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In a regular season that was supposed to be over by now, nothing is settled in either Division I or Division II in the ILH.
No. 5 ‘Iolani’s 9-5 win over Damien on Monday at Goeas Field had the potential to knock the Monarchs out of the running for the regular-season crown in Division II.
A letdown feeling after failing to take advantage of a 4-0 lead over the Raiders quickly went away when Damien found out Pac-Five got a walk-off 10-9 victory over St. Francis at Ala Wai Field.
Those losses kept the Saints and Monarchs tied in league play, both 7-6. The two teams will meet Wednesday for the regular-season crown. That means the Monarchs might not have to repeat what they pulled off last season, when they finished second to the Saints in the regular season and had to beat St. Francis four times in nine days to win the ILH title and earn a berth in the state tournament.
“I don’t want to have to do that again,” Damien coach Timo Donahue said.
The loser of Wednesday’s playoff will be in the same situation.
“We just want to make sure they are the ones having to come play us four times,” Donahue said.
Meanwhile in Division I, Mid-Pacific has been the leader in the clubhouse for five days after finishing its regular season at 12-3.
Punahou, which plays Pac-Five today and Saint Louis on Wednesday in games needed to be made up because of the weather, also has to finish a game against ‘Iolani on Friday.
Last Friday’s game was halted in the bottom of the second inning because of rain with ‘Iolani ahead 7-2.
It was believed that the game would restart at the end of the last completed inning — a 1-1 tie after the first.
‘Iolani coach Kurt Miyahira, who got six strong innings from Logan Yee and a go-ahead three-run homer by Cade Yonamine against the Monarchs, said he was told by the ILH that the game would instead restart right where it ended, with ‘Iolani ahead 7-2.
“That would be big for us,” Miyahira said.
The ILH will get three Division I teams into the state tournament this year for the first time since 2012. The second-place finisher would at least clinch a playoff game for a state spot should it fail to finish in the top two in the tournament.
“We know how important second is, and I know it’s a cliche, but we had to take it one game at a time,” said Yonamine, who was 2-for-4 with four RBIs against the Monarchs. “We know how important second place is against Punahou, but we don’t even get there if we don’t win today. Today we swung the bats well and Logan battled for us.”
Punahou can win out this week and finish tied with Mid-Pacific at 12-3, forcing a one-game playoff for the regular-season championship.
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