Tanner Fujino doubled to left field and Ayden Keanini followed with a bloop single to left to score Fujino as Maryknoll edged ‘Iolani 5-4 in 10 innings on Tuesday afternoon at Ala Wai Community Park.
It was a battle of immense will power by the teams. ‘Iolani stranded 13 base-runners, while Maryknoll left 10.
Maryknoll was the last-place team in the ILH during the regular season at 1-11. The Spartans are now 2-0 in the ILH’s round-two, double-elimination baseball tournament. The return of senior pitcher Jayden Fuchigami was crucial. He made his second appearance since recovering from an elbow injury and threw four scoreless innings in relief for the win.
“I’m feeling good. I felt like I had command,” he said. “I just wanted to pitch to contact and get the easy outs.”
Fujino came to the plate with two outs in the top of the 10th against ‘Iolani’s fourth pitcher, Chase Thompson. Fujino doubled to left field on a 1-2 pitch. Keanini was ahead in the count, 3-1, in a lefty-versus-lefty duel.
“I saw that earlier he was throwing a lot of off-speeds. I’m just sitting on anything over the plate,” he said.
Thompson’s inside fastball jammed Keanini, who muscled it toward left field near the foul line for a single.
“I was a little bit late. When I saw it go up I knew it would go fair,” Keanini said.
In the bottom of the 10th, Fuchigami retired the side in order to seal victory.
Maryknoll opened the tournament with a stunning 3-1 win over No. 3 Saint Louis on Monday. On Tuesday, Jarren Yamashita got the start on the mound and was untouched until ‘Iolani struck for two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth. Jace Asato plugged in for two innings, allowing just one hit and no runs, before yielding to Fuchigami.
The 6-foot-2 left-hander entered in the bottom of the seventh inning after Maryknoll had tied the game with a run in the top of the frame. He expected to go one, maybe two innings. Instead, Fuchigami went the final four, allowing no runs on one hit. He walked three but escaped unscathed.
“I thought I would go one or two innings. I didn’t really expect much. I tried my best to keep going and keep working. I got into a rhythm. My pitching coach (Chris Chung) asked me if I still wanted to go, and I said I wanted to keep going,” Fuchigami said. “I just want to thank my teammates and my coaches for supporting me during this game. Having each other’s backs, because none of this would be possible without all of them.”
The Spartans are moving closer to the unexpected: earning one of the ILH’s two remaining state-tournament berths.
Maryknoll (6-16-1 overall) met ‘Iolani twice in the regular season, losing 13-3 and 15-5. The Spartans are now one of only two undefeated teams in the ILH tournament. They will meet top seed Kamehameha at 3:30 p.m. today at Patsy T. Mink Central Oahu Regional Park. Kamehameha’s 5-2 win over Mid-Pacific on Tuesday means the Owls will play Saint Louis today at 3:30 p.m., in an elimination matchup at CORP.
No. 10 ‘Iolani is 1-1 in the tourney (16-12-1 overall) and will play Punahou today at Ala Wai (3:30 p.m.) in another elimination battle.
“We’ve lost a bunch of our pitchers before the season really started. These guys have been taking care of their arms hoping that we have an opportunity like this,” Maryknoll coach Alaka‘i Aglipay said. “Really give credit to him (Fuchigami). Much respect to the hard work he’s put in for the last four years and especially in this rehab process. Really gutsy performance by him.”
If there ever was a semblance of doubt that the ILH is a gauntlet, Maryknoll buried it. The Spartans stunned No. 3-ranked Saint Louis, 3-1, on Monday. They followed up on Tuesday by opening a 3-0 lead on No. 10 ‘Iolani in the first inning.
‘Iolani starting pitcher Charlie Ushijima struck out Trenton Caliboso, but Allin Yip reached base on a throwing error by shortstop Mana Lau Kong. After Luke Swartman singled, both base-runners advanced on a wild pitch.
They scored on a line-drive single to center by Kaui Kekauoha for a 2-0 lead. Courtesy runner Brayden Longboy stole second base, advanced to third on a groundout by Fujino, and scored on a single to left by Treyton Ikeda.
The Raiders had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the third inning when Yamashita lost the zone. He walked Ethan Akagi, and with two outs, he plunked Judah Ota and Chase Thompson to load the bases. Treyden Chong Kee then struck out to end the threat.
After a rocky first inning, Ushijima settled down and retired seven Spartan batters in a row. However, in the top of the fourth, he plunked Keanini and Ikeda. The latter was nearly hit in the head, and the home plate umpire walked halfway to the mound to talk with the hurler. Ushijima left the game with a 1-0 count on the next batter, Chase Hokama.
Brennan Kim replaced Ushijima and clutched up, recording the next three outs as Maryknoll came up empty.
Ushijima went 3-plus innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with three strikeouts, one walk, two hit batters and two wild pitches.
After stranding four base runners on base through three innings, ‘Iolani broke through in the fourth. CJ Taira led off a a single, the first hit off Yamashita, and Oni Dawson also singled. The runners advanced on a passed ball, and Taira scored from third on a sacrifice fly to right by Nalu Kane.
Dawson, who had advanced to third base, then scored on a grounder to short by Akagi, bringing the Raiders within 3-2.
The fateful fifth frame arrived to the relief of ‘Iolani fans. Lau Kong and Ota, the first two hitters in the lineup, were a combined 0-for-3 with one by pitch before Yamashita walked them to begin the fifth. Chase Thompson then delivered a line drive just inside first base for a triple, scoring Lau Kong and Ota for a 4-3 Raiders lead.
Kim was sharp and efficient, retiring eight of the first nine batters he faced. Dawson moved from first base to the mound for the top of the seventh.
Hokama led off with a single to center, but was forced out at second base on a grounder by Alika Balberdi. Balberdi advanced to second base on a wild pitch, and after Caliboso popped out, Yap singled to right, scoring Balberdi to tie the game at 4.
The Raiders missed their chance to put the game away in the bottom of the seventh. Asato walked Thompson and was replaced by Fuchigami. ‘Iolani had the bases loaded with two outs, but Akagi grounded into a 6-4 forceout and the game went into extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, Kekauoha led off with a double and Fujino reached base on an error by Dawson. With Longboy, the courtesy runner, at third base with no outs, a high, outside fastball popped out of the mitt of the catcher, Akagi.
Longboy was almost halfway down the line when Akagi recovered the ball halfway to the ‘Iolani dugout, rifled the ball to the third baseman, Chong Kee, who chased down Longboy for the out.
Dawson then struck out Keanini and Ikeda as ‘Iolani escaped damage.
In the bottom of the eighth with one out, Lau Kong doubled to the right field corner, sprinting to third base when the relay throw was off target. Fuchigami issued intentional walks to Ota and Thompson to load the bases.
Fuchigami then retired Chong Kee on a pop fly as second baseman Caliboso hustled to make the play near the foul line. Taira then flew out to right, ending another coulda-been inning for the Raiders.
