Waiakea senior pitcher Quintin Torres-Costa made his last season his best, finishing with dominant numbers across the board — in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation and at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association state tournament. Waiakea senior pitcher Quintin Torres-Costa
Waiakea senior pitcher Quintin Torres-Costa made his last season his best, finishing with dominant numbers across the board — in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation and at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association state tournament.
The 6-foot left-hander finished with a 7-0 record and a 0.29 ERA in 47 2⁄3 innings. He allowed only two earned runs on just 12 hits and 12 walks, and he struck out 58.
He was named the BIIF East Hawaii Player of the Year in a vote by the league’s coaches, capping a 20-0 season that saw Waiakea win the program’s first state championship.
Torres-Costa went six innings and struck out 13, and Kodi Medeiros added the final inning, combining on a 5-2 no-hitter against Baldwin for the Division I state title.
In two starts at states, Torres-Costa was 2-0 with no earned runs allowed in 13 innings. He surrendered six hits and two walks, and he struck out 21. He also beat Castle 5-0 in the quarterfinals.
“That’s how I wanted to finish my high school career,” he said. “All the hard work I put in all the way up to now made me get this honor, and I’m glad I won it my senior year.
“But I have to give thanks to our team. It was not only me. I didn’t pitch in every game. Everybody contributed to us being undefeated and winning the state championship.”
Joining Torres-Costa on the first team are five teammates: catcher Kean Wong, third baseman Korin Medeiros, outfielders Reyn Kihara and Kodi Medeiros, and utility player Kylen Uyeda, who played first base.
All of the Warrior starters received recognition: shortstop Davy Camacho, second baseman Alika Guillermo, outfielder Robbey Meguro and pitcher Jace Okutsu got honorable mention.
“Quintin lived up to expectations. That’s the biggest part,” Waiakea coach Kevin Yee said. “In a lot of situations, even in life, the toughest thing to do is what’s expected of you, and he lived up to the bill.”
Other first-team members were Hilo first baseman Keenan Nishioka, shortstop Chayce Kaaua, outfielder Jodd Carter and pitcher Kian Kurokawa; Kamehameha-Hawaii second baseman Pono Correa, pitcher Kaimana Moike, outfielder Nainoa Hart and utility player Jordan Hirae; and Keaau utility Jonathan Segovia.
Yee, in his first year at Waiakea, and Keaau’s Herb Yasuhara were named the BIIF co-Coaches of the Year. Both are longtime coaching partners for the Nobu Yamauchi RBI League.
Torres-Costa, who signed with Hawaii, not only had dominant pitching stats, but he also compiled impressive hitting numbers as well. He played center field when he didn’t pitch and batted .446 with two homers, 10 RBIs and a .526 on-base percentage.
Kodi Medeiros was also a two-way threat. The sophomore left-hander went 4-0 with a save and 1.81 ERA in 27 innings. He yielded just 12 hits and 14 walks and struck out 39. The Hawaii verbal commit batted .386 with a homer and 18 RBIs and had a .429 on-base average.
It was Wong’s first season behind the plate. The left-handed hitting junior and UH commit played shortstop last year, and third base and outfield as a freshman. The position switch didn’t affect his hitting. He batted .404 with two homers and 13 RBIs, and had a .529 on-base average.
Korin Medeiros (.400, two homers, 18 RBIs, .465 on-base) signed with the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Kihara (.375, 11 RBIs, .508 on-base) and Uyeda (.446, nine RBIs, .526 on-base) also had stellar numbers as did Camacho (.279 batting average), Guillermo (.302) and Meguro (.304).
The BIIF runner-up Vikings, who finished third at states, received production from Nishioka (.438, 10 RBIs), Kaaua (.333, 11 RBIs, .438 on-base), Carter (.372, 13 RBIs, .536 on-base), and Kurokawa, who went 2-4 with a 2.26 ERA in 21 2⁄3 innings. He gave up 25 hits and 11 walks, and he whiffed 11.
Kamehameha, the BIIF Division II champion, was powered by Moike, who pitched, played shortstop and swung a mean stick. The senior right-hander, who like Kurokawa pitched in all his team’s big games, was 1-3 with a 3.50 ERA in 38 innings. He allowed 36 hits and 16 walks, and he struck out 43. He hit .420 with 13 RBIs, and had a .538 on-base average.
Hirae (.324, .490 on-base) played outfield and took swings at designated hitter. Correa (.204, .286 on-base) and Hart (.225 and .404 on-base) also made the All-BIIF first team.
Segovia (.345, seven RBIs) sparked the Cougars at shortstop and as their leadoff hitter. He was the only Keaau hitter to finish with a .300 or higher batting average.
