Kailua not satisfied after wrapping up East title

Even with the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East Division wrapped up, there’s still some work yet to be done for Kea Vierra and the Kailua Surfriders.

The sixth-ranked Surfriders pounded out 13 hits to emphatically put first in the East out of reach for the No. 8 Kaiser baseball team in a 13-3, mercy-ruled blowout on Friday at Kailua.

Vierra, one of nine Kailua seniors playing his last home game, was happy but unsatisfied, even after his 2-for-4, two-RBI outing — with an outstanding defensive play at catcher to boot — helped Kailua lock up the East regular-season title.

“I feel confident, but yet we have a lot of things to work on,” Vierra said as giddy teammates doused each other with water jugs. “Better practices, better hustle. We still need to come together as a team. It’s getting there, but we’re still not peaking yet. Hopefully we peak at the right time.”

Kailua (10-1) and Kaiser (8-3) meet again on Monday to complete a game that was shortened by darkness on Thursday. Kailua leads that one 11-4 in the bottom of the sixth; the Cougars have six outs left to rally and secure the East’s No. 2 playoff seed, which includes a first-round bye.

“That’s a good team, a good-hitting team,” Kaiser coach Mark Rasmussen said of Kailua. “(To counter on Monday) our pitchers, they’ve gotta change speeds and hit spots. We kind of know how to get them out, but we’ve got to get the ball there. But these guys are a good-hitting team. You make a mistake, and you’re going to pay for it.”

The Cougars racked up quite the bill on Friday. Kaiser briefly enjoyed a lead at 3-2 in the second, when it chased Surfriders starter Bryce Ah Sam. But the raucous hosts responded with force in the bottom of the frame, as Kailua batted around to score six times. Left fielder Elijah Davidann highlighted the spree with a two-RBI double as part of his 3-for-4, three-RBI game.

Kailua batted around again in the fourth, adding five runs, capped off with Kila Zuttermeister’s two-RBI rip up the middle that put the hosts up by double digits.

“I’m glad that our bats are starting to come around slowly,” Kailua coach Corey Ishigo said. “I think 1 through 9 each contributed in some way today, offensively. I like to see that.

“The last couple games, I think, it’s been a start of what we’ve been trying to do the whole year.”

Kaiser got two of its four hits in the top of the fifth, but Kahaku Iaea — the last of four Kailua pitchers — got out of it to complete his team’s mercy-ruled win.

Vierra got the last out of the third with an impressive catch of Andy Verke Jr.’s high-hit foul-out while sliding into the backstop.

“I left it up to God. He gave me the reaction skills to do that,” Vierra said, grinning.

Austyn Nagamine delivered a home run in the second inning as Na Menehune blanked the Rough Riders.
Roosevelt’s Brandon Ikeda pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts, but it wasn’t enough to defeat Moanalua. Nolan Kometani picked up the win on the mound.

Chaz Kobayashi stroked a two-run triple to spark a five-run, fifth-inning rally as the Knights clipped the Falcons.

The Chargers routed the Hurricanes with Sean Milan on the mound.
Pearl City’s Tanner Tokunaga went 3-for-3 in the win and scored two runs.

The Sabers held onto a slim lead to defeat the Mules.
Campbell’s Jasten Smeigh pitched a complete game for the win.

The Trojans racked up a four-run rally in the seventh inning to upset Na Alii.
Ekolu Ramos went 4-for-4 at the plate with a double and two RBIs for Mililani.
Aiea’s Kaulana Wong struck out seven batters in the loss.

Matthew Lee and Joe Whiting were each 3-for-5 to power the Mustangs over the Tigers.

Sophomore left-hander Dylan Sugimoto spun a comlete-game three-hitter, and Drake Yoshioka was 3-for-4 with three RBIs as the Marauders thumped the Rams in their showdown.

Jason Rosen had an RBI triple and Zak Muenster an RBI double in a three-run fifth inning as the Buffanblu beat the Monarchs.