Saint Louis shows grit in stunning No. 2 Mid-Pacific

Committing six errors against a team that capitalizes on them should almost guarantee defeat, but Saint Louis’ bats won’t go down that easy.

Despite a multitude of defensive lapses and being down to their final out, the No. 5 Crusaders (2-2) rallied for a 6-5 walk-off win over No. 2 Mid-Pacific (3-1) at Goeas Field on Friday afternoon after Mathew Saelua’s single to right field scored Stanley McKenzie in the eighth inning.

“We talked about being competitors, and I thought we were competitors today. We play for each other,” Saint Louis coach George Gusman said. “Obviously, we gave them all those runs, but nobody’s out there to make errors intentionally. Very proud of our guys.”

The Crusaders were lifted by timely hitting, as well as pitchers Kanoa Meredith and Kaipo Panui, who battled through the team’s defensive struggles to give up no earned runs.

Meredith cruised through the first two innings, keeping Mid-Pacific at bay with a sidearm delivery and effective slurve that kept the Owls guessing. That changed in the third inning, when a grounder by Mackenzie Higuchi to shortstop Charles Lopez that would have maintained the Crusaders lead at 1-0 was bobbled for an error. Meredith went on to walk three batters and plunk one in the third inning alone, and was at 72 pitches with a 3-1 deficit by the time the frame was over.

Meredith settled in afterward and was finished after five innings of work. The senior allowed five hits, walked three and struck out four in 94 pitches. Panui earned the win with three innings of relief for the Crusaders, allowing four hits to go along with two strikeouts.

“Our pitchers did their job. Two-out ground balls, we just gotta make plays, then maybe the game doesn’t go extra innings,” Gusman said. “But it’s a great win for us.”

Leadoff hitter Cole Kashimoto was a true catalyst for the Crusaders, going 4-for-4 at the plate, including a game-tying double in the bottom of the seventh with two outs.

“We know that they’re a tough team. We’re the underdogs,” he said. “We’ve been struggling a little bit but at practice, our coaches told us to just be aggressive, have a plan.”

Michael China got the start for the Owls, six days after tossing a shutout against Punahou. Friday afternoon was more of a grind for the left-handed senior, who gave up eight hits and four runs in 87 pitches while striking out three and walking one. China fell one out shy of another complete- game victory and yielded to Kyle Layugan in the seventh after surrendering the game-tying hit. Layugan only recorded two outs and was tagged with the loss.

The Owls retook the lead in the top of the eighth when second baseman Patrick Coronas overthrew first baseman Kupono Soo on a routine ground ball, which allowed Jacob Yoshino to score from second.

Saint Louis responded emphatically when freshman catcher Caleb Lomavita crushed a home run that cleared the left-field wall some 390 feet away to tie things up at 5. With men on first and second and one out, Saelua fought through an 11-pitch at bat, fouling off eight straight pitches before roping the game-winner.

“I had two strikes and my plan was to just put the ball in play as best as I can and to not strike out. I just battled and battled and I finally got contact,” he said. “Every game so far we’ve been down. We always find a way to come back and I think that helps us be strong and not be complacent.”