Quintin Torres-Costa made the first of what he hopes will be many memorable starts at Les Murakami Stadium.
The Waiakea senior and University of Hawaii commit tossed a six-hit shutout, striking out nine in a 5-0 win over Castle in the Division I•quarterfinals of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball State Championships.
Korin Medeiros went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs to help the lone undefeated team in Division I stay that way.
"The energy of the team was good and we capitalized and executed today," Medeiros said.
Third-seeded Waiakea will face defending state champion Pearl City, which upset No. 2 seed Mid-Pacific 3-1.
The Warriors (18-0) found themselves on the same side of the bracket as both the Chargers and Owls after OIA champion Kailua was awarded the top seed.
"For us, we told the kids whoever we face, we have to play three tough teams if we want to win the state title," first-year Waiakea coach Kevin Yee said. "It really doesn’t matter who we play, we’ve just got to keep playing our game and go from there."
The Warriors did that on Wednesday, mixing a few timely hits with flawless defense and a superb effort from Torres-Costa, who allowed only one hit over the first three innings.
The 6-foot left-hander mixed four different pitches effectively, keeping the Knights (11-7) off balance throughout the game.
"He’s been something similar to that all year," Yee said. "Today was another performance that shows he’s starting to mature more as a pitcher."
Torres-Costa’s only walk came leading off the seventh inning after the Warriors scored three in the top of the frame.
He was locked in a pitching duel with Castle’s Eric Akamine until Waiakea broke through for four runs in the final two innings.
"It made things a lot more comfortable for me," Torres-Costa said. "It makes it OK to make a mistake."
The Warriors led 1-0 on an RBI double by Medeiros and stretched it to 2-0 in the sixth on an RBI single by Davy Camacho.
With two out in the seventh and a runner on second, Castle elected to intentionally walk junior Kean Wong, another UH commit.
Medeiros followed with an RBI single that got past the right fielder, allowing Wong to score from first.
Sophomore Kodi Medeiros, the third Waiakea player to commit to the Rainbows, followed with an RBI single to drive in his brother and give Waiakea a 5-0 lead.
Castle put four different runners in scoring position over the final four innings, but couldn’t break through against Torres-Costa.
Andre Fraticelli led off the fifth with a double, but pinch runner Keaton Loui was thrown out at third on a bunt.
Torres-Costa walked Manoah Medrano to start the seventh and gave up a one-out single to Chaz Kobayashi before retiring the final two batters to end the game.
The Warriors advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2006, when they finished third in the state tournament for the third consecutive season.
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At Les Murakami Stadium
Waiakea (18-0) |
001 |
001 |
3 — 5 |
9 |
0 |
Castle (11-7) |
000 |
000 |
0 — 0 |
6 |
2 |
Quintin Torres-Costa and Kean Wong. Eric Akamine and Manoah Medrano.
W–Torres-Costa. L–Akamine.
Leading hitters–Waik: Wong 1-2, 2 bb, 2 runs; Korin Medeiros 3-4, 2b, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Davy Camacho 2-4, RBI. Cast: Andre Fraticelli 2b.