Dathan Wong Chong made good contact against Keaau’s Keian Kanetani, a line drive to right field that nestled safely in the glove of Byron Cachola in right field.
There were not many other scares Friday for Kanetani. Other than that loud out, the Cougars’ freshman was practically unhittable: 15 up and 15 down.
Kanetani pitched a perfect game, striking out 12 as Keaau beat Pahoa 10-0 in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation baseball game at the Cougars’ field.
“It was just one of those days where he was in a groove,” Cougars assistant coach Blayne Sato said. “He was very loose today.”
Keha Wong was 2-for-3 with two doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored, and Jonathan Segovia and Rason Martines both had two hits and two runs scored for Keaau (2-2 BIIF Division I, 3-5 overall).
But the day belonged to Kanetani, who also drove in two runs. Only three batters put the ball in play against him, and only Wong Chong’s fly ball in the fourth left the infield. He struck out the side in the first and fifth innings — the game ended in the middle of the fifth because of the league’s 10-run mercy rule — firing 45 of his 55 pitches for strikes.
Sato said Kanetani relied heavily on his fastball and curveball, and he threw a first-pitch strike to 12 of 15 batters. And because of Kanetani’s handiwork, the game barely lasted more than an hour.
“The skies were looking ominous,” Sato said. “I think he did us a favor.”
The Daggers (0-4 Division II, 0-8) were no-hit by Kealakehe’s Zaynan Sanchez on March 30 in a six-inning game.
Kanetani had pitched well on Tuesday in a losing effort against Kamehameha-Hawaii, allowing three unearned runs in six innings.
“He’s been facing all of the big teams,” Sato said. “I think he’s been gaining a lot of confidence.”
Keaau’s Rylan Martines walked to lead off the bottom of the second, moved to third on a steal and a passed ball, and scored on Kanetani’s sacrifice fly as the Cougars took a 1-0 lead.
Wong’s two-run double highlighted a three-run third inning, and Keaau tacked on six more runs in the fourth as Wong brought home two more runs with a double. Segovia plated a run with a double, and Cody Silva and Kanetani added run-scoring singles.
Wong Chong took the loss, allowing nine runs — eight earned — on eight hits with two walks in 3 1/3 innings.
Pahoa 000 000 — 0 0 3
Keaau 013 60x —10 10 0
