HHSAA Baseball
Pearl City explodes for 6 in 11th to down Mililani, 8-2


  



Fri, May 6, 2016 @ [ 4:15 pm ]


FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 891011 R H E
Pearl City 2 00000000068110
Mililani 1 0 010000000281

W: DIllin Hasegawa    L: Brennan Anzai

MIL: Aris Nakagawa 2-3 run rbi dbl; Koa Eastlack 10.0 IP 1 ER 7 K
PC: Matt Yokota 1-4 run 3 rbi; Torey Chun 8.0 IP 2 ER 2 K


WAILUKU, Maui – No. 5 Pearl City exploded for six runs in the top of the 11th inning to down Mililani, 8-2, in the first semifinal of the Wally Yonamine Foundation Division I state baseball tournament.

The Chargers (17-1) will play second-seeded and home-island favorite Baldwin (16-0) for the 58th championship at 6 p.m. Saturday at Iron Maehara Stadium.

The Trojans (12-6) will play Campbell (12-7) for third place at 3 p.m.

The Chargers sent 11 batters up in the six-run 11th against Trojans' relievers Brennan Anzai and Shane Griffin. Anzai hit a batter and allowed five consecutive singles – two of them driving in a run each - while not recording an out. Griffin hit the first batter he faced with the bases loaded to bring in a run. After a force out at the plate, the Chargers scored on another hit batsman with bases loaded and an out later on a two-run single by Yokota before a force out end the inning.

The score was not indicative of a thrilling nail-biter over 10 innings, as starting pitchers Koa Eastlack of Mililani and Torey Chun of Pearl City battled toe-to-toe past the regulation seven innings with the scored tied at 2.

Chun went eight innings, allowing two runs, six hits and four walks with two strikeouts, while Eastlack pitched 10, allowing two runs (one earned) and seven hits with six strikeouts. Eastlack used 114 pitches, a low number for the innings pitched.

The difference turned out to be the relief corps. Dillin Hasegawa pitched three scoreless innings of two-hit ball to get the win. The Trojans' first reliever, Anzai, faced only four batters and each got a hit before he gave way to Griffin, who completed the inning. Anzai was charged with four runs; Griffin one run and one hit.

"They did an incredible job, persevered throughout the whole game," Pearl City coach Gavin Concepcion said. "All we were asking them to do was, especially Torey was to go out there an compete for us and got get early strikes, early outs, keep us in the ball game, give us a chance to put some runs on the board."

It was tough loss for the Trojans, especially with Eastlack's outing. Eastlack had been dealing with shoulder issues all season. His 10 innings pitched accounts for nearly a third of his season total.

"If he didn't have the nagging injuries, I think he should be the best pitcher in the state," Mililani coach Mark Hirayama said. "He's not a big velocity guy, but he just pitched…Big game. He wanted the ball. He didn't want to come out, but at the same time, his future is more important that one ball game."

Chun had pitched 14 1/3 innings all season then pitched more than half that against the Trojans.

"The crowd was loud and I knew I just had to drown them out, focus in on throwing strikes and just doing my job," Chun said of the game's excitement.

Chun registered 14 groundouts and was backed by some superb fielding. Second baseman Colby Hirano robbed Preston Morales of a hit with a diving stop of a grounder. Center fielder Matt Yokota, who had six putouts, catching everything hit in front, back and to his sides.

"Yokota, great in center field," Concepcion said. "He went gap to gap and ran a lot of those balls down. Davin (Kapuras, third base), Matt (Aribal) at shortstop. Hirano makes an unbelievable play at second base. It keeps us in the game. All around, the mentality that we had to stay with every pitch throughout the whole game was great."

The visiting Chargers staked Chun to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Eastlack. With one out, Sam Prentice reached on a bunt single to third and took second on Kapuras' single to left. With Yokota at the plate, Prentice stole third, as Kapuras held first and scored on a sacrifice fly to center. Kapuras then stole second and scored when Christian Onomura reached on a two-base throwing error by shortstop Blaine DeMello before Trestan Nakamura struck out.

The Trojans got one of the runs back in the bottom of the frame. Ryan Kono led off with a singl to center, took second on CJ Ibara's sacrifice, went to third when Kaimana Paaluhi-Souza grounded out to second and scored on Aris Nakagawa's double to the left-center alley before Keolu Ramos grounded out to third.

The Trojans tied the game in the fourth. Nakagawa was hit by a Chun pitch to start the inning, advanced to second on Hunter Kirihara's sacrifice, took third when Ramos grounded out to first and scored on Morales' single to short. Chun then struck out Sheldon Lee to keep the game tied.

The Trojans had a golden opportunity to win it in the eighth. Souza-Paaluhi led off with a walk against Chun and took second on Nakagawa's single to left. Kirihara squared to bunt, then swung away and hit a liner to Chun, who fired to second to double off Souza-Paaluhi. After courtesy runner Noah Domogsac stole second, Ramos walked, but Morales flied out to end the inning.

The Trojans then loaded the bases in the 10th against Hasegawa with a two out walk to Nakagawa, a single by Kirihara and a walk to Ramos. But Hasegawa struck out Morales to end the threat.

"Our team as done a great job coming here making it this far," Chun said. "We just have to keep doing what we're doing."

The Chargers are 1-2 in title games, winning their last crown in 2011.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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