Kailua edges Baldwin, 2-0, to reach Division I semifinals

Kailua's Royce Komesu throws a pitch to the plate against Baldwin. Sylvia Lee | SL

Pitching with a sense of urgency, Royce Komesu tossed a four-hitter and Kailua squeaked past Baldwin, 2-0, Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the Wally Yonamine Foundation Division I state baseball tournament.

Kailua will play the winner of top-seeded Mid-Pacific and Mililani scheduled for later Wednesday night.

The Surfriders (13-5) did all their damage in the third inning against ace left-hander Noah Apolo to take the quarterfinal against the fourth-seeded Bears (14-2) at Les Murakami Stadium.

Kailua's 5-foot-8 senior right-hander left everything he had on the field, allowing four walks and striking out six in the complete-game win.

"Coming into this game, I just said, 'This could be my last time pitching at Les Murakami,' so I said, 'Let's try to out with a bang, get the win today no matter what the score is, and see tomorrow.'"

"He was upset yesterday because his hamstring was ready to go," Kailua coach Corey Ishigo said. "But he saw the other seniors stepping up so felt that it was his responsibility today, to give it all he got for his team."

Komesu pitched into and out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the second inning. With the bases loaded and one out, he struck out Nawai Ah Yen and Skyelor Ishikawa - the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, to douse that threat to keep the game scoreless.

In the sixth, while nursing a 2-0 lead, Komesu faced second and third with one out and struck out Shadd Santos and got Joshua Nobriga to fly out to center to end that threat.

"I was talking to myself on the mound, saying 'Believe in yourself.'" Komesu said. "Trust it. Believe in your team. They have my back."

Even the seventh was not easy, when he walked his four batter of the game and hit the next one with a pitch. The runners advanced on Lane Kashiwamura's sacrifice, but Komesu got Haloa Dudoit to pop out to second and retired Isaiah Maddela to end the game on a fly to left.

"We did have guys in scoring position," Baldwin coach Jon Viela said. "Hats off to the pitcher. He had big strikeouts. That's what happens: Good pitching beats good hitting."

What was seemingly uncanny was the Surfriders perfect defensive positioning. Whenever a Bear squared up on a pitch, the ball was hit directly at someone. In the fifth, Kashiwamura hit what appeared to be a liner to shallow center, but center fielder Peter Kanoho was playing shallow and made a routine catch and doubled off a runner at first.

"Lucky we have good coaches," Komesu said. "Coach Travis (Teshima), he went over their lineup before the game, saying what they do, what they do, what they like to do and all that."

Ishigo said he did not get to scout Baldwin.

"We just pitched accruing to our pitcher, what we see," Ishigo said. "We got lucky. We believe in our instincts and we're going to pitch accordingly."

Baldwin's Apolo allowed two runs, nine hits and a walk with five strikeouts in six innings for the Bears. He just did not get the offensive support. The first three batters of the Bears' order went a combined 0 for 11.

The only scores of the game came in the bottom of the third.

Kanoho led off with a single to shortstop, went to second and third on consecutive ground outs to second. Sopohomore Lawson Faria's fly ball double to right scored Kanoho. Noah Auld, another sophomore, singled to right, sending Faria to third. Catcher Makana Victorine fielded a throw from the fielder, but tried to get Auld trying for second, but the throw was wild, allowing Faria to score to make it 2-0. With the runner at second, Wade Lono singled to left, but Auld was gunned down at home trying to score to end the inning.

In all other innings, Kailua runners failed to reach third against Apolo, who is headed to Ohlone JC, Viela said.

Baldwin plays in a fifth-place semifinal 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Hans L'Orange Park.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].