Silva pitches Sabers into tie for first

Campbell starter Ayzek Silva pitched 5 2/3 strong innings while notching 10 strikeouts. CJ Caraang | SL

MANOA — After a rough outing a week ago, the Ayzek Silva Campbell fans have been accustomed to showed up.

The All-Hawaii Second Team left-handed pitcher threw 5 2/3 strong innings and No. 10 Campbell beat No. 7 Mililani, 4-2, Saturday night in the nightcap of an Oahu Interscholastic Association doubleheader at Les Murakami Stadium. The doubleheader was sponsored by the Hawaii Concussion Awareness Management Program (HCAMP).

The win pulled the Sabers (4-1) into a tie for first with the Trojans (4-1) in the West.

"This was a big game, not just because (the Trojans) were No. 1 in the West, but because it was the game in front of us," Campbell senior shortstop Ikaika Ganancial said. "Ayzek did good on the mound, threw a lot of strikes and our hitting came around at the right time."

Unlike last Saturday's outing in an 8-3 loss to Aiea when he allowed three runs in two innings pitched, Silva displayed command of his pitches in picking up the win. He allowed two runs, four hits and three walks while striking out a season-high 10. Zach Palipti pitched one out in the sixth and Tyrus Stephens moved in from center field to pitch the seventh — walking two and striking out two to earn the save.

"At least this time, he hit his spots," Campbell coach Glenn Flores said of the difference between Silva's Aiea outing and the one against the Trojans. "He went deep (into) counts; that's why we took him out because of pitch count. We'll never sacrifice a win for a player's arm. I know some people weren't happy with him being pulled, but we need to make that change. And we have confidence in the next guys coming in."

Silva had the Trojans chasing high fastballs and freezing them on off-speed on the corners. He struck out five in a row at one point and half of his strikeouts were with batters looking.

"My fastball was running pretty good," Silva said. "My secondary pitches — mostly my curve, sometimes my changeup — but I was mainly attacking them with my fastball."

The Sabers did all their damage against Mililani starting pitcher Charles Winchester in the third inning.

Sy Stephens led off with a walk and Logan Carvalho was hit by a pitch. Shayden Sabangan reached safely on a bunt single to load the bases. With Devin Gallano batting, Sy Stephens scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1, as the other two runners moved into scoring position. Gallano's ground out to third freezed the runners, but Ganancial delivered a two-run single to center to make it 3-1. Ganancial took second on a passed ball before Varen Sabino struck out. Ganancial scored when Bryden Malama reached on a two-base error on a dropped fly ball to make it 4-1 before Dayton Robinson struck out.

"That's what we've been missing the last few games," Flores said of the clutch hitting in the inning. "The clutch hits are what we're looking for. Mililani's always a tough team; we're always battling with them, so that was big for us."

The Trojans cut their deficit in the sixth when Ethan Thomas doubled on a fly that right fielder Malama lost in the lights. That is when Silva was pulled after 95 pitches for Palipti. But Vance Oshiro singled off the glove of first baseman Sabino that allowed Thomas to score before Palipti retired Taylor Inouye on a comebacker. The liner went off of Palipti's knee, though, he stayed with the ball and threw out the batter. But he hobbled off the field.

"That was a gutsy play," Flores said.

The left-handed Tyrus Stephens finished off the Trojans in the seventh.

It was a nice recovery for Silva after the Aiea start.

"Against Aiea, I missed spots," Silva said. "I wasn't really feeling it that game, but I had to come back this game."

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].