Jalen Ah Yat clutched up with a bases-loaded, walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning as No. 7 Kailua escaped with a 6-5 win over Kalani on Saturday night at Les Murakami Stadium.
Kailua improved to 4-1 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association East. The Surfriders will host Kaiser on Wednesday. Kalani dropped to 1-4 with the hard-luck loss.
Facing Riece Myers with a 2-2 count, Ah Yat pulled a soft liner to right, scoring Kayde Iranon from third base. It was a fortunate finish for the Surfriders, who benefited from an infield error with two outs in the seventh. Ah Yat, Kailua’s fifth pitcher, recorded the final five outs to record the win. He started at third base, and at the plate, he was 0-for-3 after being hit by a pitch before stepping up with the game-winner.
“The only at-bat that matters is your last one, whether you’re 0-for-3 or 3-for-3,” Surfriders coach Corey Ishigo said. “He fought back in that last at-bat.”
The game took nearly 31⁄2 hours to play, partly because Kalani issued six walks, hit three batters and had one balk. Kailua’s hurlers combined for eight walks, two wild pitches and two hit batters. Ah Yat was the stabilizing force, allowing just one hit and striking out three with the game on the line.
“Wherever he needs me, that’s where I play. It doesn’t matter when it is, I’ll be ready for any position. I tried to throw strikes, just get it over the plate and let my defense work. It paid off, throwing strikes helped,” Ah Yat said.
In the fourth inning, Matthew Kaleiohi singled and Blazen Lono-Wong was ruled hit by pitch. After Iranon grounded into a forceout and stole second base, Kailua had two runners in scoring position with two outs. The ninth hitter in the lineup, Taylor Takata, walked to load the bases. Brandon Sarae, hitless in two earlier at-bats, then pulled a 1-0 pitch inside the first-base bag for a two-run double, scoring pinch runner Elijah Pittman and Iranon.
The Kalani offense broke through in the top of the fifth against Raven Gauthe-Santos. Cole Romo led off with a double and Kaden Stremick dove headfirst into first base for an infield single when Gauthe-Santos failed to cover first base. Brandon Ting’s single brought Romo home as Kalani cut the lead to 2-1.
Kailua’s new pitcher, Shai Lolo-Tamashiro, fanned Kai Matsumoto, but walked Cole Amine to load the bases. Lolo-Tamashiro had a 2-2 count on Jace Tsutomi, then plunked him on the back, forcing Stremick home from third and the game was tied at 2.
Pinch hitter Keanu Kalaola then walked on four pitches, bringing Ting in from third base to give the Falcons a 3-2 lead. Kim, the No. 9 hitter, then grounded a single up the middle, scoring Amine and pinch runner Javan Montiho for a 5-2 Kalani lead. Kailua answered in the bottom of the fifth with three runs to tie it 5-5 and chase Kalani’s second pitcher, Ryan Arquero.
In the bottom of the seventh, Iranon walked and pinch hitter Kayleb Mahuka-Lono reached on a throwing error by third baseman Stremick. After Takata re-entered and stole second base, Sarae walked to load the bases, setting up Ah Yat’s game-winning single.
