Waipahu continues to roll in postseason, beats Hilo, 7-5

Kobie Russell pitched a complete game to help the Marauders advance over Hilo in the opening round of the state tournament. Tyler Guieb | SL

WAILUKU, Maui – Kobie Russell survived a shaky fourth inning in a compete-game effort to help Waipahu beat Hilo, 7-5, in the opening round of the Wally Yonamine Foundation Division I state tournament Wednesday at Iron Maehara Stadium.

The Marauders (6-11) will play second-seeded Baldwin at 7 p.m. Thursday in a quarterfinal.

Waipahu played without coach Jared Abreu. Athletic director did not elaborate, only saying, "He did not make the trip." Retired coach Milton Takenaka served as acting coach.

Russell allowed five runs (three earned), six hits and five walks with three strikeouts in seven innings. He was backed by a third-inning grand slam by Michael Price.

Russell, though, labored in the bottom of the fourth when the Vikings scored four to tie the game at 5. He walked batters in that inning. "He was one or two pitches away (from being pulled)," Takenaka said. "He pitched good, but he did walk a lot of guys."

Russell credited his teammates and coaches for keeping his confidence.

"They were the ones who picked me up and told me to be confident about my pitching," Russell said. "I didn't want to let them down."

Price's slam came after the Vikings had tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the second. Hilo starting pitcher Josian Factora labored in the top of the third. After a double steal, Khaine Viliamu drew a walk to load the bases Price then hit a fly to left that was caught by the jet stream.

"At the moment, I wasn't looking, so I thought it was a regular pop up," admitted Price. "I honestly thought it was a pop up. I didn't even see it (leave the park); that's the worst part about it, but when I found out about it, I was very excited."

Waipahu snapped the 5-all game in the top of the seventh against Brett Komatsu. Khaine Viliamu led off with a ground-rule double to left-center. Courtesy runner Brian Berceda scored on a throwing error on Price's bunt. Price took second on the plate and later scored on Blazsen Ferreira's single.

The Marauders have been on storybook run since the postseason began. They were the West's sixth seed and finished fourth in the OIA. Even if they win the tournament, the Marauders would still have a losing record.

"It's just…I don't know," Price said of his team's roll. "We've come out of nowhere. It's just who wants it the most. That's all I can say."

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].