Hawaiian Electric Game of the Week
Late rally lifts Governors over Seariders


  



Sat, Mar 10, 2018 @ [ 3:00 pm ]


FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Waianae 0 101021580
Farrington 0 0 00051640

W: Kamaehu Sanchez    L: Braiden Ayala

FARR: Caleb Sherman 1-2 run rbi HR; Trey Kaawa 5.0 IP 4 ER 2 K
WNAE: Matthew Orian 1-2 2 runs; Kaleo Akiona 5.0 IP 3 ER 5 K


KALIHI — A new game, a new hero.

But in Farrington's case, there were multiple heroes in its 6-5 come-from-behind win against Waianae at Joey DeSa Field Saturday afternoon in the Hawaiian Electric/ScoringLive Game of the Week.

Freshman Kamaehu Sanchez's line single to left scored Reese Shioji from second base with one out in the bottom of the seventh to improve the Governors to 4-0 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II standings.

"I was just thinking I had to clutch-up," said Sanchez, who had allowed the tying run to score in the top of the seventh. "I knew I should've shut it down in the top seventh. So I said, ‘Let's be a hero today,' because coach always talks about being heroes. You never know when it's going to be your day. Today was my day, I guess."

Sanchez also picked up the win in relief of starter Trey Kaawa.

Caleb Sherman high-fives his third base coach after cranking a solo home run over the right field fence.

The homer might not have come had Tokunaga not notice that Pilor was entering the batter's box when it was supposed to be Sherman.

But the Seariders (0-1), playing their first game of the season, showed why they are the defending OIA D2 champions. They tied the game at 5 with one out when Rico Rosario bounced out to shortstop for a fielder's choice force at second, allowing Braiden Ayala to score.

Akiona, who was forced out at second, came in with a hard slide into the bag. The Govs were hoping for interference and a game-ending double play, but to no avail. Matt Orian popped out to second to keep the game tied.

In the home seventh, Ayala struck out Kody Pilor to start the inning, but hit Shioji with a pitch. Shioji took second on Chasen Castilliano's single to right. Sanchez then drilled a 0-2 pitch to left, bringing home Shioji with the winning run.

Farrington sophomore Reese Shioji comes home for the game-winning run against Waianae.

Before the sixth, it was all Waianae and Akiona. He retired the first seven batters of the game before walking a batter in the third and fourth innings. He then struck out the side in the fifth. But after allowing the homer to Sherman, Akiona walked Pilor and Shioji to load the bases.

Braedyn Chong moved in from center field to pitch. After a passed ball moved the runners to second and third, Castilliano walked to load the bases. After a wild pitch scored Pilor to make it 4-2, Sanchez walked to reload the bases. Pinch hitter Hunter Atagi struck out on a wild pitch that allowed Shioji to score and send the other runners to third and second. With one out, Treven Isobe's two-run single to left gave Farrington a 5-4 lead.

After Cisqo Sagucio walked, Chong was pulled for Ayala, who got the next to batters to end the inning.

"We were kind of questioning whether he would come back (for the sixth inning)," Waianae coach Bernard Beaver said of Akiona, who had thrown 68 pitches through five inning. "It's the start of the season; we were counting pitches. We try to keep it 70, 75 (pitches). Plus, he had a no-hitter going."

Waianae starting pitcher Kaleo Akiona prepares to throw a pitch against Farrington.

In five-plus innings, Kaawa allowed four runs, six hit and four walks with two strikeouts. He allowed runners in every inning but the third. He escaped a first-inning jam by getting Akiona to ground to second for an inning-ending double play, but he allowed RBI singles to Nainoa Machado in the second and Konan Keliikoa in the fourth. Kaawa then loaded the bases to start the sixth by allowing singles to Akiona and Rosario and walking Orian.

Sanchez came in and got Keliikoa ground into a force at second as courtesy runner Casey Ferreira-Sparks scored. With runners at the corners, Keliikoa stole second. Then in a strange plate appearance, David Ugaitafa ran a 2-2 count and fouled off a pitch, but his foot got stuck in an awkward position as he dropped to the ground in pain. He had to be lifted for pinch hitter Macaiah Borling, who grounded out to first to score Rosario to make it 4-0, before getting Machado to ground out to third.

The Govs won with two freshmen starters in catcher/pitcher Sanchez and shortstop Pilor, who found his way into the starting lineup with Brennan Caspillo out with a collapsed lung. Also out with an illness was freshman first baseman Jayden Soriano. Other starters - Shioji, Randy Wong and Okada - are sophomores. Isobe is a junior.

Farrington shortstop Kody Pilor catches a pop out against Waianae.

"They're all baseball players," Tokunaga said of the underclassmen. "They've been playing all their lives. They're very mature for their age, physically and baseball savvy-wise. We're almost forced to use them."

The Govs will be playing in the Coach Bob National Invitational, March 19-24, in Arizona. They are the first team from Hawaii to be invited, Tokunaga said. The tournament has teams from Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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