As far as Baldwin is concerned, an extra game is just another chance to play baseball.
The Bears played in the first round of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Division I state baseball tournament for the first time since 2008, but it survived the extra game, beating Moanalua 5-4 at Les Murakami Stadium.
Baldwin is a staple at the tournament, playing in 13 straight but usually waiting until a Wednesday because it has a seeded berth. Maui has the honors this year.
“It’s never easy. We got off to that early lead and then gave it away and Moanalua had all of the momentum,” Baldwin coach Craig Okita said. “All year long we have made it hard on ourself. Sooner or later the tides will change, hopefully. This is all new to us.”
The Bears needed every out to get through Moanalua, which hasn’t won a state tournament game since 2015, losing its fifth in a row.
Kaden Anderson led off the seventh inning with a double off the right fielder’s glove, then was brought home on a sacrifice fly to left by pinch hitter Douglas Mortensen. Before that, Anderson got to third on a sacrifice bunt followed by senior pitcher Dakota Pagente hitting two batters on successive pitches. The Bears were hit by pitches six times in the contest, but they will happily take the pain.
“Actually one of our guys was running away from it,” Okita said. “We were teasing him because we don’t want him to run away from the ball, if they are going to give it, let’s take it.”
Kaiden Sonoda-Fukumoto came on to strike out Isaiah Chaves to put out the fire, and Moanalua threatened in its half of the seventh.
Hunter Nishina led off the bottom of the seventh with a six-pitch walk off Baldwin closer Isaac Imamura but was erased on a double play. Sonoda-Fukumoto reached on an error, but the freshman pitcher struck out Connor Dempsey to end the contest and send Baldwin on to play BIIF champion Hilo on Wednesday.
Baldwin took no time to get into the groove, with Kade Fujioka drilling a double down the left field line in the first inning to plate two runners who reached base without a hit. Chaves, the leadoff man, was hit by a pitch and Christian Dominno tried to advance him on a popped bunt that fell harmlessly between pitcher Coy Sasano and catcher Dawson Sugawa. who was charged with an error.
They plated two more in the second, the first on two more miscues. No 9 hitter Laakea Ko hit a routine grounder to third baseman Tayden Kaawa, who emailed his delivery to first. Nishina alertly tracked down the wayward throw but made one of his own to third base to gift Ko a Little League home run. The Bears scored again when Caleb Miyake-Matsubayashi drove in Dominno with a single to right.
That was more than enough for Baldwin pitcher Jayden Perry-Waikiki, who got through the first trip through the order on 33 pitches, his only threat a stinging line drive to shortstop that was mishandled for an error. Sugawa stung a ball to right field for Moanalua’s first hit to lead off the fourth, leading to Perry-Waikiki’s first taste of adversity. Moanalua loaded the bases before Sasano induced two pop flies, but John Ganske got him before he could get safely into the dugout, clearing the bases with a triple that skipped to the wall in left center.
Moanalua made it a new ballgame with a run in the fifth on a single to right after a passed ball moved Nishina to second.
Baldwin improved to 40-41 all time in the state tournament, with 25 of those games decided by a run.
They opted to start freshman Perry-Waikiki, and he was stellar the first time through the order before Kip Watanabe took over with a scoreless fifth to get to Imamura.
Anderson and Imamura paired hits for Baldwin and Sugawa and Sonoda-Fukumoto did the trick for Na Menehune.