For half the game, it was one of the most lopsided matchups in the brief history of the Chace Numata Senior All-Star Game.
Then the Aloha Stars, comprised almost entirely of ILH and neighbor-island players, scored 10 runs in the final four innings for a remarkable 10-9 win over the OIA-stocked Hawaiian Stars on a blustery Friday night at Les Murakami Stadium.
Jaxon Wong of King Kekaulike delivered a clutch two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game. Hilo’s Legend Lancaster then lived up to his name, socking a line-drive single to center, scoring Dominic Christensen (Kamehameha-Hawaii) from third base for the win.
“Three-2 count, I knew a fastball was coming, so I just sat on it. It was right where I wanted it. I ripped it,” said Lancaster, who was named most valuable player. “I said, this is my time.”
Lancaster is en route to Feather River Community College (Calif.) this fall.
“Basically, my family. That’s the thing I’m going to miss the most,” he said.
Wong was ready for the crafty southpaw offerings from Kailua’s Kaimana Burgo.
“It was 3-1, he threw me a fastball kind of low. I squared up and hit it up the middle good,” Wong said.
This was the first time the Numata All-Star Game was played at the Les. The previous three games were at Joey DeSa Field.
“It felt great. I never got to play here. This is my first time in (Les Murakami Stadium),” Wong said.
Wong heads to Lassen Community College (Calif.l) soon.
The game is organized by longtime coach/scout Eric Tokunaga in memory of Numata, the charismatic former Pearl City catcher who died in 2019 from injuries suffered in a skateboarding accident in Pennsylvania, where he was playing his 10th minor league season. Numata’s brother, Chevas, threw out the first pitch to Hawaiian Stars catcher Kaiden Sonoda-Fukumoto of Moanalua. Sonoda- Fukumoto was a second grader when he first worked out with Chace Numata.
“Chace was Kaiden’s favorite baseball player from when he was 7,” Tokunaga said. “Chace was his first inspiration for baseball.”
Waipahu’s Chase Maruyama had a sterling performance, going 2-for-3 with a walk. He scored shortly after singling to lead off the top of the ninth inning, coming home on a single by Moanalua’s Dawson Sugawa. That gave the Hawaiian Stars an insurance run and what appeared to be a safe 9-6 lead.
Several pitchers were on point in one-inning stints. The pitcher of the game, Leilehua’s Koen Barton, fanned three without a walk in his inning for the Hawaiian Stars. Mid-Pacific’s Payton Dixon, a Nevada signee, struck out three and walked one in his inning of work. Waianae’s Shysten Nagasako also struck out the side without issuing a walk for team Aloha.
“Not all of us are from the same team, but we came together at the end. It was fun,” Dixon said. “Playing in the memory of Chace. It’s just an honor to play with the top players in the state.”