Exciting for fans. Excruciating for the coaches.
Aiea’s Kobe Kato ended a topsy-turvy game with a one-out, bases-loaded, line-drive single to right to score Ethan Bautista in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 5-4 victory over Mililani on Saturday.
The Trojans blew a 3-0 lead after four innings in the Oahu Interscholastic Association West baseball loss at Central Oahu Regional Park.
Kato, a right-hander, threw some heat mixed with nasty curves in pitching the final four innings in relief of Ty Matsunami for the win.
Noa Obara and Matsunami started the winning extra-inning rally with hard infield hits and Chase Ling walked to load the sacks. Up to the plate stepped Kato — who was named after former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and who is getting looks from major league scouts — and he pulled through in the clutch.
“I was just confident that I was going to get something I wanted and get the job done,” said Kato, the son of coach Ryan Kato. “Mililani is a really good team. I give them a lot of credit. It was a tight game and it’s always close with them, so it felt really good.”
Kato came in to pitch in the middle of the fifth with a three-run deficit, and soon thereafter his team worked like bandits. Na Alii went ahead 4-3 with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, thanks in part to two Trojans errors, and two more in the sixth on two hit batsmen and Ling’s dramatic two-RBI single.
“We’re getting better,” coach Kato said. “It’s a work in progress. We’re working very hard offensively because I think that’s our weak point. We’re very sound defensively. We can play catch and the pitchers are usually around the plate.”
The error bug caught up to Na Alii, though, and two miscues led to Mililani’s tying run for a 4-4 count in the sixth.
Kato, who finished with six strikeouts, was at the top of his game in the top of the seventh when the Trojans threatened big-time. With runners on first and third and one out, he struck out the last two batters to put out the fire. Mililani also put two runners on in the eighth, but couldn’t get them home.
“We’ve got to make the routine plays in that position,” Trojans coach Mark Hirayama said about the two errors that allowed Aiea to get back in it and the two hit batters that helped Na Alii go ahead. “We changed pitchers. Ethan (Muller, the starter) started to throw a little too much. We weren’t really efficient. We beaned a couple of guys and things fell in after that and they scored some runs. We gotta be better on the mound when we have a lead. It’s a command thing.”
Dane Little, the third of five Trojans pitchers, took the loss.
Mililani had been sailing along, taking a 2-0 lead in the third on Austin Dela Cruz’s double and RBI hits by Zach Iafata and Korrey Siracusa. Noah Domogsac made it 3-0 in the fifth with a sacrifice fly.
Dela Cruz had two hits, two runs, a stolen base and five putouts in right field.
“We have a lot of things to work on (as a team), but Austin did do a good job today,” Hirayama said.
Kalani 6, Kaiser 1
Brandon Matsumoto smashed a three-run double in the sixth inning to break open a close game and give the Falcons the win.
Starter Edward Lee and reliever Harrison Moy, who earned the save with three solid innings, combined to two-hit the Cougars. Lee, who went four-plus innings, struck out four, and Moy fanned five.
Kaiser had chances with the bases loaded in the fourth and two on in the sixth, but could not come through in the clutch.
OIA DIVISION I BASEBALL
No. 5 Kailua 5, Roosevelt 3
At Roosevelt
Kailua (2-0) 000 302 0 — 5 7 2
Roosevelt (0-2) 000 120 0 — 3 6 2
Stone Parker, Bryson Ballesteros (5) and Kalua Neves. Hiram Kaikana, Hostas Pang (5) and Jared Tamashiro. W—Ballesteros. L—Pang.
Leading hitters—KIL: Dylan Kurahashi Cho Foo 2-2, run; Jalen Ah Yat 1-3, 2 RBI; Joey Cantillo 1-3, 2 runs, RBI. ROS: Cameron Oshiro 1-3, RBI; Rylan Terakawa 1-3, run; Tamashiro, 1-3, run.
Castle 6, Kalaheo 1
At Castle
Kalaheo (0-1) 001 000 0 — 1 1 4
Castle (1-1) 010 104 x — 6 7 2
Curtis Chung Jr., Evan Goad (7), and Lono Hussey, Noa Lapera (6). Jabe Kahawail and Brylan Kaneshiro. W—Kahawail. L—Chung Jr..
Leading hitters—KLH: Marcus Nishimura 1-2; Chung Jr. RBI; Andrew Blecha run. CAS: Blake Hadama 2-3, 2b, RBI; Kelena Otsuji 3b, run, RBI; Baron Arquero 3b, run, RBI; Keoki Gaspar-Takahashi 1-1, run, RBI.
Kapolei 9, No. 8 Pearl City 3
At Kapolei
Pearl City (1-1) 100 101 0 — 3 3 2
Kapolei (1-1) 101 106 x — 9 11 1
Brannon Liu, Marcus Boyles (4), Dillin Hasegawa (6), Cade Halemanu (6) and Kaleb Nishijo. Drayden Kawewehi, Zachary Collins (6) and Landon Kuroda, DJ Tapat (6). W—Collins. L—Boyles.
Leading hitters—PEC: Matt Aribal 2-3, 2 runs; Davin Kapuras 1-1, run. KPO: Andrei Stoyanow 2-3, 2 RBI, 3 runs; Cobey Fujii 1-3, 3 RBI; Joe Uesato 2-4, 2 RBI.
Waipahu 10, Leilehua 0, 6 inn.
At Waipahu
Leilehua (0-1) 000 000 — 0 5 6
Waipahu (1-1) 430 201 — 10 8 1
Raven Demmert, Jason Wright (1), Mason Yamashiro (2), Zayvn Agbulos (5), Kyson Okamura (5) and Jaxon Hotta. Gabe Ballesteros, Khaine Viliamu (6) and Cole Phillips. W—Ballesteros. L—Demmert.
Leading hitters—LEI: Christian Ontai 2-3, Hotta 2-3. WAP: Rayson Carriaga 2b, RBI; Jaron Sugimoto 1-3, 2 runs; Kobie Russell 2-3, 2 runs; Phillips 2-2, 2 runs; Jayden Borja run, RBI; Hunter Mendiola RBI.
Aiea 5, No. 10 Mililani 4, 8 inn.
At Central Oahu Regional Park
Mililani (1-1) 002 010 10 — 4 8 2
Aiea (1-1) 000 022 01 — 5 11 4
Ethan Muller, Ryan Ancheta (5), Dane Little (6), Shane Griffin (6), Damien Lung (7) and Thomas Nakatsukasa. Ty Matsunami, Kobe Kato (5) and Jake Nakamoto. W—Kato. L—Little.
Leading hitters—MIL: Noah Domogsac 1-2, SAC, SF; Korrey Siracusa RBI; Micah Kaohu 1-1, SAC; Austin Dela Cruz 2-3, 2 runs, 2B, SB, Zach Iafata 2 runs, RBI. AIE: Kato 3-4, RBI; Chase Ling 2 RBIs; Nakamoto RBI; Casey Kitashima 2-4; Noa Obara 2-3, 2 runs.
Kalani 6, Kaiser 1
At Central Oahu Regional Park
Kalani (2-0) 200 103 0 — 6 6 1
Kaiser (0-2) 001 000 0 — 1 2 2
Edward Lee, Harrison Moy (5) and Chad Kagawa. Steven Miyata, Chase Asuncion (4), Pono Lyman (7) and Antonio Omphroy. W—Lee. L—Miyata.
Leading hitters—KLN: Bronson Matsumoto 1-3, 3 RBI, run; Kekoa Gabriel 2-2, 2 runs.
ILH DIVISION II BASEBALL
St. Francis 2, Pac-Five 1
At Hans L’Orange Park
St. Francis (2-0) 000 200 0 — 2 3 0
Pac-Five (1-1) 100 000 0 — 1 4 0
James Yamasaki and Jared Yara. Canaan Fernandez, Brandon Miyasato (6), Blaise Wada (7) and Jared Miyasato. W—Yamasaki. L—Fernandez.
Leading hitters—STF: Bubba Akana 1-3, run; Makana Poole 1-3, run. PAC: Richie Higa 2-3, run.
Damien 13, Hanalani 3, 6 inn.
At Hans L’Orange Park
Hanalani (0-2) 011 001 — 3 3 3
Damien (1-1) 002 362 — 13 9 1
Tyler Lee, Louie Holt (4), Robbie Jacobs-Kea (4), Tanner Oka (5) and Seth Williams. Milton Gainey, Casey Natividad (6), Dylan Tapat (6) and catcher not reported. W—Gainey. L—Lee.
Leading hitters—HAN: Tyler Lee 2b; Chad Wakabayashi 1-2; Jacobs-Kea 1-3; Williams RBI; Ryan Kaneshiro RBI. DMS: Jayden Cabbab 2b, run; Javin Cortez 3b, run; Kaimana Cameron 2-4, run, RBI; Shilo Kaeo 2-3, run, RBI; Paul Muzurashi run, RBI; Devin Shimabukuru 1-3, run; Kayson Kajiwara 2-2, 3 runs, RBI.
OIA DIVISION II SOFTBALL
Aiea 10, McKinley 0, 5 inn.
At Aiea
McKinley (0-1) 000 00 — 0 1 1
Aiea (1-0) 154 0x — 10 6 0
Posmai Tuli, Chantelle Shimabukuro (5) and Pessi Tavale, Mikelle Gonzales (5). Pam Espinosa and catcher not reported. W—Tuli. L—Espinosa.
Leading hitters—AIE: Shimabukuro 1-3, 3b, 3 runs.; Jaenah Padasdao 1-3, 2b, 2 runs.
