All Kai Perreira-Alquiza wanted was a strong finish.
Hitless in his three previous at-bats, the senior catcher blasted a three-run homer in the top of the seventh inning, breaking a tie as Saint Louis stunned Kamehameha 8-5 on Tuesday night to capture the Interscholastic League of Honolulu baseball tournament title.
The Crusaders will meet regular-season winner Kamehameha on Thursday for the ILH championship. Both teams have already sealed state-tournament berths, but Thursday’s winner will earn a first-round bye in the state tourney.
It was fitting that their senior catcher came through with the biggest hit of the season so far.
“He just signed to play for HPU. He went home to Kauai over the weekend and signed his letter of intent at his auntie’s restaurant,” Crusaders coach George Gusman said. “He doesn’t talk about it. He’s a humble young man.”
Perreira-Alquiza’s clutch hit was more than surprising. It came off Kamehameha’s second pitcher, Christian DeJesus, who had struck out eight Crusaders in 22⁄3 innings, including four in the top of the sixth.
By the seventh, however, the fireballing sophomore had already thrown 59 pitches. D.J. Stephens and Matthew Wong singled, and after DeJesus struck out Charles Lopez, Perreira-Alquiza had the count at 1-1 when he found a pitch he liked.
“I feel electric,” Perreira-Alquiza said. “His first two pitches were curves. I just waited for that fastball to come and it flew out. It was inside-high.”
Dylan Lum, who had put out a major fire in the bottom of the sixth inning after taking over for Chase Meilleur, put the finishing touches on the Crusaders’ title win. He struck out Nakea Hanohano, hit Kalamaku Kuewa, then struck out Wilhelm Cordes IV and Dylan Salcedo to end the game and earn the win.
“We’ve never felt like we were going to be eliminated,” Gusman said. “We just feel like we want to win the ILH championship.”
The Warriors struck early with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. After Logan Salcedo singled and was thrown out on a steal attempt, Nakea Hanohano tripled to right and scored on Kalamaku Kuewa’s single to left. After Cordes and Dylan Salcedo walked to load the bases, Li‘i Pontes drilled a single to center, scoring Kuewa and Cordes.
Kamehameha starting pitcher Kamahao Arita had two scoreless innings without allowing a hit. Then came a four-run third inning by the Crusaders. Makana Ontai singled with one out and Dylan Pagente walked with two outs, and when Stephens singled to center, Ontai scored Saint Louis’ first run.
Cleanup hitter Wong then socked a double to left, plating Pagente. Lopez then singled, scoring Stephens and Wong to give Saint Louis a 4-3 lead.
In the top of the fourth, Aaron Renaud led off with a single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hunter Peneueta, and went to third on an infield single by Ontai. Keith Torres’ sacrifice fly to deep center brought Renaud home, giving the Crusaders a two-run cushion.
The Warriors responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 5. Francis Gora singled with one out, and Kawai Takemura singled with two outs. Logan Salcedo then doubled to right center, scoring the two runners.
In the fifth, DeJesus took the mound, replacing Arita. The fire-balling right-hander overcame two errors by his defense, striking out Kai Perreira-Alquiza with a runner on third to end the threat. In the sixth, he struck out Ontai for what should’ve been the third out, but the pitch was in the dirt as Ontai swung. Catcher Dylan Salcedo’s throw to first sailed over the first baseman, Pontes, and Ontai was on base. Ontai stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After Torres walked and stole second base unchallenged, DeJesus struck out Pagente to end the threat.
In the fifth and six frames, DeJesus recorded six strikeouts, including four in the latter. He also threw 59 pitches.
In the bottom of the sixth, Meilleur hit pinch hitter Micah Kinoshita with a pitch. After Gora’s sacrifice bunt, pinch hitter Chase Miyasato’s grounder up the middle was muffed by the shortstop, Torres. Dylan Lum took over for Meilleur with runners at the corners. Lum retired Takemura on a bunt pop-up, then got Logan Salcedo to ground back to the mound, ending the threat.
In the top of the seventh, the Crusaders reached DeJesus at the plate. DeJesus led off with a single to right and Wong sent a 1-2 pitch to left for a single. DeJesus reared back and struck out Lopez, who was unable to put down a sacrifice bunt. Then came Perreira-Alquiza, who had been hitless in three previous at-bats.
