Pac-Five rallies past Punahou, 4-3, holds onto second place in ILH

By Wes Nakama

Thought of as underdogs in the recent and distant past, the Pac-Five baseball team is now regarded as a serious title contender in the ultra competitive ILH baseball race.

The Wolfpack proved it once again Thursday afternoon at Ala Wai Park with a tense and exciting 4-3 comeback victory over Punahou to improve to 6-1 in league play, good for second place just one game behind defending champion Kamehameha (7-0). The Buff 'N Blue, who took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth, fell into fourth place at 4-3-1.

Senior Jaxon Cadiz delivered the key blow, a two-out, bases-loaded single to right field that scored Colton Gallano and Thomas Mitchell to give Pac-Five a 4-3 lead. Then in the top of the seventh, closer Alika Ahu set down Punahou in order with a grounder to short, flyout to third and another groundout to short.

"We are preaching that this whole time -- it's easy to say and tell them in practice, but they did a really good job at staying in the moment and just focusing on the pitch and not the result," Wolfpack coach Reyn Sugai said. "And it really showed. That was a great tool."

It was exactly that type of game where every pitch seemed to matter, from start to finish.

The Buff 'N Blue wasted no time getting started, as Kekoa Payanal led off the game with a single to center, stole two bases and then scored on an errant infield throw. Pac-Five quickly responded in the bottom of the first when Alika Ahu led off with a single to left, advanced to second on Cadiz's sacrifice bunt and scored on Austen Ahu's double to right field. 

The Wolfpack then took a 2-1 lead when Colton Amai Nakagawa immediately followed with a single to right to bring home Austen Ahu.

But the lead did not last long, as Punahou tied it in the top of the second after Brennin Lee reached on a one-out, two-base outfield error, advanced to third on a grounder to short and scored on an infield error. The score stayed at 2-2 for the next three innings as starting pitchers Amai Nakagawa and Micah Bennett engaged in a tight duel. 

Then in the top of the fifth, AJ Wida reached on an infield error to lead off, advanced to second after a hit batter, stole third base and then scored on a balk to push the Buff 'N Blue ahead, 3-2.

In the bottom of the sixth, Gallano reached on a one-out bloop single to right, advanced on a fielder's choice error, and then to third when Alika Ahu was intentionally walked to load the bases with two outs. Punahou coach Alaka'i Aglipay said it was a relatively easy decision to give Ahu the free pass even with first base occupied.

"At the end of the day, I've seen Alika from eighth grade, man, and he comes from such a great family, great kid," Aglipay said. "That kid is unbelievable, and that's why he's going to have the success that he has. We knew that (when) he was coming up, we'd take our chances. And it didn't work in our favor this time around, so it is what it is."

That set the table for Cadiz, who had the sacrifice bunt and was hit by a pitch twice in his three previous plate appearances. This time, he drew a 2-0 count with two outs and the bases loaded.

"At first I thought they were going to pitch to (Ahu), and it came so suddenly that they were going to walk him, I wasn't expecting that," said Cadiz, who bats from the left side. "But honestly I was ready for any outcome because I knew Alika was going to do his job, and it was 'next man up' mentality. I was like, 'You know what, it's time to do some damage.' Maybe not get ahead of myself, because if I got ahead of myself, then bad things can happen. 

"But I stayed patient, and kept within myself, and I just stuck with my plan that I've always been sticking with. I kept my same approach I normally (have), look for my pitch, and my pitch only. After two balls, I was like, 'OK, something has to come,' and luckily it did because I saw my pitch. We practice this all the time, 'Do damage to the pitch that comes, that is your pitch.' So I did what I could when I saw my pitch. It was a fastball in, and I just took a swing at it, hit it early."

Cadiz pulled the grounder to the right side, in the 4-3 hole and into right field, scoring the runners from second and third.

While Pac-Five's high position in the standings may come as a surprise to outsiders, it was somewhat expected by those within the program, since many of the same players won an ILH Intermediate championship for the Wolfpack four years ago. Even Aglipay, who is his first season at Punahou's helm after six seasons with Maryknoll, knew this day was coming.

"They're a great team, they have a great coach who's been prepping these guys from freshman year, and this is their year," Aglipay said. "They've talked about this being their year, when Alika and Colten (Amai Nakagawa) them are seniors, and they're such a good group. And that's a sign also of great leadership on that team, when players rally around them, and they make it count when they need it. So that's great leadership for those boys, and they work really hard."