In the long history on the diamond between crosstown rivals Hilo and Waiakea, which includes a handfule of MLB pitchers, no one had accomplished what Makoa Andres did on the mound Thursday night at Wong Stadium.
The senior right-hander pitched a no-hitter as the Warriors blistered the Vikings 11-0 in a BIIF Division I baseball showdown, just missing a perfect game with a walk.
“Makoa threw a gem,” Waiakea coach Rory Inouye said. “What we really liked was how he controlled the tempo, especially in a big game. He pitched at his pace. His slider (Andres calls it a sharp curveball) was good. It was one of those nights that he had his stuff.”
Andres walked No. 8 hitter Austin Aina on four pitches in the sixth inning. Otherwise he was flawless and so was his defense, which got to rest periodically behind eight strikeouts.
“During the fourth inning, I thought I could get a no-hitter,” said Andres, who threw a four-inning no-hitter against Hawaii Prep last year. “Mostly my fastball and curveball were working. The coaches told me to keep my pitch count low and let my defense work. I have to credit my teammates. They made all the plays.”
While Waiakea threw its No. 1 pitcher, the Vikings started senior right-hander Bud Cox, who didn’t pitch much last season and lasted 1 1/3 innings. He was followed by Ryan Ragual (3 2/3 innings), No. 2 starter Josiah Factora (1 1/3 innings), and Brett Komatsu (two outs).
While Andres controled the Hilo offense, Waiakea’s hitters piled up 12 hits but only two balls were absolutely smoked. Andres clobbered a double in the second inning, and Gehrig Octavio nuked a triple to the right-center field outfield fence.
Three of Waiakea’s runs came off walks and two more off hit by pitches.
Taylor Mondina led the offense, going 2 for 4 with three RBIs, Anthony Benevides 2 for 5 with two RBIs, and Andres was 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Still, the night belonged to Andres, a stocky 5-foot-10 ace, who spotted his fastball on the corners, threw his sharp curveball in the lower-half of the strike zone, and was a model of efficiency with just 81 pitches.
In the second inning, Hilo had two harmful errors that led to a pair of unearned runs, and a two-run single by Mondina, Waiakea’s No. 3 hitter, produced an early 4-0 lead.
Andres doubled and Octavio hit a grounder to first baseman Nick Antony, who tried to cut down courtesy runner Joey Ongais, but his throw sailed over third base, leading to the first unearned run.
Shaun Kurosawa followed with a ground ball to third baseman Factora, who fired to first base but the ball was dropped for another error and unearned run.
Cox then allowed a single to No. 9 hitter Mackanzy Maesaka and walked Nate Minami before being pulled for Ragual, who entered in quite a pickle: bases full, one out and Mondina on deck.
Ragual got a forceout at home, on a throw from Factora to catcher Josh Breitbarth. But Mondina was up next and dunked a 2-1 pitch into shallow center for a two-run single.
Waiakea made it 5-0 in the third when Octavio crushed a triple to right center field and scored on Kurosawa’s groundout.
In the sixth, the Warriors added three insurance runs off Factora, who gave up two-out RBI singles to Trayden Tamiya and Benevides and beaned Andres with the bases filled for an 8-0 cushion.
Waiakea wasn’t finished scoring and didn’t need to hit the ball hard to push across three more runs in the seventh. Mondina walked with the bases loaded, and Benevides lofted a high ball that dropped between a pair of infielders.
That’s scored as a hit, despite two Vikings in position to catch the ball. Two runs scored on that play. And three of the runs were off hit by pitches.
Basically, it wasn’t Hilo’s night, mostly because Andres pitched like a historic ace.
Waiakea 041 003 3 — 11 12 0
Hilo 000 000 0 — 0 1 2
SOFTBALL
Honokaa 7, HPA 5 (8 inn.)
Honokaa pulled out a nail-biter against Hawaii Prep on Thursday, winning 7-5 in eight innings. Both teams only scored one run through the first five innings, before adding a run each in both the sixth and seventh inning.
The Dragons batted first in the eighth and scored two runs off a double by Tyrah Fernandez. Honokaa added two more runs off walks.
Hawaii Prep tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh when Katt Chong Gum was hit by a pitch, Sara Heymann singled, and Sneha Nair knocked in both runners. However, a Fernandez ground ball to short ended the game.
Destynee Carvalho picked up the win for the Dragons inside the circle. She struck out four and walked none. Kia‘i Lindsey took the loss for HPA, allowing five walks and striking out four.
Sakura Remsen led the HPA offense with a home run in the bottom of the first inning. Heymann and Emily Fong had three hits apiece.