waimea’s runs came behind 13 hits.
Waimea opened strong with two runs, but Damien came back to capitalize on the Menehune by scoring all of its 10 runs in the first inning, leaving the Menehune on the catch-up bus. They scored a run in the fifth, and its final pair of runs in the seventh.
Tresten Shigematsu, showing a strong bat by tripling in his opening at-bat, was strapped for the loss on the mound by giving up eight runs on three hits while walking three Monarchs and hitting two batters in a marathon first inning.
He finished by scoring one of Waimea’s five runs, nailing three hits and driving in one. Anson Lazaro, Shigematsu’s relief on the mound, also had three hits with two RBI.
On the mound, Lazaro worked six innings, giving up seven hits for two runs while striking out five Damien hitters and walking two.
Both Shigematsu and Lazaro were named to the DII All-Tournament team along with Menehune catcher Kade Erdman, who finished the championship game with one hit and an RBI (in the top of the seventh inning where Waimea could come up with just two runs on five hits, leaving two runners stranded).
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
