August 16, 2014

SHELBY, N.C.—The age-old saying “speed kills” applies when playing Waipahu, Hawaii.
    Shortstop Brent Sakurai hit two triples and a double en route to scoring three runs; center fielder Tanner Tokunaga had two hits, two stolen bases, two runs scored and an RBI; third baseman Nick Bottom had two RBI hits, including a double; and Hawaii’s team speed earned a few infield hits and forced Chico, Calif., into three errors in an 8-1 pool play victory Saturday evening at the ALWS.
    “Playing against all these guys, we aren’t going to be the biggest, so speed is just as important because once we get on, since we are quick, we can try and make things happen without bunting and all it takes is one guy getting a hit and we can score,” Tokunaga said.
    The victory improved Hawaii to 25-4 on the season, 2-0 in ALWS pool play, and sets up the last game of pool play as the Western Pool championship game against Omaha, Neb., Sunday at 8 p.m. California fell to 41-18 on the season and 0-2 in pool play. It plays fellow 0-2 Columbia, Tenn., Sunday at 1 p.m.
    Waipahu scored a run in the 1st inning, three in the 2nd, and never looked back.
    Starting pitcher Josh Inouye lasted just four innings because of tightness in his elbow so Hawaii turned to Josh Maglangit, who failed to win a game through the entire high school season, in relief. Maglangit spread five hits and a walk over five innings while striking out five to improve to 2-0 in a team-leading five national postseason appearances. He has a 0.00 ERA through 11 innings of work.
    “His fastball isn’t as stiff as most of our pitchers so that’s what throws off their timing,” catcher Kamalu Neal said. “He’s got good offspeed too, good curve, good change and good splitty. He was spotting up tonight. He was painting that outside corner with all of his pitches.”
    Neal said he called the big looping curveball about 50 percent of the time with a low 80 mph fastball only about 30 percent of the time.
    Bottom got the Hawaiian boys on the scoreboard in the 1st with an RBI infield single that plated Sakurai, who tripled. Tokunaga hit an RBI single into left center that proved to be the eventual game-winning RBI.
    “I was looking for something to drive but I was mostly getting stuff away,” Tokunaga said. “After two strikes I kept fighting off pitches and then he left a curve over the plate and I stayed back and got enough barrel on it to get it over the shortstop’s head.”
    Sakuai, who made a couple of batting adjustments (getting his front foot down quicker and making sure he loaded his hands) thanks to his brother’s coaching advice from watching over the internet, followed with his second triple in as many innings.
     “I was just looking for something to take the other way to drive in a run with a sac fly at least,” Sakurai said. “I just got lucky enough to get one in the gap on my first pitch. First pitch fastball away and went oppo with it and then just tried to run the bases.”
    Chico cut its deficit to 4-1 in the bottom of the 2nd inning when third baseman Greg Darms hit a sacrifice fly, but that’s as close as it got.
    Although Hawaii out-hit California only 12-10, California stranded 12 runners on base as Hawaii committed no errors.
    Chico center fielder Ian Melton went 3-for-4 while Darms and shortstop Lucas Corriea had two hits apiece in the loss. Starting pitcher Ryan Dufort struck out nine batters in seven innings of work and only walked one.