Small ball leads to big results, especially in an ILH championship game.
Saint Louis scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning on Makamae DuPont’s safety squeeze, scoring Aiva Arquette from third base as the Crusaders edged Punahou 2-1 at Hans L’Orange Park.
“I was just trying to do it for the team. Do my job and lay down the bunt,” said DuPont, who noted that he hadn’t bunted in a game until Friday night.
“He’s not a bunter, but he did it for the team,” Arquette said. “We bunt every day (at practice) as a team.”
Saint Louis (8-2) reached the final by outscoring Mid-Pacific 11-6 on Thursday. On Saturday, the Crusaders turned to Nu‘u Contrades, Ray Seabury, Kahiau Schenk and Hunter Hirayama for a one-hitter against a premier hitting attack.
The pitching-by-committee approach could not have been better for the Crusaders. But coach George Gusman also trusted DuPont in the game’s most opportune situation.
“Actually, Makamae had a bunt in his previous at-bat and he couldn’t lay it down, and the runner blew a signal, but those things happen. They don’t intend to do it. They’re just trying really hard, trying to make things happen,” Gusman said. “Do I trust him? Absolutely.”
The normally reliable Hirayama had an error at third base, but catcher Caleb Lomavita threw out baserunner Jacob Ornellas a moment later. Hirayama got the win, pitching three innings of scoreless relief.
“It feels amazing that all of our hard work paid off. I spend more time with these guys than my family. They really took me in from Day 1. I feels great,” Hirayama said.
The last time Punahou (5-3-1) was on the diamond for an official season, the Buffanblu won the state title in the spring of 2019. Punahou defeated Saint Louis during their regular-season matchup.
“We know in the ILH we can get beat on any day. This win is a lot sweeter because they outplayed us the first time. It hurt a lot and we took that to our practice, and we never stopped working,” Hirayama said.
Lomavita, who belted two home runs and went the distance on the mound in the semifinal win at Mid-Pacific, caught — and called — every pitch.
“I’ve seen Keith Torres them win states on this field. When Kai boy hit that go-ahead home run against Kamehameha, I wanted to feel that feeling, and I got that today. It came full circle and it feels so good,” the Cal signee said.
Arquette, a 6-foot-4 junior shortstop, got his team on the scoreboard in the second inning. He led off with a triple to center and Xander Sielken followed with a sacrifice fly to right for a 1-0 lead.
Saint Louis loaded the bases in the bottom of the third, but Punahou ace Rylan Burigsay retired Arquette on a foul pop-up to end the threat.
Punahou came through with a game-tying run in the top of the fifth. Ryne Umemoto led off with a walk and Gusman replaced Seabury with Schenk, who then hit Justin Tsukada with a pitch. Gusman then moved Hirayama from third base to the mound to face Punahou designated hitter Cody Kashimoto.
After Kashimoto’s sacrifice bunt, Kaikea Harrison laid down a suicide squeeze bunt, scoring Umemoto.
Hirayama struck out Nolan Souza for the third out, and then retired six of the final seven batters of the game.
In the bottom of the sixth, there was one out when Arquette doubled to left and Sielken reached base on an infield single. With runners at the corners, Gusman called for the safety squeeze bunt by DuPont. He pushed the ball toward first base, deep enough to give Arquette time to slide home safely.
At Hans L’Orange Park
Punahou (5-3-1) 000 010 0 — 1 1 2
Saint Louis (8-2) 010 001 0 — 2 6 1
Rylan Burigsay, Rustin Katsura (5) and Justin Tsukada. Nu‘u Contrades, Ray Seabury (3), Kahiau Schenk (5), Hunter Hirayama (5) and Caleb Lomavita. W—Hirayama. L—Katsura.
Leading hitters—Punahou: Kikaha Nakamura 1-3. Saint Louis: Aiva Arquette 2-3, 2 runs, double, triple; Xander Sielken 1-2, RBI; Makamae DuPont 1-2, RBI.
