Trenton Darley didn’t have his complete arsenal, but he made do with what he had just fine.
The senior right-hander struck out seven over five innings as No. 2 Pearl City fended off No. 5 Mililani 7-4 on Wednesday night at Hans L’Orange Park.
The Chargers improved to 11-0 in the OIA West. Mililani dropped to 9-3.
“It’s a win and I’m happy with that,” Pearl City coach Gavin Concepcion said. “It’s a good win for us, but we’re not there yet. Both teams didn’t play their best.”
Darley struck out the side in the first inning and then retired Aris Nakagawa in the top of the second to record four strikeouts in a row. His fastball popped, but he missed high and low at times, walking five.
“I could really rely on my fastball. I couldn’t get my off-speed pitches over, but our coaches always rely on the fastball and get downhill,” said Darley, who threw 112 pitches.
“It’s a trust issue for him,” Concepcion said. “He can throw his curve for strikes.”
Meanwhile, the Chargers benefitted from some uncharacteristic fielding boo-boos by the Trojans, who committed three errors. Those botches allowed Pearl City to score four unearned runs.
“Sometimes, we’re our own worst enemy,” Mililani coach Mark Hirayama said. “We need to do a better job of making plays and getting quality at-bats. Darley has quick arm action and we needed to cut our swings down.”
Pearl City got on the scoreboard in the third inning with three runs off Mililani starter Brennan Anzai and reliever Keolu Ramos. Colby Hirano led off with a walk, and Sam Prentice (2-for-3, two RBIs) followed with a walk against Ramos. Davin Kapuras laid down a sacrifice bunt that Ramos turned into a throwing error, allowing Hirano and Prentice to score for a 2-0 Chargers lead.
Matt Yokota smacked a single to left, scoring Kapuras, who had reached third base, for a three-run cushion.
Mililani’s throng of about 100 fans got to cheer in the top of the fourth. Nakagawa led off with a single to center and came home on a two-out triple to left-center by Ramos, cutting the lead to 3-1.
The Chargers added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth, taking advantage of another error. Keanu Nicholson reached base on a one-out throwing error by Trojans shortstop Blaine DeMello. After Matt Aribal and Hirano walked, courtesy runner Ernest-Joshua Kam raced home on a wild pitch by Ramos for a 4-1 lead.
Prentice socked a double to right, scoring Aribal and Hirano for a six-run margin.
The lead was still 6-1 entering the top of the sixth when Darley gave up a double to Ryan Kono, hit Hunter Kirihara with a pitch and walked Ramos. Reliever Carson Okada walked pinch hitter Lucas Aribon, but also uncorked wild pitches that permitted Kono and Kirihara to score. On the second wild pitch, the catcher, Nicholson, fired to third base in an attempt to nail baserunner Koa Eastlack. However, the ball glanced off the glove of Kapuras, the third baseman, and Eastlack came home to score. That cut the score to 6-4.
Pearl City’s third pitcher, Treston Nakamura, got Rico Sallas to line into a 5-4 double play, ending the inning.
A throwing error by Eastlack, Mililani’s fourth pitcher, on a bunt attempt by Aribal, led off the bottom of the sixth. Aribal later scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Kapuras for a 7-4 lead.
Mililani got a one-out triple by Kaimana Souza-Paaluhi in the top of the seventh, but Nakamura struck out Nakagawa and Kono grounded to third, ending the game.