Nagamine comes up big as Moanalua tops Kalani

Austyn Nagamine came to play.

The Moanalua senior fisted a jam shot into left field with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Na Menehune a 4-3 win over Kalani in the Oahu Interscholastic Association opener for both teams.

"At the end of the game he wants the ball or he wants to be at bat," Moanalua coach Scott Yamada said. "He’s a clutch kid."

Nagamine did both Friday on his home field, taking the mound and getting Moanalua out of a jam in the sixth and shutting down the Falcons 1-2-3 in the seventh before winning the game with his bat. He also gave Moanalua its first lead with a home run in the fourth.

"It was a jam shot, a change-up," Nagamine said of the winning hit. "I hit the home run off a fastball inside, but wasn’t expecting a change-up there. I was just waiting for my pitch."

Nagamine was intentionally walked in the fifth inning. It worked out when Bryson Yasui flied out to left to keep the game tied at 3, but with runners on first and second and two outs in the seventh, Kalani went right after him.

Falcons pitcher Brandon Valenzuela had limited Moanalua to five hits to that point, three of them in the fifth inning. Nagamine took a pair of strikes and a ball high before fisting the ball into left field on Valenzuela’s 120th pitch.

"He wanted to finish and he is one of our seniors, so we want to give him the opportunity to finish," Kalani coach Shannon Hirai said. "(Walking Nagamine) never really crossed our minds; we want to go after him."

Nagamine’s home run in the fourth was probably on everyone’s mind when he strolled to the plate in the seventh. After Kevin Furuike walked to lead off the fourth, Nagamine blasted the first strike he saw over the 40-foot fence in left field, 308 feet from the plate, for Moanalua’s first hit. Yamada said it is the first time a batter cleared the fence since it was erected two years ago.

Sending a ball to the heavens was secondary to Nagamine, who was happy to open the season with a win and another reason to remember a fallen friend who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in December 2010. Moanalua rode Zach Manago’s memory to an OIA title and runner-up finish at states last year.

"It feels great; we are playing for my friend Zach Manago," Nagamine said. "I just dedicate this season to him and just want to play hard and go as far as we can go."

OIA WHITE

Waipahu 10, Nanakuli 0, 5 inn.

Dylan Sugimoto struck out 10 in a one-hit shutout as the Marauders routed the Golden Hawks. Drake Yoshioka led the Waipahu offense by going 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs.

ILH

Saint Louis 17, Pac-Five 0, 5 inn.

Rayson Romero and Jordan Yamamoto went 3-for-3 for the Crusaders in a big win over the Wolfpack.

Punahou 9, St. Francis 0

The Buffanblu’s Bo Coolen struck out eight in five innings to chill the Saints’ offense.

‘Iolani 2, Damien 1

Christian Donahue hit a game-winning home run in the fifth inning to lift the Raiders over the Monarchs.

Maryknoll-Kamehameha, ppd.

Friday’s Maryknoll-Kamehameha game at Central Oahu Regional Park was rained out.