Kamehameha-Hawaii right-hander Kaimana Moike and Honokaa left-hander Dylan Shiraki, a pair of aces, kept trying to trump each other, with the one running into more trouble somehow finding a way to prevail.
Moike didn’t have a peaceful outing, only once retiring the side, but he made clutch pitches when it counted, and the Warriors outlasted the Dragons 2-1 in eight innings in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II semifinals Friday at Wong Stadium.
The Warriors (11-5), who earned their first Hawaii High School Athletic Association state baseball tournament berth since 2010, will play Konawaena (11-2) at 3 p.m. today in the BIIF Division II final.
This year’s state tourney will take place May 9-11 on Oahu.
The Dragons (9-5) were attempting to make their first state tournament since 2009 with a senior-laden lineup that included Shiraki and the heart of their lineup: Joey Charbonneau, Lloyd Edwards and Makani Dias, the Nos. 3, 4, and 5 hitters.
Moike threw 122 pitches, allowing a run on eight hits. He walked three and struck out eight, stranding eight runners on base, including the sacks full in the third.
“I trusted myself and let my defense work,” Moike said. “It was heart and help from my teammates and digging deep. Those aspects helped me out.”
Kamehameha coach Andy Correa pointed out that Moike is a different pitcher as a senior — a veteran who knows how to pitch without his best stuff and work his way out of danger.
“It’s his senior experience and pitching in a lot of big games that allowed him to pull through,” Correa said. “He never had command of everything. Two or three years ago he might not have gotten out of those situations. But it was his poise and tough-mindedness.”
Moike’s future Lon Morris College (Jacksonville, Texas) teammate, Shiraki, had better numbers but took the loss. He fired 107 pitches and yielded two runs — one earned — on five hits. He struck out five and walked none, stranding four on base.
The Warriors scored the winning run in the eighth, when leadoff hitter Keanu Dudoit-Isa singled with one out and advanced to second on a groundout. Gideon Kalili then softly dunked an 0-2 pitch over second base that scored Dudoit-Isa, who went 3-for-4.
Before the game-winning hit, the Dragons had problems bunting.
In the third, with the bases loaded and one out, they attempted a squeeze bunt, but it was fouled off. A fielder’s choice with a throw home and a strikeout followed to extinguish the threat.
In the sixth, Austin Jardine singled, but the next two hitters who tried to bunt couldn’t and eventually struck out. Charbonneau singled, which would have scored a run.
Charbonneau was 2-for-3, and Kazu Tolentino went 2-for-4 to lead the Dragons, who outhit the Warriors 8-6.
Other than Dudoit-Isa, no other Warrior paired hits, but bunches of hits weren’t needed, only timely ones.
In the first, Moike had an RBI groundout to score Dudoit-Isa, who singled to center.
Honokaa answered with its only run in the second on Haku Daniels’ RBI single, which scored Edwards.
Honokaa 010 000 00 — 1 8 3
KS-Hawaii 100 000 01 — 2 6 1
Division I
c Waiakea 4, Keaau 2: Senior left-hander Reyn Kihara fired a four-hitter, and Kean Wong clubbed a two-run homer to spark the Warriors at Wong Stadium.
Waiakea (16-0) will play Hilo (12-4) at 5 p.m. today in the BIIF championship game. The winner will earn a berth in the HHSAA state tournament, which takes place May 2-5 on Oahu. The loser will host a play-in game.
The Cougars (6-10) have never qualified for the state tournament, but they held a 2-0 lead before Waiakea tied the game in the fifth.
Quintin Torres-Costa roped a triple to left field off Maleko Remlinger. Then on a 1-0 pitch, Wong slammed a two-run homer over the right-field fence.
In the sixth, Waiakea loaded the bases on back-to-back singles by Kihara and Robbey Meguro, and Kylen Uyeda reached on an error. Dean Hosaka hit into a double play to score the go-ahead run, and Meguro scored on a wild pitch by reliever Adrian Huff.
Remlinger’s one troublesome inning warped his numbers. In 5 1/3 innings, he allowed four runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out none. Kodi Medeiros, Waiakea’s No. 2 starter, was scheduled to start. But he had a tender arm. So Kihara filled in and posted shining numbers: seven innings, two unearned runs, four hits, one walk and two strikeouts
Keaau took advantage of two Waiakea errors in the fourth inning to score two runs, getting RBI singles from Huff and Rason Martines.
Keaau 000 200 0 — 2 4 1
Waiakea 000 022 x — 4 7 3
c Hilo 11, Kealakehe 0: Koa Matson and Jodd Carter each went 3-for-3, and the hits just kept on coming for the Vikings, who racked up 12 in a game that ended after five innings because of the league’s 10-run mercy rule.
Kian Kurokawa pitched a two-hit shutout, walking none and striking out two to earn the win.
Austin Galigo pitched one inning in the loss. Teao Buehler went four innings.
Bricen Ferreira and John Alokoa had two hits each for the Waveriders (4-9).
Hilo 361 01 — 11 12 1
Kealakehe 000 00 — 0 2 5
