Saturday saw early season Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) baseball continue, as two games were held on the isle’s leeward side.
KA‘U 13, KEA‘AU 2
Ka‘u High moved to 2-0, routing home standing Kea‘au High in a five-inning run-ruled affair on Saturday afternoon in Puna.
The Trojans came out hot, plating four runs in the top first as their first six batters all got on base — featuring doubles by Eli Crook and Ian Beck.
The Cougars responded with two runs in the bottom of the first inning — with Josh Nihoa and Rupert Gomes-Cabral batting in Koen Kalo and Tre Carvalho-Leopoldino, respectively.
Ka‘u bolstered its lead with an even bigger second inning. In the top frame, the Trojans scored five runs — then shut down Kea‘au in the bottom frame, as the Trojans’ pitcher struck out two batters and induced a groundout.
Ka‘u kept up the pressure, notching six more hits and four more runs in the top of the third. In the bottom frame, the Trojans sent the Cougars down in three ABs once again — with two infield groundouts
and a looking strikeout.
Though Kea‘au turned up its defense and kept Ka‘u off the board for the rest of the outing — the Cougars were unable to get much going on offense.
Caleb Crook and Jaestin Karasuda each went four-for-four at the plate to lead the Trojans.
The Trojans will host their next matchup — 1 p.m. Saturday against Hilo High.
The Cougars (0-1) will have some downtime, as their next matchup is more than a week away — March 12 at home against KS-Hawai‘i.
KS-HAWAI‘I 10, KEALAKEHE 0
Kekama Robello and Keyan Kanahele combined for a no-hitter as KSH crushed the visiting Waveriders during a six-inning affair on Saturday in Puna.
After a scoreless first inning, the Warriors started to establish dominance, plating two runs in the bottom second as Braden Gomes hit singled on a grounder to center field — batting in Keagan Pacheco and Eli Mercado.
Still without a hit after the top of the third inning, Kealakehe’s batters had only touched base thrice, all on walks. KSH extended its lead by a run in the bottom third, as Shiloh Santos finessed his way around the diamond — walking, stealing second and reaching third on a passed ball during the same at bat, then finally crossing the plate on an error.
There was a glimmer of hope for the Waveriders in the top fourth with one out and a runner on second, but Kanahele fanned two batters in just seven pitches to squash those hopes.
Things got really out of hand for Kealakehe in the bottom fourth, when KSH plated five runs and ran all the way through its batting order to grow its lead to 8-0. There was no going back from there, as the ‘Riders went down in three straight at bats in the following two frames.
Santos went two-for-three with a triple, and Keagan Pacheco went two-for-three with two doubles and a RBI.
Robello earned the win on the mound, surrendering three walks in his three innings and striking out two. The Warriors also had a perfect day in the field, led by Dominic Christensen with eight putouts and an assist — and Santos, also with eight putouts.
Now 2-0 in BIIF play, KSH will next face HPA on Friday afternoon in Waimea. Kealakehe (0-1) will play against HPA on Thursday in Kailua-Kona.
KONAWAENA v. PAHOA
The matchup between the Daggers and Wildcats was postponed due to construction at the Konawaena campus. New date TBA.
