OIA Baseball
Marauders claim 20th league title over Red Raiders


  



Fri, Apr 28, 2023 @ [ 4:00 pm ]


FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Kahuku 0 000002244
Waipahu 0 2 0002X442

W: Phoenix Torres    L: Malakai Vendiola    SV: Donnie Miller

WAIP: Kamden Takanobu 2-3 2 rbi dbl; Phoenix Torres 6.6 IP 0 ER 7 K
KAH: Malakai Vendiola 1-4 rbi dbl / 5.3 IP 1 ER 6 K


MANOA — Glory belongs to the Waipahu Marauders once again.

The Waipahu baseball team captured the program's 20th league title with a 4-2 win over Kahuku in the OIA Division II championship game Friday evening at Les Murakami Stadium.

Phoenix Torres (3-1) pitched 6 2/3 innings to pick up the win and help the Marauders (12-1) earn their first OIA crown since 2012. Torres scattered four hits and struck out seven before giving way to Donnie Miller to pick up the save after the Red Raiders scored two unearned runs.

"We worked all year for this. Leading up to this game, we have to get this dub. We want it so bad and shout out to the team, we all did our best," Torres said.

"I'm so happy and proud of these guys. The support they get from the parents and the school, and staff,I'm really happy for them. They know the job ain't done yet. We got bigger goals we're trying to hit," Waipahu coach Ian Ferris said.

Of the 103 pitches the southpaw threw, 61 went for strikes.

"Everything was working. The pitch calling was amazing. Shout out to my defense. They really picked it up back there. The energy was intense and it was a great game all around," Torres said.

"It's his senior year, he's looking for a way to make his mark. He was putting pressure on himself as our ace and leader. For him, it was the realization, we weren't asking him to be perfect and we wanted him to be him. The last time we played him, he came out and dealt and did the same thing today, it was awesome to see that come together for him," Ferris said.

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Catcher Kamden Takanobu went 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in two runs.

"He gives me a lot of confidence from framing to keeping the ball in front of him. Arm strength, he showed it all today," Torres said of Takanobu.

The Red Raiders (10-4 overall) got into the championship game in dramatic fashion after outlasting Waianae, 15-14, in the semifinals. Kahuku led, 15-6 in the sixth inning before the Seariders stormed back to make it a game in the bottom of the frame.

"We were riding some momentum and came around at the end. We made it this far. Proud of the boys. They fought all the way to the end, couldn't expect anything better. We look forward to states next week," Kahuku coach Spencer Colburn said.

Dillon Shim led off with a base hit to shallow right field and moved over on Danen Nishimura's sacrifice bunt. After Callan Okada popped out to short, Takanobu got the Marauders on the scoreboard with a RBI single to right. Ryne Yoshimura came in as a pinch runner, stole second and scored on Devon Aea-Kubota's throwing error for a 2-0 lead.

"Kam (Takanobu) is such a good kid. He works really hard. I was talking to him pregame, he's had a good season with the bat but there's been time he's been long with the swing. Before the game, the conversation was to stay short and look to go the other way just the way he does in BP. His first at bat, he shot the ball to right field," Ferris said.

"I saw it and swung at it. It was we were taught to do, drive the ball opposite," Takanobu said.

Torres silenced the Red Raider bats through the first four innings, allowing just one hit and striking out six of the 16 batters faced.

The Marauders padded their lead in the sixth inning. Shim led off with a walk and Tobi Yamaguchi came in as a pinch runner. He got to second on a throwing error to first and scored off an error on short.

"Without a doubt. I knew those guys (Kahuku) weren't going to quit fighting. Yesterday's game against Waianae was a perfect example. When we played them the first time, we were up but they battled. Even the two runs, we needed to add on a little more. Those two runs at the end sealed the deal," Ferris said.

Malakai Vendiola was lifted for Hezekiah Colburn. Aea-Kubota threw Nishimura out at third for the second out. Colburn walked Okada and Takanobu's double landed inches away from the left foul line to score Waipahu's final run. Colburn struck out Mason Salausa-Galletes to end the inning.

"The last at bat, it was same thing, stay short, and he got one and it stayed fair and it was huge for us," Ferris said.

"My mind was, swing fast ball, don't hit at the curve ball. I saw the fast ball up and in and swung at it," Takanobu said.

Malakai Vendiola went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three hits. Of the three runs scored, one was earned as he struck out six and walked three in the loss.

"We pushed him to the limit. He had some more left in him that we could do in the pitch count. He gave it his all and he was throwing all his stuff. It was working for him, didn't help we made some errors on the field that contributed to the points. Overall, I'm proud of them," Colburn said of Vendiola.

Hezekiah Colburn finished up and scattered a hit, walked and struck out one.

Kahuku refused to go down quietly. Kaulana Judd-Au drew a lead off walk, stole second and scored on an error on the second baseman. Torres struck out DeAngelo Chun for the first out, but Oakland Hanohano reached on another error. Mason Vargas grounded out to second for the second out, but Malakai Vendiola doubled down the left field line to plate Hanohano. Miller moved from right field to the mound and needed five pitches to induce a ground out to short to end the game.

The Marauders make their first state tournament appearance since 2019 and last won their state title in 2012.

The Red Raiders make their first state tournament appearance since 2009. Joining them is Waianae, who came from behind to beat Radford, 13-12 to clinch the league's last berth.

Kahuku and Waipahu split the season series. The Red Raiders won 6-5 on Apr. 5, but the Marauders run ruled them two weeks later, 10-0 in six innings.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].




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