Kealakehe visited Waiakea with the perfect plan to pull an upset: pitch carefully to the league’s top two sluggers and let its defense work.
Not everything went according to plan on Tuesday at the Warriors field.
The Waveriders made six errors but still beat the Warriors 5-4 in a BIIF Division I baseball, scoring their first victory ever over one of the league’s traditional powerhouses.
Kealakehe has pulled off BIIF championship upsets recently.
The softball team defeated four-time defending champion Waiakea last year for its first title.
In 2018, the boys volleyball team won its first championship since 2002, taking out Kamehameha.
Unlike the other two sports, baseball has never been to the state tournament, unable to crack the Hilo-Waiakea combo, which has gone to states together the last 11 years.
On Tuesday, senior right-hander Isaac Kaku was a model of perseverance over 5 1/3 innings.
He allowed four runs, three unearned, on three hits, two walks, and one hit batter. He struck out just and threw lots of strikes to the corners.
“I don’t think we’ve ever beaten Waiakea,” coach Kallen Hiraishi said. “That was mental toughness and heart. Even though we had six errors, we made the plays on defense in the end.
“Isaac threw a lot of strikes and let the defense work. In six innings, he threw around 70 pitches. The win is a good motivation for us to beat a powerhouse like Waiakea.”
Waiakea (0-1) scored in the first when Kalai Rosario reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on Cody Min’s RBI single.
The Waveriders (1-0) answered in the second when Keanu Alokoa singled and scored on Kai Orlando’s two-run homer off losing pitcher Haloa Lee-Vincent.
Lee-Vincent allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings. Blaze Smith gave up a run in an inning, and Braxton Cagampang pitched three innings of shutout relief.
Kealakehe added two unearned runs in the third. Kawena Soares singled, stole second and scored on a throwing error. Kaku walked, and Jesse Meza had an RBI single for a 4-1 lead.
The Waveriders added another run in the fourth when Taven Hiraishi singled and later scored on Soares’ run-scoring single.
Meanwhile, Kaku, who didn’t throw anything straight, kept floating along despite pitching through extra outs.
In the second, Kedren Kinzie and Kobe Kagimoto both reached on errors. But a lineout double play erased that threat.
Waiakea scored three in the sixth, aided by three errors. Cody Min and Cagampang reached on errors. Min eventually scored on a balk, and Cagampang scored on Kagimoto’s RBI groundout.
Carson Kawaguchi reached on an error, and No. 9 hitter Mason Hirata walked to load the bases with two out.
Kaku was yanked for Meza, who walked Cody Kunimitsu for another RBI. It was 5-4 with Rosario up next.
Meza was able to retire Rosario on a groundout to first to end the threat. Meza, like Kaku, didn’t make a mistake and throw anything hittable over the plate. That was the key matchup, and Rosario went 0 for 4.
In the seventh, Safea Mauai, who went 2 for 3, bounced a single up the middle but was stranded at second.
Mauai singled in the sixth, walked in the third and flew out to right in the first.
In the seventh, Kealakehe third baseman Alokoa made a clean short-hop grab and threw out Cagampang at first for the second out.
Soares and Meza each had two hits, and Orlando finished with two RBIs for Kealakehe.
One key for the Waverider pitchers was they didn’t beat themselves with free passes. Kaku walked two in 5 1/3 innings, and Meza walked one in 1 2/3 innings for the save.
Waiakea usually chews up pitchers who get logged with extra outs. But the offense produced just four hits and not enough opportunities for Rosario, except for the bases-loaded situation in the sixth, and Mauai to hit with runners on.
“It’s a great win for us,” Kaku said. “My mindset was don’t give them anything good to hit. We played smart baseball.
“Right now, we’re just looking at it as one game at a time. We just want to get better.”
The BIIF runner-up is still searching for an ace, but Cagampang made a strong audition with three innings of shutout relief.
“We have to get back to playing Waiakea baseball, get guys on base and drive them in,” Rosario said. “We’re going to get it back.”
Hilo forfeits
Hilo forfeited its season-opener at Keaau, and in reporting the result, the Cougars’ coaching staff said the reason given to its administration was discipline.
In a text exchange with the Tribune-Herald, Hilo athletic director Kurt Kawachi said the Vikings forfeited because of an “internal matter.” Calling it a confidential situation, he said the school would have no further comment, but Kawachi said Hilo plans to play its next scheduled game, Thursday at Hawaii Prep.
Keaau is 2-0 for the time since 2015 in what was recorded as its first win against the Vikings since 2013.
