Big inning helps No. 1 MPI rout No. 6 Kamehameha, 10-2


Left-handed Mid-Pacific pitcher, Chase Wago, throws a pitch against a Kamehameha batter. Greg Yamamoto | SL

Top-ranked Mid-Pacific sent 11 batters to the plate in a seven-run second inning to knock off visiting Kamehameha, 10-2, Tuesday in Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I baseball.

The Owls (4-0-1) remain unbeaten with their only tie coming against the Warriors (2-2-2) on March 11 (4-4). But Tuesday was unlike the teams' previous meeting.

Left-hander Chase Wago, the winning pitcher, kept the Warriors in check by pitching to contact. He allowed two runs (one earned), seven hits and a walk with one strikeout. Grant Doi allowed single in a scoreless seventh.

"The last time, I think Chase lost his composure," MPI coach Dunn Muramaru said. "We had to scramble little bit that game. I guess he learned from his mistakes."

What also helped Wago was his team jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the second against Warriors' starting pitcher Codie Paiva, who was victim to his defense's miscues. He pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing 10 runs (five earned), nine hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Ulu Farm pitched the remaining 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

"Anytime you have a seven-run lead, you can challenge (the hitters)," Muramaru said. "You can come over the plate."

The only inning he labored was the fourth, when the Warriors scored twice. An error led to one of the runs being unearned, but he escaped further harm when he retired Matt Yokota on a come-backer, stranding runners at second and third. He also worked out of a first-and-third jam with one out in the second by getting Brandon Henderson to ground into an inning-ending double play.

"Just throwing strikes, letting my defense work," Wago said of his effectiveness.

Wago said in his previous outing against Kamehameha, he had control issues. The difference this time was his ability to throw strikes, he said.

The Owls inflicted damage with their bats and cashed in on the Warriors errors in the seven-run second and the three-run fifth.

"The thing with Mid-Pac is they're excellent at taking advantage of their situations," Kamehameha coach Billy Pieper said. "They make every extra out hurt."

In the seven-run inning, Ryan Kiyotoki had two singles and scored a run. Jarrett Lum started it with  an RBI double; Cal Muramaru was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Nicholas Bottom reached on an infield RBI single. A throwing error on an attempt to force a runner out at third brought home a run and loaded the bases. Later in the inning when the Owls had first and third with two outs, Cameron Igarashi stole second, but the throw went into center field, allowing the runner from third to score. But the center fielder misplayed the errant throw, allowing Igarashi to score from second.

In the fifth, the Owls had the bases loaded with no out. Lum hit a grounder to first for what should have been at least a force at home, but the throw was wild, allowing two runs to score. Bryce Nagata, who was 2 for 3 with a double, got an RBI single to round out the scoring.

Ethan Rosehill led the Warriors with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate, including a double.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].