Baseball

WAILUKU — The pitch-count limit has an effect on just about every team in the baseball state tournament. Punahou had its own dilemma, even for just a moment. With a 4-1 lead on a dangerous Kaiser squad midway through the quarterfinal matchup, the possibility of pulling starting pitcher Matt McConnell existed. Why pull him? If he could stay below 61 pitches, he would be eligible to pitch again on Saturday — should the Buffanblu reach the title game. Punahou opted […]

WAILUKU — There’s a certain wave that flows through the Gabonia household. Ocean Gabonia is an ace pitcher for the Hilo Vikings, but his family’s first love is off land. “My sister’s name is Brooke,” he said. “Basically, we just love water.” Gabonia’s four-hitter led the third seed, Hilo, over Kailua 7-4 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball State Championships. He fanned five Surfriders and walked just one. The senior did it with a fastball […]

Nora Nakahara never missed a baseball game in grandson Reece Kadota’s career at St. Francis — until this year. Nakahara, a loving team grandma for the Saints, is ill and under the care of hospice, according to St. Francis coach Kip Akana. But the team honors her every game. “We’ve dedicated the season to her,” said Bubba Akana, one of the seniors on the team. “Her favorite color is purple, so we have a purple heart with her initials on […]

WAILUKU — It wasn’t perfect, but it sure was close. Jason Shiigi pitched his best game of the season at the most crucial time, giving Mililani a two-hit shutout in a 4-0 win over Kamehameha on Thursday morning at Iron Maehara Stadium. Mililani (18-6 overall) came into the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball State Championships with the lowest seed, fourth, among league champions. Shiigi struck out nine with a mix of sharp-biting curveballs and a solid fastball. He walked only one. […]

Here we go with the quarterfinal round of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball State Championships at Iron Maehara Stadium. Final: Baldwin 8, Waiakea 5 Top 7: Miyao cranks a double off the right-field wall with one out, but Varner, who had replaced Haole in the seventh, gets Rosario to fly out and then strikes out Mauai to end the game. Bot 5: Ziegler-Namoa led off with a walk and eventually scored on a throwing error by the catcher. BALDWIN 8, […]

WAILUKU — It was, perhaps, the hidden-ball trick heard around the world. Or, at least, Wailuku. In a game that featured a recurring leg cramp to a key player, a flying bat and loosey-goosey baserunning tactics all in the name of eking out just one more valuable run, it was the mindcraft of an infielder that helped save the night for Kailua. The Surfriders’ 10-1 win over Maui in the opening round of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball State Championships […]

WAILUKU — The Waiakea Warriors saw their BIIF title hopes sink last week with a loss to Hilo. They responded on Saturday with a 9-0 win over Leilehua in a play-in game for a state-tournament berth. On Wednesday, they showed again that the past is just the past, storming past Saint Louis 9-4 at Iron Maehara Stadium. The unseeded entries in the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball State Championships came into the game as Top 10 teams. Saint Louis (21-10) is […]

WAILUKU — All things being equal, there was something special from the lower half of the lineup for the Kaiser Cougars. Gyson Oshiro delivered two key base hits, driving in a run in the fourth inning and two more in the seventh as Kaiser upset Campbell 6-4 to advance into the quarterfinal round of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball State Championships at Iron Maehara Stadium. Noah Matsumoto, batting ninth, was a difference-maker with a 2-for-3 effort, including an RBI single […]