Hawaiian Electric Game of the Week
Warriors one win away from first ILH title in 11 years




As evidenced by their previous meetings this season, there isn't much separation between the Kamehameha and Saint Louis baseball teams.

The Warriors and Crusaders — the top two teams in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings — have faced off four times this season, with each team winning twice.

All but one of those meetings have been decided by one run — including Tuesday's 5-4 win by Kamehameha in walk-off fashion.

The teams will meet once again Saturday — and possibly twice more next week — to decide the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I champion. Both teams have already secured a state tournament berth.

As a result of winning the regular-season title, Kamehameha earned the top seed in the double-elimination tournament and needs just one more win to claim the league's seeded berth and a first-round bye in the state tournament.

Saint Louis, however, must win Saturday to force a rematch for the tournament title Tuesday. If it wins Tuesday, the teams will play again Wednesday for the overall ILH title Wednesday. Both games would be played at Hans L'Orange Park in Waipahu.

"Basically we have to win three in a row against them," Crusaders coach George Gusman said.

At the very least, Gusman's team can take solace in the fact that it has already punched its ticket to states by virtue of its' 4-0 win over Punahou Wednesday.

"There was a lot of disappointment with how we finished the Kamehameha game (Tuesday), so it was tough on everyone," Gusman said. "It was tough on the players and I'm sure for our fans and supporters, but these guys are a resilient bunch. We're absolutely relieved. We played well, we pitched really, really well, so that was nice to get that over with."

Saint Louis got a complete-game effort from senior pitcher Dylan Lum Wednesday, who limited the Buffanblu to three hits. He struck out six and did not walk a batter.

"It was kind of scary because in the first inning they were hitting the ball hard, but Dylan did a good job settling down and he kind of flipped the script on them," Gusman said. "We had a break; they made an error and it was tough for them getting runners on, so that helped us."

Since Tuesday's down-to-the-wire finish, the Warriors have turned their sights to Saturday's showdown and a chance to lock up their first ILH championship since 2006.

"The kids seem pretty well focused and they're in good spirits. We're ready to play," Kamehameha coach Tom Perkins said.

For the Warriors — as it has been all year — it's a one-game season come Saturday.

"We're hoping to win and so that's the only game we're worried about right now," Perkins said. "I think for both us and Saint Louis, whoever makes the least amount of errors, that's where it's going to make a big difference, but for us it's one day at a time and we're focusing on (Saturday). If we have to worry about it, then we'll look to Tuesday and Wednesday."

Two of Kamehameha's three losses have come at the hands of the Crusaders, but Perkins said his squad has taken to the process and steadily shown improvement over the course of the season.

"I think we're getting closer and the more we play the better we get," Perkins said. "I love the way they're coming together. I just don't feel like we're completely there yet. We're very close to where we need to be and every game we've gotten a little better at it."

The Warriors have been steady in both pitching and hitting this season.

Offensively, they lead the ILH in every major statistical category: batting average (.310), hits (135), runs batted in (78) and runs scored (96).

Their pitchers have combined for an ILH-best 1.53 ERA with 83 strikeouts against 51 walks. Opponents have managed just 25 earned runs on 78 hits in 114 2/3 innings.

"Their pitching is so elite," Gusman said. "We have some good pitchers, but we don't have anyone that throws 90 (mph) and so we have to play extremely well defensively. I think (shortstop) Keith Torres has done that, along with (second baseman) Dylan Pagente, and (third baseman) Charlie Lopez, and our outfield is pretty outstanding as well, so that's why the games (with Kamehameha) have been so close. We play well defensively until we get a break and we're able to score."

Saint Louis has been able to lean heavily on its starting rotation of seniors Chase Meilleur (4-1, 2.24 ERA), Dawson Yamaguchi (4-1, 0.80) and Lum (3-1, 1.60).

The Crusaders ranks second in the ILH behind the Warriors in both batting average (.284) and earned run average (1.88).

"Saint Louis is a good team; they're good all-around," Perkins said. "Keith Torres, he's their mainstay out there and he made some great plays against us out there the other day. DJ (Stephens) out there in centerfield tracks down a lot of stuff. They're a tough team and probably one of the best teams in the state, so I think we're very close (to one another)."

Neither coach had decided on a starting pitcher as of mid-day Friday.

Perkins said he put multiple pitchers through a bullpen session Thursday in preparation for Saturday.

"We're going to have a lot of people ready so right now I think it's anybody's guess who we're going with because it's all what the kids feel (Saturday) and who is ready," Perkins said. "We have our plan in place but we haven't picked a pitcher yet because we want to give them a day to get their focus up and be ready to go (Saturday)."

Gusman also said he is weighing his options, despite it being Yamaguchi's turn in the rotation.

"We're looking at a couple guys. Freshman righty Richie Vidal is a possibility, so I think we're still mulling that over," Gusman said. "He's pretty good as a freshman, he pitched versus Punahou in that extra-inning game, so he's somewhat battle-tested and we'll need everyone at states if we want to advance, so that's a consideration and we'll see what happens."

First pitch between the Crusaders (13-5) and Warriors (14-3) is set for 10 a.m. at Ala Wai Community Park.


ScoringLive reporter Stacy Kaneshiro contributed to this report.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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