OIA Baseball
Seariders pour it on in rout of Hurricanes to close out OIA D2 regular season


  



Sat, Apr 13, 2024 @ [ 6:30 pm ]


F/5TH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Kapolei 0 1000XX127
Waianae 2 2 39XXX16102

W: Shysten Nagasako    L: Cameron Fuentes

WNAE: Kyson Rosa 3-4 run rbi 2 dbl; Shysten Nagasako 5.0 IP 0 ER 5 K
KAP: Jonah Fuentes 1-2 run dbl; Cameron Fuentes 2.0 IP 1 ER 2 K


WAIPIO — Following the lead of Waianae's own Max Holloway, the Seariders' baseball team knocked out their competition Saturday night. 

Kyson Rosa collected three hits, including a pair of doubles, and Shysten Nagasako threw a two-hitter with five strikeouts to lead Waianae to a 16-1 thumping of Kapolei in an Oahu Interscholastic Association baseball game at Patsy T. Mink/Central Oahu Regional Park. 

The Seariders (8-2) rapped out 10 hits and scored in every inning to mercy rule the Hurricanes (8-2) in the regular season finale for both teams. The game, which was broadcasted live to a statewide television audience, was called after the top of the fifth inning. 

"Today our offensive approach was probably the best it was all season and what a time to show up: on TV for the whole state to see and we showed everybody how good we really are," Waianae coach Ben McQuown said. 

The Seariders nearly matched their season-high 17 runs scored in a mercy-rule win over McKinley in late March and in doing so, snapped Kapolei's seven-game win streak — which coincidentally began with a 6-5 extra-inning win over Waianae back on March 16. 

"We wanted it," said Rosa, who batted 3 for 4. "We worked for it and I think it was really good to get revenge and show up for the West side, for Waianae and just be a name out there."

Waianae took advantage of eight walks issued by Kapolei pitching. The Hurricanes also committed seven errors, which led to six of the seven runs charged to starting pitcher Cameron Fuentes being unearned. 

After Nagasako set the ‘Canes down in order in the top of the first inning, he helped his own cause in the bottom of the frame by bringing in Rico Duropan for the game's first run. 

Duropan got on base with a leadoff single, took second on a Fuentes balk, advanced to third on Rosa's bloop single to right field and eventually scored on a squeeze play when Nagasaki laid down a well-executed bunt. Nagasako eventually scored on a throwing error.  

The Seariders doubled up their lead with two more runs in the second inning — thanks in part to two more Kapolei errors — and pushed across three runs in the third, including an RBI-sacrifice fly off the bat of KamrenJ Atanes to score Rico Gazelle. 

Waianae sent 13 batters to the plate in a 27-minute bottom of the fourth and scored nine runs on five hits. Meycid Moses and Duropan recorded run-scoring singles and Samstyn Quel and Rosa each swatted an RBI-double before Gazelle delivered the big blow in the form of a bases-clearing double that made the score 16-1. 

Rosa's double came on an 0-2 count and plated Moses from third. 

"I was just trying to get my pitch, got a hold of it and that's it," said Rosa, who has hit safely in every game this season. 

Rosa, the Seariders' second batter in the lineup, leads the team in hits and has a .464 batting average on the year. 

"That guy's been carrying us all season and for him to have that kind of game on this stage, I'm just proud of the kid," McQuown said. "He deserves everything that comes his way and I'm just proud of the kid. He showed up today when it mattered the most and if we can keep that going headed into the postseason, we'll be pretty tough to beat."

Meanwhile, Nagasako turned in his best outing of the season on the mound. The senior right-handed pitcher allowed just two hits to register his first win despite a 2.11 earned run average. Nagasako struck out five batters, walked two and fired 48 of his 79 total pitches for strikes. The lone run he surrendered was unearned. 

"Everything was working for him tonight, he was dealing out there," said Rosa, who calls the pitches for the Seariders from behind the plate. 

Nagasako faced five more than the minimum 15 batters. Among the few blemishes in his performance were two hit batsmen and threw a couple of wild pitches. 

"He was doing pretty good, it's just maybe if we cut out some of the beans, but other than that he was dealing and I think he did very good," Rosa said. 

McQuown was pleased to see one of his dual aces deliver a strong outing. 

"He's like our one-A and then Chase Rice is our one-B. Both of those guys I trust to put them in at any time, versus anybody and Shysten's been struggling all season on the mound and he kind of showed up today, especially for his senior game — his last regular season game. It's really good to see and gives me more confidence going forward," McQuown said. 

Jonah Fuentes scored Kapolei's lone run in the top of the second inning. He doubled to lead off the frame, took third on a passed ball and came home on a Waianae error. 

Cameron Fuentes took the loss for the ‘Canes, who used for pitchers in the game. 

Rice drew a pair of walks and scored three times for the Seariders. 

"We're ready to play anybody, anywhere — that's our mindset," McQuown stated. "I feel like we're the best team in this league and I think we showed that tonight. If we play like this, we're gonna be tough to beat."

Both teams have already qualified for the OIA Division II tournament. Kapolei will be the No. 2 seed by virtue of its win over Kahuku (9-1) — which finished with the best record in the regular season — while Waianae will be seeded third in the six-team tournament that runs from Apr. 25-27. 

The top three finishers in the OIA tournament will qualify for next month's Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA D2 State Championships. 



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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