Kaiser tops Roosevelt to take over sole possession of second in OIA East

Brien Ing | SL

In a logjammed race for a playoff berth in the OIA Division I East, Kaiser got one step closer to securing a spot with a 4-1 win over Roosevelt at its home field.

Kanoa Morisaki scattered five hits over five innings of work, allowing just one earned run, striking out five and walking one, and Bryson Toner finished off the remaining two innings to earn the save.

Eight different players registered a base hit for the Cougars, led by Taylin Oana's 1 for 3 day at the plate with a double and three RBI. Only one other extra base hit was recorded on the afternoon, a double by Morisaki.

Roosevelt's Dominic Teixeira collected two hits in four at bats, and the top four in the Rough Riders' lineup accounted for 5 of the teams 6 hits, but Kaiser's defense got the outs when it needed them.

Castle's loss today to Moanalua eliminated the Knights from the playoff picture, but seeding still looms large for the rest of the East with two games remaining, especially for Kaiser.

Roosevelt goes on the road to face Kailua on Tuesday before ending the regular season playing host to Moanalua on Thursday, where winning out would even its record at 6-6.

The Cougars finish the regular season with a road contest against rival Kalani Tuesday followed by a home contest on Thursday against division leader Kailua, who Kaiser beat 9-0 back on March 30. Two wins, plus a Roosevelt win over Kailua would vault Kaiser into the top seed. Two losses, on the other hand, would drop the Cougars to a .500 record, where as many as five teams could hold identical marks.