A year ago, Punahou qualified for the state baseball tournament, only to fall to eventual champion Baldwin 8-7 in the quarterfinals.
All the Buffanblu have wanted since is another chance. They got it on Monday, edging Kamehameha 2-1 at Goeas Field to clinch the Interscholastic League of Honolulu regular-season title and an automatic spot in the state tourney.
“I can’t remember the last time we won the ILH. Maybe during Eric’s time,” Punahou coach Keenan Sue said, referring to former head coach Eric Kadooka. “We’ll take it. But the work starts tomorrow. The break is two weeks, but it’s good. We’ll get to rest some guys.
Punahou will have an opening-round bye in the ILH tournament before returning to game play on April 22. It will be a double-elimination format.
“It’s a grind, but it’s also a great gauntlet to ride. If you can do it, you’re mentally tougher,” Sue said.
Landon Carter and Tyler Shimabukuro combined on a five-hitter for Punahou (13-2), which entered the game ranked No. 2 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10. Carter went 42⁄3 innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out four, but walked five. The Warriors had the bases loaded against Carter and had plated their first run on a sacrifice fly by Hanu Racoma.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning, Sue brought Shimabukuro into the game. The junior right-hander retired Dante Park on a groundout, then threw two scoreless innings, retiring seven of the eight batters he faced. He allowed one hit and struck out two in 21⁄3 innings.
Punahou took a 1-0 lead in the third. Patrick Munley led off with a double, advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Cody Hirano and scored on a single by Jake Tsukada.
In the top of the fourth, Kamehameha missed out on an opportunity. Beau Sylvester singled with two outs, and Vince Venenciano singled to right. But after Sylvester reached third base, Venenciano got caught between first and second and was nabbed for a 9-5-3-6 putout to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, Kade Morihara led off with a single, Makana Murashige singled, and Koa Eldredge’s single on a chest-level fastball brought Morihara around third for a 2-0 lead.
The Warriors got on the scoreboard in the fifth. Paa Elarionoff was hit by pitch, Josiah Pekelo singled and Joey Mahiai-Paleka walked to load the bases. Racoma’s sacrifice fly scored Elarionoff, and after Carter walked Javyn Pimental, the bases were loaded.
That’s when Shimabukuro came to the rescue.
No. 9 Kamehameha (9-6) entered the contest as one of the hottest teams in the state, with consecutive wins over Mid-Pacific, ‘Iolani and Maryknoll, all by one-run margins. Starting pitcher Kapono Rawlins went 31⁄3 innings, allowing two runs on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
“We’ve been playing really well, getting a lot of confidence in the way we’ve played. Our pitching has been outstanding. We’ve just got to find a way to execute and scratch out runs when we can,” Kamehameha coach Daryl Kitagawa said. “We’ve got to do a better job of executing, bottom line.”
