For Kahuku’s winless men in black, there is a somber, almost silent anguish.

For the team in white and red, renewed hope that things are turning around. Kalani got a stellar performance on the mound from sophomore Dallas Asuncion for a 5-3 come-from-behind win over Kahuku Wednesday at Kahala Park. Brandon Medeiros, one of Kalani’s aces, entered in relief and earned a save as Kalani improved to 3-5 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East baseball standings.

Kahuku dropped to 0-8, but coach Roger Van Ness hopes his team can win two of its last four regular-season games to eke out a possible playoff berth.

“They were focused and they played hard. I’m absolutely proud that they hung in there, but I feel for them. They really wanted this one,” he said.

Down 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, Kalani took control with three runs off Kahuku reliever Michael Sabido. Cy Fujioka’s single to right scored Brandon Roberts from second to tie it. Fujioka stole second and scored on Roy Yamamoto’s double into the left-center alley to give the Falcons a 4-3 lead against the tiring Sabido.

Chase Sumida’s ground single into left then brought Yamamoto home for a two-run lead.

Kahuku threatened in the top of the sixth, putting runners at the corners with one out — with help from a Kalani error. However, with Medeiros fresh out of the bullpen to relieve Asuncion, Iukini Hughes struck out and Falcons catcher Chase Sumida threw out Kai Saniatan at second on a steal attempt to end the inning.

“He’s the guy who beat us last year,” Shannon Hirai said of Sabido. “We haven’t really been hitting all year, so stringing those hits together was pretty good. Hopefully, that’ll carry on.”

Asuncion, listed at 5 feet 7 and 125 pounds, mixed a spot-on fastball with two variations of his curve. The left-hander allowed three runs, all unearned, on six hits in 51⁄3 innings. He was up for his longest stint of the season; two weeks ago, he went three innings against Roosevelt.

“I felt pretty good. When the fastball wasn’t working, I went to the curveball,” said Asuncion, who insisted that he had no nerves before his first start.

Hirai’s concerns about defense remain. The Falcons committed three on Wednesday, but pitching depth is a luxury he enjoys, especially with southpaws like Asuncion and Brandon Valenzuela. The latter took Wednesday off.

“Both our young lefties are kind of unorthodox. They’ve got kind of a funky delivery. That’s what keeps everybody off balance,” Hirai said.

Medeiros is a 5-9 senior.

“What’s important is that you have to build your self-confidence up there and believe that your defense is going to support you,” said Medeiros, a righty with a much different delivery from Asuncion. “We can disrupt the timing of the hitters, especially with the difference in our speeds. I was able to throw for strikes and get ahead of the hitters.”

The win helped the Falcons move closer to sealing a playoff berth in the highly competitive Red East. Four of their five losses have come by one run, but with Wednesday’s victory, Kalani has a two-game win streak.

“Our two Brandons (Medeiros and Valenzuela) have been throwing complete games. We’ve been fortunate. Our pitching has been really good,” Hirai said. “They both threw on Saturday (against Roosevelt), and one comes back quicker. We’ve got a whole bunch of relievers who haven’t thrown in a while. We try to keep them sharp in intrasquad (scrimmages).

Kalani meets Kaiser on Saturday, then has a 10-day break before the next game. Hirai said they’ll meet up with a West team for a scrimmage.

“We’re in better shape now. Kaiser just beat Moanalua, so that’s going to be a tough challenge for us. We’re going to try and take them down.”

I believe we can go far. I think as a team, we’re just starting to peak at the right time. Baseball’s all about peaking at the right time, and good things can happen.”

Van Ness’ Red Raiders visit Moanalua on Saturday, then Kaiser a week after that.

“We can do it. We’ve got a good team,” he said. “It just hasn’t been our year.”

Jacob Mariano singled in Chad Uyehara in the home eighth as the Trojans defeated the Seariders.

Drake Yoshioka had three hits and recorded the save as the Marauders remained unbeated with a victory over the Bulldogs.

Tyson Sugimoto’s two-run single highlighted a five-run third inning as the Monarchs held on for a victory against the Spartans.

Jaime Toler hit a two-run home run and then started the game-ending double play as the Lancers stunned the top-ranked Owls in extra innings.

Reina Furuya hit a solohome run in the home first as the Buffanblu defeated the Wolfpack in five innings .

Brandi-Lei Smith hit a home run and drove in four runs as the Warriors shut out the Wolverines.
Warriors hurler Kamalani Dung toss a five-inning no-hitter, striking out seven.

Shearyna Labasan pitched a one-hitter and drove in two runs as the Spartans mercy-ruled the Saints.