It’s a beautiful, hot and sunny afternoon in Manoa for Saint Louis-versus-Mid-Pacific in ILH baseball. Each team is 1-1 in league play. ILH boys basketball was quite the gauntlet recently. Baseball looks like much the same. MPI has lefty Alex Oley on the mound against STL southpaw — and it’s a true southpaw here at Damon Field — Dawson Yamaguchi.
MPI 1, STL 0
The Owls score in the bottom of the third inning after Hunter Hill’s long drive to deep center is dropped on the run. Great effort by CF John Kea. With two outs, Zach Gushiken singles to center. Throw home may have been good enough to get Hill at home, but the pitcher cut the ball off.
STL 1, MPI 1
Top of the fourth: Brendan Uchima singles to right with one out. Matt Wong follows with a single to left, and with two outs, DH Dylan Pagente’s single to center brings Uchima home to score. The throw home was perfect, one hop, but catcher Issac Kimura lost the ball as he tried to tag Uchima. What a play. Alex Oley gets Kea to fly out for the third out.
STL 2, MPI 1
Top of the fifth: Oley issues two walks to start the frame, and with one out, Kai Perreira-Alquiza grounds a single through a drawn-in infield to score D.J. Stevens from third base.
Sixth inning: That’s a day’s work on the mound for Oley. Now it’s Chase wago on the mound. He pitched 5 innings on Wednesday and is showing no fatigue.
MPI 3, STL 2
Bottom sixth: Owls done it again. Wago sngles with one out, courtesy runner Wyatt Young steals second base, and with two outs, Ryne Yamashiro walks. Trevin Tengan then smacks an 0-1 pitch over first base for a single, scoring Young from second with the tying run.
That chases Yamaguchi, who was stellar in 5 2/3 innings. But on the first pitch from reliever Chase Meilleur (a strike), Tengan strolls off first and STL catcher Taylor Meilleur takes the bait. His throw to first sails high and into right field, allowing Yamashiro to score the go-ahead run from third.
Classic MPI baseball.
STL 4, MPI 3
Top seventh: This is just crazy. Crusaders clutching up against Wago. Keith Torres fouls off four pitches with two strikes on him and ekes out a walk with one out. With two outs, Kai Perreira-Alquiza doubles to center, scoring Torres to tie it at 3. After Uchima is intentionally walked, Matt Wong rips a single to center, scoring Perreira-Alquiza with the go-ahead run for a 4-3 lead.
Uchima is picked off second base, but the Crusaders are in front entering the bottom of the frame.
Bottom seventh: Chase Meilleur retires the Owls in order and notches the win. Great comeback win for the Crusaders, 4-3.
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