Riley Tanimura scored on a sacrifice fly by Kekoa Lima in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a tie and lift Roosevelt over Waianae 6-5 on Wednesday in the opening round of the OIA Division I baseball playoffs at Stevenson Middle School field.
Ace Hiram Kaikaina went the distance, striking out nine and walking just one in a gritty win. He bore through the struggle, finishing strong after losing a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning.
“My team was going to pick me up,” he said. “We had hard ‘D’ today.”
Waianae’s Tevita Lalau threw a steady game, keeping his team in it as best he could. Four errors, however, including one by Lalau in the sixth inning, made the challenge tougher.
Rylan Terakawa, a freshman second baseman, reached base with one out on a single to left. Pinch runner Riley Tanimura took his place. Jared Yamashiro sent a mini blooper past the mound. Lalau rushed his throw, missing first baseman Thomas Kaauwai, allowing Tanimura to reach third base. Lima then hit a fly ball to right, plating Tanimura with the go-ahead run for a 6-5 lead.
Kaikaina then retired Waianae 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh to end the game.
The Rough Riders (7-5) advanced to today’s quarterfinals, where they will meet the best of the West Division, unbeaten Pearl City. Waianae’s season is done.
Seariders assistant coach Bernard Beaver was thrilled with his team’s comeback, but the four miscues were unexpected.
“It’s just not taking care of the ball early on in the game. That’s baseball. Our guys work hard and they deserve more, but not if you don’t care of the ball,” he said. Roosevelt coach A.D. Mols has relied on a mix of youth and experience.
“Hiram has been solid all year with his pitching and hitting. We’ve been in tight games. We had three walk-off games in a row,” Mols said. “We just rely on our defense and pitching.”
Waianae appeared to have Kaikaina on the ropes in the fourth. Kaleo Chun and Braiden Ayala singled, and Rico Rosario followed with a single to left, scoring Chun. With one out, Iokepa Kaaunai grounded to third, where Zack Harano played the ball and tried to tag Ayala, who was running from second to third. Ayala was called safe at third, and the bases were loaded. Thomas Kaaunai then dropped a perfect squeeze bunt, reaching first base easily as Ayala slid home safely with Waianae’s second run.
Colt Nash-Santiago then ripped a full-count triple to left-center, clearing the bases to tie the game at 5. Kaikaina retired Austin Keliinoi-Westbrook and Lalau to escape further damage.
With the game tied at 5, Waianae had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the sixth. Chun singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ayala and then stole third as Kaikaina eyed home plate. When Rosario hit a grounder to first, Shayne Cazinha rifled the ball across the diamond to Harano, who tagged Chun off third base for the second out, effectively ending the threat.
