No. 3 Mid-Pacific rides Doi to 2-1 win over No. 4 Kamehameha


Mid-Pacific pitcher Grant Doi throws a pitch to the plate against Kamehameha. Doi went the distance, allowing just one run on seven hits. Evan Asato | SL

MANOA — Grant Doi turned in his best pitching performance of the season Friday afternoon to lead Mid-Pacific to a 2-1 win over Kamehameha in a key Interscholastic League of Honolulu game.

A crowd of about 100 fans at Les Murakami Stadium saw Doi toss a complete game, allowing just one run on seven hits to help the third-ranked Owls (6-1) claim sole possession of first place in the ILH D1 standings. It was their fifth consecutive win since their only loss of the season, which came at the hands of Kamehameha just two weeks ago.

The fourth-ranked Warriors (5-2) saw their three-game winning streak snapped in the loss.

"He was good, man. He was real good today," Mid-Pacific coach Dunn Muramaru said of Doi, a right-handed senior.

Doi pitched from behind for most of the game after surrendering a first-inning run on a Kekai Rios double that scored Matt Yokota. He did not allow a runner past second base the rest of the way and retired five of the final six batters he faced.

"After that (first-inning run) I kind of just relaxed and hit my spots, but they were hitting the ball good so I was just trying to get out of it with my defense making plays," Doi said.

Doi recorded five strikeouts against just two walks.

"After that first inning when he was kind of shaky, he just settled down and he just pitched a great game," Muramaru said.

Mid-Pacific struck in the top of the sixth inning, when leadoff hitter Jacob Maekawa reached on an infield single and Alexander Oley was hit by a Ladd Ah Choy pitch. Noah Shackles put down a bunt in the direction of Warriors' first baseman Brandon Henderson, who opted to go for the force out on the lead runner, Maekawa, at third. However, Henderson's throw was dropped by shortstop Kody Cacal, who was covering the bag on the play, which left the bases loaded with no outs.

"We needed to get an out somewhere and preferably it was there, so that's where we wanted to go and I think we had him, (but) we just dropped the ball," Kamehameha coach Tom Perkins said.

Muramaru said the ball bounced in the Owls' favor on that play.

"We got a little bit lucky on that, he should have been out at third," Muramaru said.

Tyler Yamaguchi then hit a ground ball that scored the tying run in Maekawa from third and Chase Wago followed with another RBI ground ball that allowed Oley to cross the plate for the go-ahead run.

Doi allowed a one-out single by pinch hitter Revan Wong in the bottom of the seventh, but got Micah McNicoll to pop out and struck out Kahoea Akau for the final two outs.

Akau lined a 2-2 pitch from Doi down the left field line that would have put runners on the corners with two outs, but the ball was ruled foul by the home plate umpire. He struck out two pitches later to end the game.

"Every game is tough here in this league," Muramaru said. "We're not blowing out anybody, so everything is one run, one run, one run, so hopefully we can keep it going with. I mean, one hit here, one hit there and the game is switched around, so I'm just happy we won tonight."

Ah Choy, who was charged with both runs and allowed five hits in five innings of work, took the loss. Codie Paiva pitched two perfect innings in relief for Kamehameha, which entered the game averaging nearly 10 runs per game and had won each of its last three games by 10 or more runs.

"We knew their numbers, but we weren't really concerned," Doi said. "We just had to let them hit and trust in my defense behind me."

Maekawa and Wago each batted 2 for 3 for the Owls, who play Iolani at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Murakami Stadium.

Cacal batted 2 for 3 with a double and Yokota walked twice for the Warriors, who will play eighth-ranked Saint Louis in the 2 p.m. game preceding the Mid-Pacific—Iolani game.

The teams will meet for a third time when Kamehameha visits Mid-Pacific on April 14 in the final regular-season game for both teams.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].