Payton Dixon scattered three hits over 42⁄3 innings in relief as No. 10-ranked Mid-Pacific beat No. 8 Punahou, 4-1, in the ILH regular-season opener for both teams Wednesday.
The game was tied at 1 going into the bottom of the fifth inning. MPI scored one run in the fifth and added two more in the sixth.
Overcast, cool conditions at MPI’s Damon Field also had head winds that had some effect on fly balls. With center field just 333 feet away, the steady trades blowing in helped pitchers. Dixon struck out five and did not walk a Punahou batter.
“Before the game, I woke up this morning. It was just be ready to compete and do what my team needs me to do,” the senior left-hander said.
His slider snapped hard, leading Punahou’s disciplined hitters off-balance sometimes.
“Punahou’s a good hitting team. They fouled off every two-strike pitch in the first two innings (against Keola Young). They’re just tough. I had to work ahead. I told my pitcher I’d have his back. That’s what we need on this team,” Dixon said.
Punahou managed to get one hit against Young and Dixon.
“Mid-Pac hit the ball well. We did not. We both pitched pretty well. One little passed ball, walks kill the defense. We capitalized on theirs, they capitalized on ours. They played a good game,” Punahou coach Keenan Sue said.
Punahou starting pitcher Cade Watson pitched 52⁄3 innings, allowing six hits. The tall right-hander struck out one and hit two batters.
“I think he had 65 or 66 pitches. A solid first outing for him. Just a passed ball and walk in that inning led to the go-ahead run,” Sue said. “He had command of his fastball, command of his off-speed. Credit to Mid-Pac. They took what he gave them. They found holes and they found holes like they usually do, and that was the difference.”
Coach Dunn Muramaru liked what he saw in his pitchers.
“The kids pitched a good game, man. (Starter Keola) Young struck out that guy with the bases loaded (in the third inning). Then he walked the guy. Payton came in and got the third out. That could’ve been a huge inning,” Muramaru said. “Payton came in and did a good job. He threw strikes. The umpire’s zone was pretty tight. That’s why Young had a hard time.”
Watson’s potential is sky high.
“Their pitcher was good, man. He pounded the zone. This kind of day with the wind blowing in, he did a good job,” Muramaru said. “We got lucky. Got a couple of seeing-eye base hits.”
It was a somber win in some respects for the Owls, who endured a controversial preseason when 12 players were expelled from the school for detrimental conduct in a social media video. It happened just a few months after Muramaru was honored with a national coaching honor. The Owls brought up six JV players, filling out the roster with 23.
“We talked a lot. We talked to other teams at our (Richard Kitamura Invitational). I talked to every team,” Muramaru said. “Basically, I told them, don’t let this happen to you guys. Be responsible. Make the right choices. I’m trying to do my part.”
After two scoreless, hitless innings on the mound, Young ran into trouble in the top of the third inning. Aiden Takuma’s chopper inside the first base bag for a single was followed by a walk to Branson Nushida and a single by Raidan Shibayama to load the bases. After fanning Zak Komeiji for the second out, Young walked Jake Hiromoto on a full count, forcing Takuma in from third base for the first run of the game.
Dixon then replaced Young and indued Micah Shintaku into a 4-6 forceout to end the inning.
Like Young, Watson then lost some control. He hit Adam Kobayashi, who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Simon Sniffen. Watson grazed Matthew Kurata on the top of his head, giving MPI runners at the corners with two outs. Chandler Murray’s sinking bloop single to right field scored Kobayashi to tie the game at 1.
Mixing his curve, slider and fastball, Dixon found his groove. With a Punahou runner at second base, the lanky southpaw struck out pinch hitter Jacob Harris to end the fourth inning, and whiffed Nushida and Komeiji in the fifth.
The Owls pushed ahead in the bottom of the fifth. Adam Kobayashi singled to right, and pinch runner Matthew Sakima advanced to second on a Simon Sniffen sacrifice bunt. Matthew Kurata grounded to third, and Sakima gambled, reaching third base just before the return throw from first base and tag attempt. On a 1-2 pitch to Chandler Murray, Watson unloaded a wild pitch that bounced in the dirt and to the backstop, allowing Sakima to slide home with the go-ahead run.
MPI added two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth for a 4-1 lead.
Coen Goeas singled to right with one out, advanced to second on a groundout by Eli Sniffen, and raced home on a single to center by Jerren Lum. That ended the day for Watson, who allowed three runs on five hits with one strikeout and two hit batters.
Ethan Yonemura then singled up the middle, bringing Lum home from third base for a 4-1 Owls’ lead.
The visitors kept hope alive, getting two runners on base thanks to two MPI infield errors. However, Dixon came through again, getting Raidan Shibayama on a 4-6 forceout to end the game.
Dixon, who has a 3.7 grade-point average, and his teammates have tried to move on after the preseason incident.
“It’s tough. Growing up with those boys from seventh grade. We’ve met and talked about how we felt,” Dixon said. “We established that we need to pick each other up and be there for each other. It’s building a family, getting closer and being there for each other and the guys in the video. We brought up some JV guys and they stepped up real big today. They’re good guys, picking people up. That’s why we love this program.”
Punahou (0-1) 001 000 0 — 1 3 0
Mid-Pacific (1-0) 000 012 x — 4 6 3
Cade Watson and Zak Komeiji. Keola Young, Payton Dixon (3) and Noah Kubo.
Leading hitters—Punahou: Raidan Shibayama 1-4; Owen Rappe 1-3; Aiden Takuma 1-1, run. MPI: Chandler Murray 1-3, RBI; Coen Goeas 2-3, run; Jerren Lum 1-3, RBI, run; Ethan Yonemura 1-3, RBI; Adam Kobayashi 1-1, 2 runs, HP.
