Waiakea sophomore David Nakamura filled four roles on Saturday: starting pitcher, hitter, escape artist, and strike thrower.
The last part was the most pivotal, and it helped the Warriors prevail over Hilo 4-1 in eight innings in Game 2 of the BIIF Division I championship series at Wong Stadium.
The Warriors (14-3) and Vikings (12-4) will play for the BIIF title at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Wong Stadium. Both already have berths to the HHSAA state tournament, which will be held May 4-7 on Maui.
Nakamura, a 5-foot-7 left-hander, got a no-decision in five innings. He had ordinary stats: one run allowed, two hits, five walks and three strikeouts. But no one walked a high wire of suspense like he did.
Reese Mondina, also a sophomore southpaw, pitched three scoreless innings in relief for the win. He gave up three hits and one walk and whiffed three. He probably deserves more ink, but Nakamura beats him in roles filled, 4 to 1.
To build the drama, let’s look at the escape job Nakamura performed first.
In the fourth and fifth innings, Hilo loaded the bases and scored exactly one run. One run. On Ryan Ragual’s RBI double.
The game tilted toward Waiakea in the top of the eighth on Ragual’s fielding error. Shaun Kurosawa singled, Taylor Mondina walked, and Anthony Benevides banged a high chopper to third base.
Ragual played the short hop and the ball went through his legs and rolled down the left field line. Two runners raced home on the miscue, and Nakamura, in the hitter role, capped the scoring with an RBI single off Josiah Factora, who suffered a tough-luck loss.
In 7 1/3 innings, Factora gave up four runs (three unearned) on 11 hits and three walks. Brett Komatsu relieved the senior righthander after Nakamura’s run-scoring single and recorded two outs. There were no strikeouts, which meant Waiakea always forced the action.
The Vikings just couldn’t find their timing at the plate. They had only five hits, including only one hard-hit ball — Ragual’s double. No one paired hits, and even worse they left 11 on base, including the sacks packed in the fourth and fifth frames.
Kurosawa had three hits while Trayden Tamiya and Nakamura contributed two hits each with one RBI apiece for Waiakea, which stranded seven on base.
“We kept scratching and got a break (with Hilo’s error), and our pitching kept us in the game,” Waiakea coach Rory Inouye said. “The coaching staff has confidence in David. He has great stuff, and we’re looking forward to having him for two more years after this season.”