Kean Wong’s head’s-up baserunning and Kodi Medeiros’ pitching brilliance carried Waiakea past Hilo in another thriller between the crosstown rivals. Kean Wong’s head’s-up baserunning and Kodi Medeiros’ pitching brilliance carried Waiakea past Hilo in another thriller between the crosstown rivals.
Kean Wong’s head’s-up baserunning and Kodi Medeiros’ pitching brilliance carried Waiakea past Hilo in another thriller between the crosstown rivals.
Wong scored the game-winning run with no one at home, and Medeiros pitched a three-hitter to lift the Warriors over the Vikings 3-2 in a wild Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I baseball game Wednesday night at Wong Stadium.
It was the second meeting between the Warriors (10-0) and Vikings (7-3). In the first game, Waiakea ace Quintin Torres-Costa scattered six hits and whiffed 11 to outduel Hilo ace Kian Kurokawa.
The rematch was between each team’s No. 2 starter — Medeiros and Hilo’s Nick Fukunaga — and equally exciting, with the winning run scoring in the bottom of the seventh.
Hilo reliever Jordan Tagawa gave up a soft single to Wong and was replaced by Jodd Carter, who intentionally walked Korin Medeiros with no outs after Wong stole second, setting the stage for a frantic seventh-inning finish.
After Carter’s first pitch to cleanup batter Kodi Medeiros, Korin Medeiros broke for second on a steal. Just one problem though — Wong was still at second, about three feet off the bag.
“Chayce Kaaua (Hilo’s shortstop) cut in front of Kean, and Korin thought Kean took off for third,” Waiakea coach Kevin Yee said.
Hilo catcher Koa Matson ran right at Wong, who was eventually caught in two rundowns. But each time the Vikings dropped the ball.
When Wong was safe at third, he noticed nobody was covering home plate, so he raced in to score the winning run, giving a complete-game victory to Medeiros, who allowed two runs — one unearned — on three hits and four walks. He struck out 11.
“Kodi hit his spots and kept his pitch count down (104 pitches), and he did everything he needed to do,” Yee said. “He pitched under pressure, and I definitely liked that. He kept his poise throughout the game when things weren’t going his way.”
Hilo sparkplug Randall Iha, who reached base three times, scored an unearned in the first on Kaaua’s sacrifice fly.
Then Medeiros established the inside corner with his fastball, and he struck out seven batters over the next three innings, including the side in the fourth.
In the fifth, the 6-foot sophomore lefty showed his athleticism, diving and catching a bunt and throwing to first to nab a running Kurokawa, who earlier walked, for a double play.
No one paired hits for the Vikings, who also plated a run in the sixth when Kaaua singled, went to second on a wild pitch and later scored on a passed ball.
Fukunaga pitched 3 2/3 innings, giving up two runs — one unearned — on three hits and two walks.
He struck out four in a no-decision, yielding a run in the third and later wiggling out of a bases-loaded jam.
Fukunaga left in the fourth with the bases loaded for Jordan Tagawa, whose first pitch to Wong went to the backstop and scored Reyn Kihara for a 2-2 tie.
He got a groundout to end the threat, then threw two scoreless innings.
Then he gave up Wong’s single in the seventh and was replaced. Tagawa got stuck with a tough-luck loss.
He went 2 1/3 innings and allowed a run on one hit. He walked one and struck out three.
No one paired hits for the Warriors. But Robbey Meguro was 1-for-1, reaching base three times and scoring Waiakea’s first run in the third after he walked and came home on Torres-Costa’s RBI single.
The third meeting between the two teams is set for April 20 at Wong Stadium.
“It’s a bittersweet win. It’s a win and we’ll take it,” Yee said. “But it was such a good game and both sides played well.
“It went our way this time. Unfortunately, you don’t like to see a game end that way. But it was a lot of excitement for the fans.”
Hilo 100 001 0 — 2 3 3
Waiakea 001 100 1 — 3 4 2
c Ka’u at Kamehameha-Hawaii: The contest, postponed because of rain, has been rescheduled for 3 p.m. Monday at Kamehameha-Hawaii.
c Keaau at Pahoa: The game was postponed because of rain. The BIIF has not announced a makeup date.
