His name is Caleb Lomavita and he is a man among boys.
The versatile senior went the distance on the mound and blasted two home runs as Saint Louis stifled Mid-Pacific 11-6 at Damon Field.
The Crusaders (7-2) will meet the Kamehameha-Punahou winner for the championship of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu on Saturday at Hans L’Orange Park.
“These are games where if you don’t advance, your season is over. Caleb’s clearly our best guy on the mound,” Saint Louis coach George Gusman said. “He wasn’t at his best today, his pitches weren’t his best, but his competitiveness and his ability to not give in, to support his teammates, hit, run, I’m going to miss that kid.”
Lomavita scattered seven hits and allowed three earned runs with four strikeouts and two walks. The California signee was 3-for-5 at the plate with five RBIs and three runs scored.
“I feel good. Seeing the hard work finally paying off throughout the seasons. This feels good to get this win,” said Lomavita, who threw 112 pitches. “I expected to go as far as I could to help my team. I worked really hard. Coach isn’t taking me out. I have 100 percent trust in myself and I knew the guys were going to back me up in the end. I wanted the ball the most.”
Second baseman Nu‘u Contrades had a 3-for-4 day with three doubles and a run scored. His double-play partner, Aiva Arquette, belted a solo home run.
It was quite the performance, though, by Lomavita, who has played catcher, infield and outfield through his four-year career.
“Tough kid. We hit him pretty good, but he’s so resilient,” Mid-Pacific coach Dunn Muramaru said. “He didn’t have his good stuff today, but he battled.”
The visiting Crusaders plated four runs in the top of the first inning against Owls starting pitcher Ethan Toyama. Hunter Hirayama singled and Contrades walked, and on the first pitch he saw, Lomavita crushed a fastball down the middle over the left-field fence, 327 feet away.
Arquette then doubled to left and moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Xander Sielken. Makamae DuPont then doubled to right, bringing Arquette home.
Niko Soma replaced Toyama and got the final two outs of the inning.
The Owls responded with two runs in the bottom of the first. Draven Nushida reached base on an infield error, and with two outs, Karter Wong doubled to center, scoring Nushida. Kennedy Hara followed with a double to right, bringing Wong home.
However, with Travis Ito at the plate, Lomavita caught Hara leaning off second base. He threw the ball to the third baseman, Hirayama, for the easy tag and third out.
The top of the order went to work for Saint Louis in the second frame. Hirayama was hit by a pitch and Contrades doubled to left. Lomavita’s chopper to the hole at shortstop allowed Hirayama to score from third base for a 5-2 Saint Louis lead.
After Arquette grounded out, Sielken singled to center, scoring Contrades for a four-run margin.
With two outs, Cody Antone reached base on an infield single, scoring Lomavita. Saint Louis led 7-2.
The Crusaders helped Lomavita with a 6-4-3 double play in the bottom of the third, but the home team scored twice in the fourth. Tyler Kurata was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame. With one out, Nushida singled to right. After Kodey Shojinaga reached base on an infield error, MPI had the bases loaded.
Wong then smacked a double to left, scoring Kurata and Nushida to bring Mid-Pacific within 7-4.
With one out, Lomavita bore down. He struck out Hara and got Ito to fly out, ending the inning.
After a quiet third inning, Saint Louis got a leadoff home run to left by Arquette in the fourth. The Crusaders also loaded the bases against MPI’s third pitcher, Shojinaga, but he struck out pinch hitter Kash Choy for the third out.
Lomavita added his second homer in the fifth, a two-out shot to left that gave Saint Louis a 9-4 lead.
The Owls scored twice in the bottom of the fifth, but it could have been more. Nushida singled with one out, and Shojinaga walked. With two outs, Hara walked to load the bases. Ito then singled to left, bringing Nushida and Shojinaga home.
With the score 9-6 with two runners on, Lomavita struck out Mack Higuchi to end the inning.
From that point on, Lomavita retired the final six batters he faced. Saint Louis tacked on two insurance runs in the top of the sixth. With one out, DuPont singled. After Antone flew out, Kyson Wa‘alani lifted a home run over the center field fence 333 feet away for a five-run lead.
“Wa‘alani’s home run was huge,” Gusman said.
