Entrusted with the start in Campbell’s state tournament opener, Zachary Kapihe rewarded coach Rory Pico’s confidence in helping send the Sabers to the semifinal round for the third straight year.
The senior right-hander held Moanalua to three singles and struck out six in Campbell’s 6-2 win on Thursday at Les Murakami Stadium. The Sabers advanced to face Kamehameha in Friday’s 7 p.m. semifinal in the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA State Baseball Championships.
The Sabers, the OIA Red champion and the top seed in the Division I bracket, were stopped by the eventual state champion in the semifinal round the past two years, falling to Mid-Pacific 2-1 in 2013 and 3-1 to Saint Louis last year. Although Pico acknowledged taking the next step is "in the back of their minds," it’s not a regular topic of conversation.
"Everyone knows it’s there, we don’t have to talk about it," Pico said. "That’s one of the good things about this team. They’ve experienced it twice and we don’t have to talk about it."
Campbell won the OIA Red title on April 25 and Kapihe said the coaches told him about a week ago they were looking to him to start the state quarterfinal game.
He delivered in helping Campbell become the first top seed to survive the quarterfinals since 2008 when Punahou swept to the title.
"He’s been throwing well for us all year," Pico said. "We feel confident with him starting whether it was the first game, second game or the third game. … He’s a big-game pitcher, he’s a competitor and we know pretty much what we’ll get from him."
A spell of shaky defense in the bottom of the fifth kept Kapihe from a recording a second-straight shutout when a throwing error allowed both Moanalua runs to score.
Kapihe retired the final eight batters he faced, three on strikeouts, and was aided by second baseman Jake Mendoza’s diving play in the sixth.
"Our defense gave me room to breathe and they asked me individually to finish strong," Kapihe said after his 124-pitch outing.
Dorrien Villanueva-Hermosura gave Kapihe a lead by driving in Campbell’s first run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning and with a two-out single in the third after Ian Kahaloa doubled to left.
The Sabers put together another two-out rally in the fourth with two runs scoring on Moanalua errors and Jobe Ibana’s fly to shallow right that fell in for an RBI triple.
In the OIA tournament, Pico went with Villanueva-Hermosura in the quarterfinals, Kapihe in the semifinals before Kahaloa earned a win in the final.
As for Friday’s plan against Kamehameha …
"We’ll go back and talk about it," Pico said. "We have a couple guys available and we’re going to see what’s the best matchup."
| At Les Murakami Stadium |
| Campbell |
101 |
301 |
0 |
— |
6 |
8 |
3 |
|
| Moanalua |
000 |
020 |
0 |
— |
2 |
3 |
3 |
Zachary Kapihe and Tryzen Patricio. Skyler Yamamoto, Reyn Oumaye (4), Dez Oki-Takahashi (6), Andrew Oasay (6), Randy Tabura (6) and Kekaulike Kalua. W–Kapihe. L–Yamamoto.
Leading hitters–Campbell: Jobe Ibana, 3B, RBI; Ian Kahaloa, 2B; Dorrien Villanueva-Hermosura, 2 RBIs; Keola Himan, 3B; Patricio, 2B; Darren Galano, RBI.
Division I
Thursday
Quarterfinals
Kamehameha 5, Hilo 1
Mililani 6, Baldwin 0
Campbell 6, Moanalua 2
Mid-Pacific 9, Waiakea 4
Consolation
Maui 4, Kaiser 3
FRIDAY
Semifinals
At Les Murakami Stadium
Mid-Pacific vs. Mililani, 4 p.m.
Campbell vs. Kamehameha, 7 p.m.
Consolation
At Hans L’Orange
Kailua v. Pearl City, 9 a.m.
Hilo vs., Moanalua, 4:30 p.m.
Baldwin vs. Waiakea, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
At Les Murakami Stadium
Championship
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
Third place
Semifinal losers, 1:30 p.m.
At Hans L’Orange
Fifth place
11:30 a.m.
Consolation
Maui vs. Kailua/Pearl City winner, 9 a.m.
