OIA Baseball
Campbell's Kahaloa, Ramos combine to no-hit Waianae, 8-0


 



Wed, Mar 4, 2015 @ [ 3:00 pm ]


FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Waianae 0 000000003
Campbell 6 0 1100X8101

W: Ian Kahaloa    L: Thomas Kaauwai

CAMP: Keola Himan 2-2 run 3 rbi trp; Ian Kahaloa 6.0 IP 0 ER 13 K
WNAE: Drayden Coyaso 1.0 IP 0 ER


EWA BEACH - The state's top baseball prospect did not disappoint in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I season opener Wednesday.

Campbell right-hander Ian Kahaloa, who struck out 13 with no walks in six innings, and Markus Ramos combined on a no-hitter in an 8-0 win against Waianae at the Sabers' field.

Kahaloa (1-0), a senior, dispatched a young Seariders team that has only two seniors on its 18-player roster with 66 pitches, 50 for strikes. He struck out every Waianae starter at least once in facing one batter over the minimum; Tavita Lalau was the only Searider to reach safely on a first-inning throwing error by sophomore shortstop Shane Shimiuz against Kahaloa. Shimizu has been spelling injured returning shortstop Jobe Ferdinand Ibana (shoulder) during preseason.

Ramos, a sophomore right-hander, walked pinch hitter Jerzey Ramento to start the seventh. But two outs later, Ramento was caught stealing to end the game and preserve the no-hitter.

The Sabers supported Kahaloa by sending nine batters up in the bottom of a six-run first inning against Waianae starter Thomas Kaauwai (0-1), who pitched five innings, allowing eight runs (one unearned) and 10 hits.

Keola Himan led the Sabers' 10-hit attach with a 2-for-2 performance, including a two-run triple and sacrifice fly. Kahaloa helped himself at the plate, too. The clean-up hitter was 2 for 4 with an RBI double. Blayze Arcano-Llacuna batted 2 for 3 with a triple. Dorrien Villanueva-Hermosura was 2 for 3, scoring twice.

The game was played under threatening skies, but it did not rain to the relief of the New York Yankees national cross checker for pitching at the game to scout Kahaloa.

Kahaloa's performance was typical for this season. In four preseason games, he has pitched 17 innings, allowing only two hits (in the same game against Mililani) and one walk with 31 strikeouts. He never used for than 65 pitches in any of the preseason outings. His first start against Maryknoll on Feb. 7 also was part of a combined no-hitter.

Campbell coach Rory Pico said Kahaloa had an 80-pitch cap. But the two-time defending OIA champions need to look at the bigger picture. The  6-foot-3 Ramos is a promising sophomore who has been clocked at 88 mph in preseason. The big lead provided an opportunity for him to gain experience under regular-season conditions.

"His max was 80 (pitches)," Pico said of Kahaloa. "But our guys need work, so it was a good opportunity to get one of our guys on the mound, so it's not going to be his first time the next outing. (Ramos) might start. I'm not sure."

With scouts at all of Kahaloa's starts, he is literally under the (radar) gun. He is unfazed by the attention that he has been drawing since last season and the Arizona Fall Classic showcase.

"I just go out to pitch," Kahaloa said. "I don't worry about anything else, just pitching."

Because of the frequency of the scouts when Kahaloa pitches, the other Sabers players are pretty immune to what would seem to be a distraction.

"Overall, as far as the whole team - (the scouts) have been around this whole preseason - it's not as distracting as it used to be," Pico said. "The talk is different. Now, it's as if (the players) don't see it, which is good."

There will be increased scouting of Kahaloa, who has signed with the University of Hawaii, as the season goes along. In preseason against Saint Louis, he touched 96 mph. He reportedly hit the 97-98 mph range against Kamehamha-Maui last week on the Valley Isle.

Kahaloa used about 90 to 95 percent fastballs against the Seariders, he said. He also worked in a changeup at times, a pitch he said he needs to improve on.

"(Scouts) would ask me, 'What is my best pitch?' and 'What is my worst pitch?,' Kahaloa said. "I'll tell them my changeup (is my worst pitch). They'll say my changeup is pretty good, but I'll say, 'Nah, not to me.'"

As for the team, the Sabers, who were 11-1-1 in preseason, looked like a two-time defending OIA champion.

"We struggled to put up runs at the end of the preseason," Pico said. "I thought of bunch of them took good swings in crucial situations. Even some of our outs were hard hit. That's one of the things we look at, making sure we get quality at-bats."

Defensively, the Sabers committed the first-inning error by their young shortstop.

"That's a tough play for him," Pico said. "It's just a small adjustment; third baseman could've cut off, but that's something we're going to work on."

As for the Seariders, who never had a runner reach second base, it was a tough start in their return to Division I to face the state's fastest pitcher. They won the OIA D2 titles in 2013 and 2014.

"Knowing we were going to face Ian, all we could do was prepare," Waianae first-year coach Walter Grilho said. "Basically, get our (pitching) machines up to the 90s (mph), making sure we get our front side (lead foot) down and try to be short to the ball. But coming out here and facing the machine is different. He's going to have movement on the ball and take a little bit off. He threw a great game again. He got the best of us today.

"But this doesn't dictate our season. It was a good game overall to see where we're at, to see this kind of pitcher."



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




Show your support

Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ScoringLive continue its mission to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of high school sports in the state of Hawaii and beyond.

Please consider making a contribution today.

ADVERTISEMENT


MORE STORIES

Radford wins on walk-off wild pitch to turn back Kalaheo

Mataio Tauanuu batted 4-for-4 and scored the game-winning run in back-and-forth game for the Rams.

Punahou continues unbeaten streak, hands Kamehameha second straight loss

Third-ranked Warriors suffered consecutive losses in the regular season for the first time since 2017.

No. 4 Iolani rallies to hand No. 1 Kamehameha first ILH loss

Ethan Akagi and CJ Taira scored the winning runs for the Raiders off a wild pitch to hand the top-ranked...

Punahou pulls away from PAC-5 to notch first ILH win

The Buffanblu ended a five-game skid and broke into the win column to keep the Wolfpack winless in the...

Kalani's Nishigaya headlines All-OIA East selections

Forward/midfielder Kaiulani Nishigaya helped lift Falcons to first-ever league title; Kaiser's Noelani...

Trojans' Fuamatu-Maafala leads All-OIA West picks

Mililani's Iai Fuamatu-Maafala named Player of the Year; Campbell's James Curran named coach of the year.