Makani Tanaka drove in three runs and Trent Ihle pitched three key innings of relief for the win as ‘Iolani rallied past Damien, 6-3, on Friday afternoon at Ala Wai Community Park.
The Raiders improved to 2-1-1 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu play. Division II Damien dropped to 1-3 despite a hearty effort.
Tanaka, a 6-foot-2 junior, started in left field. The left-hander bats in the No. 8 slot.
“Makani Tanaka, three RBIs. That’s kind of the difference for us. He picked us up. That was big for us,” ‘Iolani coach Kurt Miyahira said.
The game was tied at 3 entering the bottom of the fifth inning when the Raiders plated three runs. Tate Shimao, who also pitched the final inning for a save, led off the fifth with a double to left. Kody Watanabe followed with a triple to center, scoring Shimao for a 4-3 Raiders’ lead.
Damien shortstop River Iaea replaced Francis O’Connor on the mound with one out in the fifth. ‘Iolani sophomore Travis Ujimori, filling in for injured Jaron Yoshikane, singled to center to plate Watanabe for a two-run lead.
After Ujimori was caught stealing, Joshua Miyazawa walked with two outs and Brayden Hiraki reached base on an infield single. Tanaka then drilled a single to right, scoring courtesy runner Matthew Kaneshiro for a 6-3 lead.
Rylen Miyasaki, ‘Iolani’s third pitcher, went 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth, and Shimao moved from shortstop to the mound in the seventh to close out the win. Shimao hit one batter, but struck out the side.
“The kids battled hard. A play here, a play there made the difference,” Damien coach Skyler Tengan said. “ ‘Iolani clutched up.”
Having depth on the mound is a big advantage for the Raiders.
“We’d like our starter to go as long as he can. Trent came in, struggled in the beginning, settled down a little bit and did the job. He’s going to keep getting better,” Miyahira said.
At Ala Wai
Damien (1-3) 111 000 0 — 3 3 0
‘Iolani (2-1-1) 020 130 x — 6 8 0
Peter Pappalardo, Francis O’Connor (4), River Iaea (6) and Mike Kawasaki. Aisea Ahokovi, Trent Ihle (3), Rylen Miyasaki (6), Trent Shimao (7) and Joshua Miyazawa. W—Ihle. L—O’Connor.
Leading hitters—Damien: Alohi Arecchi 1-2, walk, 2 runs, 2 SB; Kawasaki 0-1, RBI, walk, SF; Kaiden Sonoda-Fukumoto, 1-2, RBI. ‘Iolani: Shimao 1-4, double, run; Kody Watanabe 1-4, triple, RBI, run; Jaron Yoshikane 1-1, run; Travis Ujimori 1-2, RBI; Jarin Ching 2-3, 2 runs; Makani Tanaka 2-2, 3 RBI, triple, HBP.
ALSO
ILH Junior Varsity
Saint Louis 2, Maryknoll 0
OIA Varsity
Kalani 18, Waipahu 5
