Hilo playing Waiakea in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation baseball postseason has been a foregone conclusion of late.
But in the BIIF semifinals?
That hasn’t happened since Division I was restructured, but the scenario became more likely after Makoa Andres and the Warriors eked out another last at-bat victory under the Friday night lights at Wong Stadium, beating their rival 8-6.
Caleb Freitas-Fields’ misplayed line drive brought in the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh, and Andres followed with an RBI double and pitched the final 1 2/3 innings as the Warriors rebounded from their first loss to clinch the top seed in the BIIF semifinals.
“We didn’t play very good baseball,” coach Rory Inouye said of a 6-5 loss to Keaau on Tuesday.”But the kids came back and put up quotes: ‘It’s how you rise after you fall.”’
Andres knows that better than most.
He walked in the tying run in the the sixth after a weird play in which Russel Ragual’s ball hit an umpire, but Andres struck out the side in the seventh. On March 2o at Wong, Andres allowed the tying hit to Kamehameha in the seventh, but he knocked in the game-winning run in the eighth to earn himself the win.
“I like the pressure,” Andres said.
Taylor Mondina was 3 for 3 with a three-run double and a triple for Waiakea (7-1), which can secure an automatic berth to the HHSAA tournament Wednesday against Pahoa. Mondina, who drove in six runs last Saturday against Konawaena, leads Waiakea in RBIs.
“He came ready to play,” Inouye said. “Last year, he was in a little slump. This year, he’s starting to line the ball.”
The Vikings (4-3) find themselves in an unfamiliar spot in Division I: last place. The Vikings knocked out ace Freitas-Fields after four innings and rallied from a 5-1 deficit, but two errors in the seventh cost reliever Joey Jarneski.
Hilo coach Tony De Sa echoed a sentiment made by Inouye, only he said it with a little more emphasis.
“(Division I) is wide-open,” De Sa said.
If Kealakehe (5-2) beats Kohala on Wednesday and the Vikings lose at Division II front-runner Kamehameha (6-1), the Waveriders would host Keaau in a BIIF semifinals series as the No. 2 seed and Hilo gets the fourth seed.
Since Kamehameha dropped to Division II before the 2010 season, Waiakea and Hilo have met in the BIIF final each year. The Vikings play at Kealakehe on April 11 and still have a shot at No. 2, as do the Cougars, who finished the regular season 6-3.
“There are no pushovers,” Inouye said.
Hilo starting pitcher Josiah Factora (2 for 2) tripled in a run in the fourth, scored on Micah Bello’s single and two more runs came in on a error as Hilo tied the game 5-5.
After Waiakea retook the lead on David Nakamura’s RBI single in the top of the sixth, the bottom of the sixth got bizarre.
Joshua Breitbarth led off with a walk against Calvin Uemura. After a sacrifice and a groundout put courtesy runner Ryan Ragual at third, Andres intentionally walked Jarneski. The next batter, Russel Ragual, hit a ball that was ruled dead after it hit an umpire, loading the bases but keeping Ryan Ragual at third since the umpire was in front of the base runners. De Sa agreed with the call.
Noah Serrao walked to tie the game, but Andres struck out Nick Antony to end the threat. After two errors helped Waiakea take the lead in the seventh, Andres hit a ball over the outfielders in left center.
“He steps up to the plate and rises to the challenge,” Inouye said.
Both starters struggled with their control.
Waiakea leadoff hitter Nathan Minami (2 for 3) drew a base on balls in the third and two walks later he scored when Bryce Felipe walked. Factora walked seven, allowing three hits and five runs, four earned, in 3 1/3.
Freitas-Fields walked five, struck out one and gave up six hits and five runs, four earned.
Jarneski took the loss, allowing three runs – one earned – on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts. At the plate, he was intentionally walked three times. Hilo’s Chase Costa-Ishii was 2 for 2.
Waiakea 011 301 2 – 8 8 2
Hilo 001 401 0 – 6 7 3