Kalani’s magical OIA baseball run continues
Kohl Suehiro can be a stubborn young hitter.
The Kalani Falcons like to think of it more as persistence. The junior insisted on waiting for a fastball, and after falling behind 0-2 with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth inning, he got his wish. Suehiro socked a single to left off Waipahu pitcher Gabriel Ballesteros, scoring Reece Kakugawa with the winning run as No. 5 Kalani rallied past the Marauders 3-2 in OIA Division I semifinal action at Hans L’Orange Park.
“He’s smart enough to take that approach,” Kalani coach Shannon Hirai said.
Duke Fujii was a bulldog on the mound for Kalani, going all eight innings with nine strikeouts and two walks. His breaking ball was hitting spots in warmups, but not so much after the first pitch of the game.
It was mostly fastballs. My slider wasn’t 100 percent,” Fujii said. “Bronson (Matsumoto) called the pitches. I like his calls.”
Suehiro, 2-for-4 in the game, and his teammates had little success against the crafty southpaw until the eighth frame. But Reece Kakugawa led off the inning with a single to left, then advanced to second when Ballesteros’ pickoff attempt flared wide of first base. After Kakugawa reached third base on a fly ball to right by Connor Zalewski, Ballesteros intentionally walked Bronson Matsumoto and Payton Awaya to load the bases.
Suehiro came to the plate looking only for his fastball.
“I had to keep fouling off his curveball,” he said. “Then I got the fastball down the middle.”
ow Kalani is in the OIA final for the first time since 1971, when Herb Okamura was the coach. That year, future major leaguer Lenny Sakata was the standout player, leading the Falcons to the title.