No matter what happens in the upcoming ILH second-round tournament, Kamehameha will still have a chance to qualify for the state tournament.
That was the importance of Monday’s 10-0 win over host ‘Iolani in 5 innings in the ILH regular-season finale for both teams.
The victory moved the Warriors (9-4-1) ahead of Mid-Pacific (9-5) for second place in the league behind Saint Louis (12-1-1), which has clinched one of the league’s three berths into states.
By finishing second in the regular season, Kamehameha guarantees itself at least a playoff game for the league’s third state berth should it not finish in the top two in the tournament.
“We’re lucky, to be honest, because we’ve been stumbling the last few weeks,” Kamehameha coach Daryl Kitagawa said. “That’s just how tough the league is, so hey, we play the games in front of us, we takes the results, and we see where we end up and this time we ended up in second place, which puts us into position to qualify for states and really, that’s our goal every year.”
Junior Aydan Lobetos took the drama out of Monday’s game with a grand slam during a seven-run second inning for the Warriors, who scored 10 runs for the second straight game.
Kamehameha won its first five games in league play but was just 2-4-2 over its next eight games before closing the regular season with consecutive victories.
“Hopefully this gives us momentum going into the ILH tournament,” Kitagawa said. “We’ve got some nagging injuries with two of our starters out, so to come out like this and see the next guys step up, I’m really happy for them.”
Miecah Andres and Cody Branco had two hits apiece. The big blow came in the bottom of the second inning when the Warriors sent 12 batters to the plate.
Two walks and two singles allowed the first run to score on a wild pitch before Lobetos stepped to the plate.
He squared up a 1-1 fastball and hammered it out to center for his first grand slam wearing a Kamehameha uniform.
“Right when I hit it, I knew it was gone. It was a no-doubter,” Lobetos said. “We knew that we had to win.”
The Warriors will play Pac-Five at Central Oahu Regional Park in one of three opening games in the double-elimination tournament that starts Thursday.
No. 4 seed Punahou will play No. 5 seed Maryknoll, also at Central Oahu Regional Park, while No. 3 seed Mid-Pacific will host No. 6 ‘Iolani.
In its four losses in league play, Kamehameha was held to five runs total. Against the Raiders, eight of the nine starters had at least one hit and Kamehameha batted .462 (6-for-13) with runners in scoring position.
“We’ve been trying to preach getting into two-strike approaches early (in the count), especially with runners in scoring position,” Kitagawa said. “(Aydan) got in that mindset and you see what happens.”
Junior Blade Paragas and two freshman relievers combined to hold ‘Iolani to three hits.
