OIA White baseball champion Waianae has many strengths, but none was as important as the bottom of its batting order on Tuesday.
Jerzey Ramento-Acosta went 4-for-4 from the No. 8 spot and combined with Niko Kala-Mahiai before him and Dayson Bailey after him to score seven runs in the Seariders’ 12-2 win over Radford at Waianae for their second straight White championship.
In all, the bottom third of the order reached base nine of the 12 times they came up, although two of them came on Radford errors. They had five hits and allowed leadoff hitter Chasetin Nash Santiago to drive in three runs and Darion Domingo to plate two more from the No. 3 spot.
"It’s not the bottom of the lineup, it’s the whole lineup," Ramento-Acosta said. "We just knew we had to spark our fire and push harder, dig deep and score more runs. This feels good because we practice hard every day, we work so hard, but the big thing is states."
Ramento-Acosta’s first hit drove in his team’s second run, blooping a double just over the third baseman’s head into left field. His second hit scored two with a sharp single to left and his third was a leadoff single deep in the hole to short. He completed his big day with another sharp ground ball that took a huge hop on his home field over the third baseman’s head.
He said he didn’t see how lucky any of the hits were; his head was down and he was just trying to make it to first base. That kind of focus helped him shut down Nanakuli from the mound in the first round of the tournament, and beat Radford 10-0 in the regular-season meeting between the teams.
"He is actually one of our top pitchers, too," Waianae coach Kekoa Kaluhiokalani said. "He is a real solid hitter, real disciplined and he works so hard."
The Seariders, who made no secret of their desire to be in the OIA Red (Division I), steamrolled through the Division II White this year to repeat as champions. They scored at least seven runs in each game and allowed more than three only once, an 8-7 loss to Nanakuli for their only blemish. They outscored opponents 216-20 this year, but still have some unfinished business after being bounced out of the state tournament by Kamehameha-Hawaii last year.
"We didn’t get it done last year," Kaluhiokalani said. "States is the biggest goal, but this White championship is something that nobody can take away from them. They worked hard for it."
Radford hung tough with the Seariders, scoring two runs to tie it in the top of the third, but two errors in the fourth allowed Waianae to blow it open with four runs. The Seariders added two more in the fifth and ended the game in the sixth when Nash Santiago blasted a ball to the fence in center field and probably could have run around the bases all day but his teammates stopped him by flooding the field as soon as he touched first.
Radford struggled against Waianae starter Kekoa Kaluhiokalani Jr. in all but one inning, and the Rams ran themselves out of that one on a botched squeeze play that turned into an inning-ending double play. They also committed five errors.
| at Waianae |
| Radford (11-2) |
002 |
000 |
— |
2 |
4 |
5 |
| Waianae (12-1) |
111 |
522 |
— |
12 |
12 |
1 |
Landyn Bartness, Marc Tejada (4), Jacob Nishitomi (5) and Dominic Albalos. Kekoa Kaluhiokalani and Darion Domingo. W–Kaluhiokalani. L–Bartness.
Leading hitters–Rad: none. Wain: Domingo 3-4, 3B, R, 2 RBI; Jerzey Ramento-Acosta 4-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI.
OIA THIRD-PLACE GAME
Nanakuli 14, Waialua 10, 8 inn.
Ronson Vea went 4-for-4 and the Golden Hawks scored eight runs in the eighth to beat the Bulldogs.
| At Waialua |
| Nanakuli (10-4) |
210 |
102 |
08 |
— |
14 |
15 |
2 |
| Waialua (9-5) |
002 |
100 |
34 |
— |
10 |
12 |
2 |
Brayden Ramaila, Josh Lincoln (7) and Lawrence Tokioka. Joshua Muniz, Caelan Alejandro (4), Taleon Lele (6), Mila Lele (8) and Kebi Dellatan. W–Lincoln. L–T. Lele.
Leading hitters–Nan: Ronson Vea 4-4, RBI; Lincoln 3-5, 2 3bs, 2b; Noah Lono-Soares 2-3, 2b; Kahekili Barrozzo 2-4, 2b, 3b; Ramaila 3b; Tokioka 3b. Wail: Muniz 2-5, 2b; Dellatan 2-5; Alejandro 2-4; Branigan Lee 3b; Ryan Ramos 2-4, 2b; T. Lele HR, 2 RBIs.
MIL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Baldwin 6, Maui 4
The Bears beat the Sabers to win the overall Maui Interscholastic League title and earn the league’s seeded berth in the state tournament. Maui beat regular-season champion Baldwin Monday for the tournament title, forcing a playoff.
BIIF
Kamehameha-Hawaii 5, Hawaii Prep 2
