Baldwin holds off Hilo to reach Division I title game

Troy Shishido pitched a three-hitter and Pearl City exploded for five runs in the second inning to beat Hilo, 6-2, Thursday night in a semifinal of the Wally Yonamine Foundation Division I state baseball tournament at Les Murakami Stadium.

The Bears (15-1), the fourth seed of the tournament, will play third-seeded Waiakea (19-0) in the first all-Neighbor Island title game since 1984, when Baldwin beat Waimea. Game time is 7 p.m. Friday.

The Vikings (15-6) will play Pearl City (11-7) for third place at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Murakami.

Shishido took a no-hitter into the fifth, when he gave up back-to-back singles to Travis Higa-Gonsalves and Micah Ka'aukai. The runners advanced on a sacrifice by Elijah Cruz, but Shishido struck out pinch hitter Patricio Tsue and retired Randall Iha on a grounder to second to preserve Baldwin's 5-1 lead.

Shishido ran into trouble in the seventh. Jodd Carter led off by reaching on shortstop Branden Kaupe's throwing error and Higa was hit by a pitch. After Ka'aukai flied out to left, Cruz's double scored Carter and put runners at second and third with one out. Kian Kurokawa waas hit b a pitch to load the bases before Iha lined out to short. Representing the tying run, Chaye Ka'aua hit a grounder to third, where third baseman Rahni Pantorilla forced the runner at second to end the game.

Hilo took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Iha led off by getting hit b a pitch and two outs later, scored from third when Koa Matson reached on a two-base throwing error by third baseman Pantrollia.

But the Bears, with the aid of two errors, sent 10 batters up in a five-run second to take a lead they would not relinquish. Three of the runs were unearned. Jameson Kahalekai-Bermoy had a bases-loaded RBI single that reloaded the bases to set up Lane Kashiwamura's RBI HBP and Aaron Nalaeiha Victorino's bases-loaded walk to make it 3-1. Daulton Cabacungan reached on an error that scored the fourth run and Kaupe's sacrifice fly to right make it 5-1 against Hilo starter Konrad Kauffman, who lasted just 1 1/3 innings.

The Bears padded their lead in the fifth on an RBI single by Anoai Moe-Keahi.