The margin of error in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu is razor thin.
One pitch, one dropped ball or, in Mid-Pacific’s case, a couple of bunts could make all of the difference between winning and losing.
It did for the Owls on Tuesday at Goeas Field. Consecutive bunts by Nathaniel Wagner and Brayson Sarae that ended up as singles instead of sacrifices set up a three-run fifth inning for No. 5 Mid-Pacific, which continued its excellence on the mound in a 3-1 win over No. 9 Punahou.
Reyn Kapua and Kai Tokumaru combined to hold Punahou to five hits to help extend Mid-Pacific’s winning streak to six games. The Owls have held their opponents to two runs or fewer in every game during the streak and have limited opponents to one run or less in five straight games.
“You saw the guys pitching. They not throwing 95, 88, 99 (mph),” Mid-Pacific coach Dunn Muramaru said. “They just are good at getting guys out.”
After losing three of four to open the regular season, the Owls have crawled their way into the thick of the race.
Five teams entered Tuesday within two games of league-leading Saint Louis, which despite remaining on top dropped to No. 4 in this week’s Star-Advertiser Top 10.
Four teams remain within a game of the Crusaders, as Saint Louis (7-2-1), Mid-Pacific (7-3), Kamehameha (7-3) and ‘Iolani (6-3-1) all won Tuesday.
Muramaru compared the ILH this year to a major sporting event that ends with the national title game on Monday.
“It’s kind of like March Madness. Each team has their own strengths,” Muramaru said. “Kamehameha has good pitching, ‘Iolani can hit, Saint Louis has that mana they play with … it’s like March Madness, right?”
The games have played out that way on the scoreboard. Two of the four games Tuesday were decided by two runs or less.
Punahou, which is 5-5, has played five one-run games and had seven of its 10 games decided by two runs or fewer.
Mid-Pacific, which plays Kamehameha on Thursday and ‘Iolani on Saturday, lost all three of its games by two runs, including a nine-inning game to the Buffanblu two weeks ago.
The two successful bunts allowed the Owls to score runs on Christopher Cannon’s single back up the middle, a sacrifice fly and an error.
That’s all MPI needed.
Punahou’s Javin Hamura drove in Punahou’s only run with an infield single off the glove of the third baseman in the fifth inning.
Kahaku Harrison and Hamura kept the game going with two-out singles in the bottom of the seventh to put the tying run on base for Nolan Souza, the top senior MLB draft prospect in the state.
Souza lofted a 1-1 pitch foul, which ended up being the final play as Sarae came sprinting over the left-field line to make a sliding catch near the fence.
Kapua allowed an unearned run on two hits in 4 2/3 innings to earn the win. Braden Blackwell pitched well in the loss for Punahou, allowing three runs on six hits in six innings with one walk and two strikeouts.
