Kailua rallies to beat Aiea in state baseball opener
Dalton Kalama connects on the game-winning hit that lifted Kailua over Aiea on the opening day of the state baseball tournament on Tuesday.
Mililani players celebrate during their victory over Hilo at Les Murakami Stadium.
Kailua players celebrate after rallying for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat Aiea 5-4.
Dalton Kalama’s one-out single to left drove in the winning run and capped a three-run bottom of the seventh to lead the Kailua Surfriders to a 5-4 victory over Aiea in the opening game of the state high school baseball tournament at Les Murakami Stadium on Tuesday.
Kalama’s hit with the bases loaded came after the Surfriders had tied the game on Pilipo Kupahu’s triple to right that got past the diving attempt of Jared Alcantra, scoring two runs to make it 4-4. Aiea then intentionally walked the bases loaded and faced Kalama.
Kailua will faced fourth-seeded Baldwin 9 a.m. Wednesday at Les Murakami Stadium. Aiea will play the loser of the Hilo/Mililani game at Hans L’Orange field 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
Mililani 5, Hilo 4
Adam Connell says he and his Mililani teammates think about last year’s loss to Mid-Pacific in the state final “every day.”
Thanks to his game-saving hit on Tuesday against Hilo, the Trojans can finally erase that painful memory on the field.
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Connell’s two-out RBI single in the top of the seventh forced extra innings and Trevor Inouye scored the winning run on an error in the ninth inning as the Trojans stunned Hilo 5-4 in the first round of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball State Championships at Les Murakami Stadium.
Mililani (10-6) advances to the quarterfinals against the top-seeded Owls on Wednesday night at 7:30 in a rematch of last season’s 3-1 win by MPI to claim its first state title since 2002.
“It’s a big weight lifting off of our shoulders,” Connell said. “We wanted to get to the second game especially and get our revenge against Mid-Pac.”
Kaiser 8, Maui 3
Noah Sakatani pitched a complete game, allowing one earned run while striking out five, to lead the Cougars past the Sabers of the Maui Interscholastic League.
Kaiser scored four runs in the first and two in the second and led 8-0 until the seventh, when Maui scored all its runs.
Kaiser will face No. 2-seed Campbell at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Les Murakami Stadium. Maui will face the loser of the Saint Louis-Roosevelt game at 9 a.m. on Thursday at Hans L’Orange field.
For updates, see live blog of the games on HawaiiPrepWorld.
