Kamehameha rallies past, holds off Mid-Pacific, 4-3


Kamehameha's Moku Kukonu makes contact with a pitch against Mid-Pacific. Eric Alcantara | Special to SL
Kamehameha scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning tonight and then held off Mid-Pacific Institute's two-out, two-run rally in the seventh to win yet another wild Interscholastic League of Honolulu baseball showdown, 4-3.

A crowd of about 250 at Ala Wai Field watched the Warriors improve to 11-2 in ILH play and into a first-place tie with Punahou (11-2) atop the league standings. The Owls (10-2) fell into second place, a half-game back.

"It's been crazy, but that's what makes it so fun," Kamehameha coach Vern Ramie said. "We were fortunate, we got a lucky break and we took advantage of it. It was a great high school baseball game, you ask cannot ask for more."

MPI took a 1-0 lead after Skyler Tengan singled with one out, advanced to second on Brent Sakurai's sacrifice bunt and scored on Nik Alarcio's single to center field. The lead held into the sixth as Owls ace Travis Garcia-Perreira threw five shutout innings.

But the Warriors tied it at 1-1 after Po'okela Benanua led off the seventh with a double, moved to third on Ali'i Pedrina's sac bunt and scored on Hoku Botelho's single to right. Alika McGuire followed with a single to center and Moku Kukonu walked to load the bases, but Garcia got a strikeout for the second out.

William Young then hit a fluttering blooper in between first and second base that went off the fielder's glove, allowing Botelho and McGuire to score. Courtesy runner Joe Yokoi then scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-1.

Kamehameha starter Keenan Lum struck out the first two batters in the top of the seventh, but Josh Donovan (the second batter) reached first on a dropped third strike. Tengan then singled to center and Sakurai hit a bloop single to center that went off diving second baseman Botelho's glove to load the bases.

After a line drive out to third, Isiah Kiner Falefa reached on an infield throwing error, scoring pinch runner Cal Muramaru. Then on a 3-2 count, Marcus Doi hit a grounder up the middle that was mishandled near second base, scoring Tengan and cutting the lead to 4-3 with the tying run on third.

But Lum induced a grounder to first on the next pitch to end the game.
"I never lost faith in my defense," said Lum, a sophomore left-hander. "I knew I just had to get another ground ball or fly ball, and they would come through."

Lum (4-1) now leads the ILH in victories and lowered his earned run average to 1.63.

"Keenan pitched a great game tonight," Ramie said. "We didn't support him with offense in the first five innings, but he kept battling because that's the type of kid he is -- he's a fighter."

Tengan went 3 for 3 and Alarcio finished 3 for 4. Benanua went 2 for 2.