HHSAA Baseball
Maui rallies by Campbell, 6-4; on to title game


   



Fri, Apr 28, 2017 @ [ 7:00 pm ]


FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Campbell 2 002000431
Maui 1 0 0014X681

W: Mikito Barkman    L: Darien Robinson

MAUI: Micah Jio 2-2 run 2 rbi; Mikito Barkman 4.0 IP 0 ER 2 K
CAMP: Markus Ramos 1-3 rbi trp; Ayzek Silva 5.3 IP 4 ER 7 K


MANOA - No. 7 Maui rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to down No. 5 Campbell, 6-4, in Friday's semifinal of the Wally Yonamine Foundation Division I state baseball tournament at Les Murakami Stadium.

The Sabers (13-5), runners-up of the Maui Interscholastic League, will play No. 9 Waiakea (17-2), runner-up of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, will meet for the championship, 7 p.m. Saturday. It is the first all-Neighbor Island finale since Waiakea beat Baldwin, 5-2, in 2012 behind the combined no-hitter of Quintin Torres-Costa and Kodi Medeiros.

"Feels amazing," Maui shortstop Jyrah Lalim said. "Coming out the second seed out of MIL and we beat the No. 1 seed (Saint Louis) in this tournament, we think that we're the best. One more game. If we stick together like we did these couple games, we can do it."

Maui trailed 4-2 entering the sixth against Campbell starter Ayzek Silva. After Silva struck out Kao Mindoro, Waylor Golis-Bacos doubled and his pinch runner took third on Mikito Barkman's single to to center. Silva was lifted for Darien Robinson, who gave up an RBI single to Orrion Suda to pull Maui to 4-3. Robinson struck out Treston Carter for the second out. But Kaipo Paschoal singled to shortstop to load the bases, setting up Lalim's two-run double to put Maui ahead, 5-4. 

"My coach was telling me to look for something small (as in a single), but the big ones come," Lalim said with a laugh. "I realized the was throwing first-pitch curves so I just sat back and drove one and it went."

With runners at second and third, Micah Jio singled off Robinson's glove to score Paschoal to make it 6-4 before Bryant Nakagawa grounded to short for a force.

Barkman, who retired the last 10 batters he faced, retired Campbell in order in the top of the seventh on seven pitches.

Both unseeded teams had to strategize their way into the semifinals knowing there could be one more important game left.

Barkman was Maui's No. 2 starter all season, but Maui coach Chase Corniel elected to go with Haoa Jarnesky, who pitched three innings in one relief appearance this season.

By starting Jarnesky, Barkman started at first base, shelving Kaipo Paschoal, who had been the starting DH.

"Bottom line is everybody needs to be ready," Corniel said. "We all understood that. If we went the other way starting Mikito, he (Mikito) would've been the anchor to support Haoa because Haoa's a young player (a sophomore). We felt that was the best situation for us. I explained it Haoa and Mikito and also Paschoal at first base. We need to understand how important they are to the team. We're going to make moves that are best for the team, bottom line. They stepped up big."

Barkman bought in to the decision to start Jarnesky.

"I didn't care," Barkman said. "As long as we won."

Meanwhile, Campbell had starting pitchers left and went with the sophomore left-hander Silva, who has six saves. Campbell also had to make some first-time moves to keep its best offense and defense in the lineup. Hot-hitting Markus Ramos moved up in the order to cleanup and was the DH. To keep its best outfielders on defense, that meant 5-foot-2 slick-fielding second baseman Aaron Bentosino, who has been hit for all his career, was slotted in the batting lineup.

"Ayzek's just a pitcher so he doesn't get the amount of swing as Aaron does," Campbell coach Rory Pico said. "We had guys to come in in pinch-hit roles. Certain situations come up, we were going to hit for guys."

Campbell jumped on Jarnesky for two runs in the first on Ramos' run-scoring triple and a passed ball that scored Justin Fernandez.


Maui got a run back in the bottom of the first. Micah Jio was hit by a pitch to start the inning and took second on Nakagawa's single to right. The runners advanced on Kao Mindoro's sacrifice and Jio scored when Golis-Bacos grounded out to short before Barkman struck out to end the inning.

Campbell added to its lead in the fourth, when they chased Jarnesky, who allowed a lead-off walk to Roy Clemons-Diaz. Barkman came in and Clemons-Diaz moved to second on Bentosino's sacrifice. Kekahi Reiny Aloy's single to right sent Clemons-Diaz to third. Barkman's pick-off throwing error to first allowed Clemons-Diaz to score and sent Reiny Aloy to third, where he scored on Shane Shimizu's sacrifice fly to right to make it 4-1. After Ikaika Ganancial walked, shortstop Lalim made a nice stop of a sharp grounder to throw out Justin Fernandez.

Maui cut its deficit in half in the bottom of the fifth. Paschoal led off with a walk and took second on Lalim's sacrifice, but Silva's throw to first was wild, allowing Paschoal to go to third. But on the play, Lalim was out trying to take second. Jio's sacrifice fly to right scored Paschoal to pull Maui to 4-2 before Nakagawa struck out.

Maui had knocked off top-seeded Saint Louis the night before to advance to the semifinals. Now it's a win away from its first state crown since 1982.

"It's unbelievable," Barkman said. "I can't believe this is happening."

Barkman, who used 35 pitches, just made the pitch-limit cutoff and is eligible to up to 75 pitches for the title game. Lalim, who has not pitched yet, is likely to pitch in some role, if needed.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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