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Farmers win game, Spartans take tiebreaker as MIL D-II leaders clash

Molokai High School’s Iokepa Pelekane connects in the fourth inning of the Farmers’ 7-3 win over Seabury Hall on Saturday at Eddie Tam Field. -- JACQUI SWARTZ photo

MAKAWAO — The Molokai High School baseball team won its game with Seabury Hall at Eddie Tam Field on Saturday morning. The Spartans then won the one-inning tiebreaker that followed.

Both could be in the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Division II state tournament on Kauai in May. With the addition of Hana boosting its D-II ranks to five teams, the Maui Interscholastic League now gets two teams to the eight-team state tournament.

“Definitely, I’m glad the way they responded,” Molokai coach Keahi Rawlins said after a 7-3 win in the full game on Saturday, which followed a 13-6, six-inning loss Friday afternoon. “They woke up ready this morning. They did exactly what our game plan was. They fell a little short today in this tiebreaker, but I’m glad overall.

“They did well. We pitched well, we played defense and we hit when we needed to.”

Saturday’s Molokai win left the Farmers on top of the Maui Interscholastic League D-II standings at 5-1, while the Spartans are 3-1.

The Spartans’ Lucas DiMartino delivers a pitch in the second inning. -- JACQUI SWARTZ photo

The regular season concludes after eight games, and with a walk-off 2-1 win in the tiebreaker that the MIL utilizes in D-II play for baseball and softball, the Spartans can claim a state berth with four more wins that would clinch the regular-season crown, even if Molokai also finishes 7-1.

The MIL tournament will decide a second berth to the state tournament and there is a possibility these teams could see each other there and an overall championship game.

“There’s still a lot of baseball to play,” Rawlins said. “We have to take care of business, we’ve got a bye next week, we’ve got some things to work on. Then we’ve got Hana at home before the MIL tournament.”

Gavin Ainoa spun a complete-game seven-hitter in the full game with four strikeouts and no walks for the Farmers. He was 2-for-4 at the plate and scored twice.

The Farmers took a 2-0 lead in top of the first, scoring on a wild pitch and an error. Slater Oswald knocked in two runs with a single in the third to make it 4-0. Molokai scored a run on an error in the fourth and added two more in the fifth on another error.

Molokai’s Gavin Ainoa following through on a second-inning pitch. -- JACQUI SWARTZ photo

The Spartans cut the lead to 5-1 on an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Lucas DiMartino in the fourth and scored their final two runs on an RBI single by Cole LoGrande and an error in the sixth.

In the tiebreaker — innings begin with a runner on second base in the extra-inning-type format — the Farmers scored in the top of the first on an RBI single by Kaimana Nakayama, but left runners stranded on second and third base.

The Spartans tied the tiebreaker in the bottom of the inning on a wild pitch and scored the walk-off game winner on an error when Devin Palazzotto sent a bouncer toward first base with runners on second and third and one out — the throw home was off the mark.

“Our team’s competitive, they don’t let too much phase them,” Seabury Hall coach Joe McFarlin said. “They did come out flat, but new game. That’s baseball. One inning wins it, one inning can win it.”

Friday’s game was reverted back to six innings due to darkness halting the action in the partially completed seventh inning. One of the two umpires left the field after six innings, citing illness.

Ainoa scores as Seabury Hall’s Lucas DiMartino covers the plate in the first inning. -- JACQUI SWARTZ photo

Rawlins gave notice prior to the start of the seventh inning that he was playing the game under protest and confirmed on Saturday that would formally file the protest with the MIL. The seventh inning continued with one umpire, stationed behind the mound to call balls and strikes.

“(An) umpire left with one inning left, he was feeling ill, all day I guess, and he couldn’t handle it any more,” Rawlins said. “There were some questionable calls that I don’t know. … Maybe it was (the effects of) medication.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com

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Molokai 202 120 0–7 5 2

Lanai’s Naighel Calderon bats during the Pine Lads’ 10-1 win over St. Anthony on Saturday in Lanai City. Calderon hit four home runs and finished with six RBIs. -- CHRISTIAN YUMOL photo

Seabury Hall 000 102 0–3 7 4

Gavin Ainoa and Kaimana Nakayama. Lucas DiMartino, Rafe Perrin (3) and Perrin, Finn Hagen (3). W–Ainoa. L–DiMartino. 2B–Seabury Hall: Jacob Luther, Cole LoGrande.

Leading hitters–Molokai: Ainoa 2-4, 2 runs. Seabury Hall: LoGrande 2-3, RBI; Luther 2-4.

LANAI 10, ST. ANTHONY 1

St. Anthony 100 000 0– 1 2 1

Lanai 102 601 x–10 11 5

Jonathan Vergel De Dios, Riley Ambrose (5) and Hunter Otani. Devin Vidad and Kane Tubera. W–Vidad. L–Vergel De Dios. 2B–Lanai: Tubera. HR–Lanai: Calderon 4.

Leading hitters–Lanai: Naighel Calderon 4-4, 4 runs, 6 RBIs; Ardell Mueller 2-4, run; Devrene Kahananui-Alejado 2-3, run; Tubera 2-4, RBI.

BALDWIN 6, KING KEKAULIKE 1

King Kekaulike 000 000 1–1 2 2

Baldwin 111 012 x–6 5 0

Gavin Grossman, Mikey Beesing (6) and Beesing, Ayvin Vargas-Ixcotoyac (6). Ben Zeigler-Namoa, Haku Dudoit (6), Bubba Varner (7) and Cade Kalehuawehe. W–Zeigler. L–Grossman. 2B–King Kekaulike: Jaxon Grossman; Baldwin: Dudoit, Ziegler-Namoa. HR–Baldwin: Varner.

Leading hitters–Baldwin: Reyn Okita 2-3, run.

MAUI HIGH 5, LAHAINALUNA 0

Lahainaluna 000 000 0–0 6 2

Maui High 100 220 x–5 9 2

Kealaula Medeiros, Anthony Felice (5) and Kainalu Kaililaau. Tyrell Ruiz, Nainoa Garso (7) and Keelan Yagi. W–Ruiz. L–Medeiros. 3B–Maui High: Ruiz.

Leading hitters–Maui High: Yagi 2-2, run, RBI; Boden Woodard 2-3, run.

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MIL STANDINGS

DIVISION I

W L Pct. GB

Baldwin 6 0 1.000 —

Maui High 5 1 .833 1

Kamehameha Maui 4 2 .667 2

Lahainaluna 3 6 .333 4 1⁄2

King Kekaulike 0 9 .000 7 1⁄2

DIVISION II

W L Pct. GB

Molokai 5 1 .833 —

Seabury Hall 3 1 .750 1

Lanai 2 2 .500 2

St. Anthony 2 4 .333 3

Hana 0 4 .000 4

Saturday’s Results

Lanai 10, St. Anthony 1

Molokai 7, Seabury Hall 3

Baldwin 6, King Kekaulike 1

Maui High 5, Lahainaluna 0

Thursday’s Games

Kamehameha Maui vs. Lahainaluna at Maehara Stadium, 3:30 p.m.

Baldwin vs. Maui High at Maehara Stadium, 5:30 p.m.

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