Stars fall in season finale

Gered Mochizuki drove in three runs, and Chad Blackwell pitched six strong innings to lead Maui Na Koa Ikaika to a 12-2 win over the Hawaii Stars on Sunday afternoon on Maui.

The North American Baseball League game was played at Iron Maehara Stadium. It was the season finale for the Stars (25-29), who completed their inaugural year in the league. The host Na Koa Ikaika (33-27) will close out their regular season with a six-game series against the San Rafael Pacifics, starting Tuesday in California.

Mochizuki had three RBIs, and Alan Rick and Mark Okano added two apiece as the hosts outhit Hawaii 10-8. Rick and Jose Sanchez each had two hits for Maui.

The Stars scored two runs in the top of the first inning before Maui returned the favor in the bottom of the inning to knot the score at 2-2. But the hosts then added four runs in the third inning to extend their lead to 6-2 and plated six runs in the eighth.

Arnoldo Ponce led the Stars with three hits, the only player with multiple hits for the visitors on the day. Ponce also drove in both of Hawaii’s runs in the first inning off Blackwell (9-1). The Na Koa Ikaika pitcher went six innings and earned the win. He struck out four and walked one.

Blackwell left with a 6-2 lead, and three Maui relievers shut out the Stars the final three innngs.

John Holly (0-3) started for Hawaii and pitched five innings while taking the loss. He gave up four hits and six runs to go along with two strikeouts and six walks. Cortney Arruda took over in the sixth and tossed two no-hit innings. But reliever Michael Kenui ran into some trouble as Maui exploded for those six runs in the eighth inning to put the game away.

Bryan Herrera got the final two outs in the eighth, including a strikeout, to halt Na Koa Ikaika’s attack.

Hawaii 200 000 000 — 2 8 2
Maui 204 000 06x — 12 10 0