Jarred Yara scattered four hits over five innings and Ian Phillips retired the final two batters in the seventh as St. Francis rallied past Maryknoll 6-2 on Tuesday at Goeas Field.
St. Francis belted out 11 hits against three Spartans pitchers. Royce Torres went 2-for-3 with two doubles. Yara (2-for-3, RBI) and leadoff hitter Sean Fernandez also paired hits (2-for-4, RBI) as the Saints won their fifth game in a row and improved to 6-4 in ILH Division II baseball. Maryknoll dropped to 9-2.
At first glance, Tuesday afternoon’s matchup between Maryknoll and St. Francis didn’t seem like it had much to do with the league standings. After all, Maryknoll came into the game with a regular-season title and automatic state-tournament berth already in hand.
For St. Francis, though, the details meant everything. Winning on Tuesday means the Saints are one step closer to finishing second in the regular season, and down the road, that puts them a step closer to a state tourney berth.
Should Maryknoll go on to win the league playoff tourney, St. Francis could seal a state berth by finishing second in both the regular season and playoffs.
"If we get past Damien (on Saturday), we’ll play Pac-Five (next Wednesday) for the second seed," Saints coach Kip Akana said.
Getting into this position mattered for St. Francis, which is going to finish above .500 in league play for the first time. It mattered enough that Akana made the call to bring Phillips, their ace, in from right field for the final two outs after Maryknoll loaded the bases in the top of the seventh.
Phillips struck out pinch hitter Travis Miyashiro and got Cade Ohata to ground out, ending the threat, a big relief for the Saints.
"We were trying to save him, but because we needed one win, we put him in," Akana said.
With nothing on the line, Maryknoll coach Randy Yamashiro rolled a number of reserves into the game early.
"Coach wasn’t down, but he wasn’t happy with our mistakes," senior left fielder Joshua Muneno said. "We wanted to get our younger guys some playing time. Some of them did well. We had a few mistakes here and there. We’ve got to prepare at practice for our next game."
It was Maryknoll’s second loss in three meetings with St. Francis, but building for the future took a little more priority.
"We lost 10 seniors from last year’s team," Muneno said. "Our younger guys might need to step up in
the playoffs."
The Saints took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Torres doubled home Fernandez, who had led off with a single.
Yara, who had gotten out of a jam in the first inning thanks to third baseman Micah Teal’s 5-3 double play, settled down and gave his team three scoreless innings. In the fifth, the Spartans scored twice to take the lead. Jarin Kobashigawa walked and scored on a single by pinch hitter Kyle Abe, and pinch hitter Ryan Straumbaugh’s sacrifice fly to left brought Abe home for a 2-1 Maryknoll lead.
St. Francis countered with four runs in the bottom of the fifth off Maryknoll’s third pitcher, Dylan Takara. After Kreighton Tsuruda-Gaspar singled and Torres doubled to right center, Janson Kupau singled to right, scoring Tsuruda-Gaspar to tie the game. Torres then scored on a wild pitch, and after Shawn Ellis followed with a single to left to score Kupau, and the Saints led 4-2.
Yara then helped his own cause with a single to center, bringing home courtesy runner Blaze Umiamaka for a three-run cushion. Catcher Chayson Dulatre threw Yara out at second base on a steal attempt to end the inning.
One of the defensive gems of the game came in the top of the sixth when Tsuruda-Gaspar, the shortstop, wheeled behind second base to scoop up a grounder by Dulatre, throwing him out by a half-step.
Teal doubled and scored on a single by Fernandez to give St. Francis an insurance run in the sixth.
Maryknoll’s next game is against Damien on Tuesday at Goeas Field. St. Francis’s matchup with Damien on Saturday will be at CORP.
At Goeas Field
| Maryknoll (9-2) |
000 |
020 |
0 |
— |
2 |
4 |
0 |
| St. Francis (6-4) |
100 |
041 |
x |
— |
6 |
11 |
3 |
Derrick Kurihara, Darin Miyamoto (3), Dylan Takara (5) and Chayson Dulatre. Jarred Yara, Shawn Ellis (6), Ian Phillips (7) and Royce Torres. W–Yara. L–Takara.
Leading hitters–Maryknoll: Kyle Abe 1-1, run. SF: Sean Fernandez 2-4, RBI, run; Yara 2-3, RBI; Micah Teal 1-2, 2B, run.
OIA RED EAST SOFTBALL
Roosevelt 20, Kaimuki 1, 5 inn.
Katie Debusca went 3-for-4 at bat, hitting a home run and driving in six runs as the Rough Riders dominated the Bulldogs in five innings.
At Stevenson Middle School
| Kaimuki (0-8) |
001 |
00 |
— |
1 |
5 |
0 |
| Roosevelt (5-2) |
508 |
7x |
— |
20 |
19 |
4 |
Dacy Amond and Brandi Pfeiffer-Kekoa. Katie Debusca and Destiny Holani.
W–Debusca. L–Amond.
Leading hitters–Kaimuki: Amond 2-3. Roosevelt: Holani 2-3, 3 RBIs; Debusca 3-4, 2b, HR, 6 RBIs; Mari Foster 3-4, 2b, RBI; Mika Emoto 2-4, HR, 3 RBIs; D’dre Wright 2-2, 2b, RBI; Kauohi Kapiko 2-2, RBI.
OIA WHITE SOFTBALL
Kahuku 23, Waialua 20
Jocelyn Alo hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh to lift the Red Raiders past the Bulldogs.
Alo finished 5-for-6 at bat, hitting a double, triple and three home runs and also got the win from the circle.
At Kahuku
| Waialua (3-4) |
202 |
058 |
3 |
— |
20 |
13 |
| Kahuku (2-6) |
341 |
335 |
4 |
— |
23 |
20 |
Danielle Maxwell and Laola Pang. Jocelyn Alo, Tita Aumua (5), Aimee Sorensen (6), Alo (7) and Napua Galletes-Fernandez.
W–Alo. L–Maxwell.
Leading hitters–Waialua: C. Basilio 2b; Selena Victoria 3-5, 2b, RBI; Andrea Dicion 3-5, 3b, HR, RBI; Azure Agricula-McCormick 2-5, 3b, RBI. Kahuku: Galletes-Fernandez 2-3; Sammy Aea-Kahana HR; Sabrina Alo 4-6, HR, 3 RBIs; J. Alo, 5-6, 2b, 3b, 3 HR, 6 RBIs; Kouipo Aumua 2-4; Sorensen 3-5, 2b, 3b, HR, RBI; Christie-Love Espinosa 2-5, RBI.
