Joey Salvador’s final pitch produced a flyout to center field and a celebration that was, all things considered, rather mild.
Because what Salvador helped deliver in his first high school start only happens about once every 10 years in Big Island Interscholastic Federation baseball.
The Kohala junior pitched a five-hitter Wednesday and the Cowboys beat Hilo 5-2 for their first win against the Vikings since 2006.
“Amazing job by Joey and the defense backed him up,” coach Pono Nakamura said. “A great team win. The boys grinded it out.
“I told the boys to remain humble. We’ve had our share of losses. We’ll have fun on the bus.”
Wily Perez finished with three hits and Kamaalea Emeliano-Solomon keyed a four-run rally in the fourth inning for Kohala, which expects to come to Hilo and beat the Vikings in basketball.
But in baseball?
“It was good to be back on the field,” said Kainalu Emeliano-Solomon, a member of the Cowboys’ BIIF powerhouse on the hardwood.
Kohala (1-1) rarely competes for the BIIF Division II title on the diamond. The Vikings took their customary spot at the HHSAA Division I tournament last season, but they’re mired in an 0-2 start.
“We’re surprised,” Salvador said. “It was all teamwork.
“I was confident at the beginning. but we were not expecting it.”
He mixed a cutter in with his fastball and allowed five hits and five walks with one strikeout.
Perez, a senior catcher who’s entering his fourth year as a starter and is the team captain, called it the best victory of his career.
And it wasn’t close.
“Super satisfying,” he said. “It was an awesome game. The communication was there, Joey was unbelievable and we were hitting.”
Perez led off the fourth with a single, and Kohala loaded the bases when Vikings starter Toa Barclay issued walks to Kainalu Emeliano-Solomon and Chance Pang. Kamaalea Emeliano-Solomon came through with a two-run single and Austin Salvador and Jayven Amanonce followed with run-scoring singles.
Don’t look now, but the Cowboys can make a claim at island supremacy Saturday when they host Waiakea, East Hawaii’s other traditional baseball powerhouse.
The Cowboys haven’t beaten the Warriors, the defending Division I champions, since Nakamura joined Kohala’s staff in 2006.
“We lost to Keaau in our opener, and I told them Hilo was going to be better. This was a good way to answer,” Nakamura said. “We’ll have to step it up again against Waiakea.”
The Vikings’ Josiah Factora had an RBI single in the fifth and later came around to score on a throwing error, but Perez extinguished further damage by throwing out a runner trying to steal.
After a lengthy postgame meeting with his staff, Hilo coach Tony DeSa said his team was struggling in all facets. The Vikings lost to Hawaii Prep 3-2 in their opener.
“We didn’t take them lightly,” he said. “Got to get the bats going again. We’ve got to coach better, hit better; offense, defense, everything.”