KEAAU — Malu Peralta and Hinalea Cortez worked hard and waited their turn to finally start for Kamehameha, which gave them a memorable Senior Day on the school’s new astroturf baseball field.
The Warriors prevailed over Hilo 8-6 in a BIIF game on a windy Wednesday, making postseason life for the Vikings much tougher.
As the BIIF regular season champion, Kamehameha (7-1), the three-time defending league champion, already has an automatic berth to the HHSAA Division II state tournament.
The Warriors will be the No. 1 seed for the four-team BIIF Division II playoffs and will host the No. 4 seed in the best-of-three semifinal series starting Friday, April 17.
In the BIIF Division I playoffs, Hilo (4-4) will be the No. 4 seed and play No. 1 Waiakea. Kealakehe beat Kohala 11-9 on Wednesday to earn the No. 2 seed. Keaau is the No. 3 seed.
The Vikings last missed the Division I state tournament in 2008. They close their regular season on Saturday at Kealakehe, which has never qualified for states.
Kamehameha’s three seniors — Cortez, Peralta and Kobi Candaroma — all played key roles in the win over Hilo.
Cortez, a designated hitter, had three hits while Peralta pitched four innings of two-run ball for the win. Candaroma, a four-year starter, batted 2 for 4.
“It’s good to end strong,” said Cortez, about starting in his senior year.
Candaroma tipped his hat to his two fellow seniors.
“They worked their butts off,” he said. “They deserve where they are and you get what you work for.”
When Peralta left, the Warriors led 3-2 and they entered the top of the seventh with an 8-2 cushion.
“This was one to remember because of Hilo,” Peralta said. “They did a good job of making it memorable.
“I knew by my senior year I would have to lead the team on the pitching side. It was not only the work I put in, but it was all the coaches who helped me. It’s all thanks to them.”
After Peralta, Daylen Calicdan and Jai Cabatbat each followed with a scoreless inning. Then DallasJ Duarte gave up four runs (three unearned) in the seventh, when a potential game-ending putout turned into a harmful error.
Calicdan had a memorable day, too. He went 3 for 4 and belted his first BIIF varsity homer, a solo shot in the sixth. The junior second baseman fielded a grounder for the last out with two on.
“I had faith in DallasJ and our defense was just looking to make plays,” Calicdan said. “I hit a homer in junior varsity, but that was my first on the varsity.”
Hilo sophomore Joey Jarneski went five innings and took the loss. Ryan Ragual followed with an inning.
RJ Ragual batted 3 for 4 with two RBIs while Jarneski and Noah Higa-Gonsalves each paired hits for the Vikings, who finished with 13 hits, but really needed one more in the seventh.
“Like every other game, we need to make less mistakes,” Hilo coach Tony De Sa said. “But give Kamehameha credit. They hit the ball right into spots.”
The Warriors also executed with the important little things that cashed in valuable chips. They had two squeeze bunts that brought home three runs. Cortez was part of that production, a proud point for coach Andy Correa.
“The seniors all had different paths,” Correa said. “Kobi was a four-year contributor and the other two came on strong in their senior year.
“Hinalea and Malu didn’t play much in their last three years, but they were consistently working to get better, and you could see the results.”
Hilo 101 000 4— 6 13 2
KS-Hawaii 020 141 x — 8 14 1