Victorino swinging hot bat in May

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

In many ways, it was a performance that highlighted the things Shane Victorino does best on a baseball field and the area where he probably needs the most improvement. 

 

The Phildelphia center fielder collected a pair of triples last night, showcasing his exceptional speed and ability to hit the ball hard for a man his size. 

 

He also drew three walks in the leadoff spot in the lineup, demonstrating a level of patience at that plate that has largely been missing during his constantly evolving and improving big-league career.

 

Victorino ended up scoring three runs as the Phillies rallied from two deficits to overpower Colorado 9-5. 

 

Carlos Ruiz also played a key role for the victorious visitors, collecting four hits – including a homer in the sixth and tie-breaking single – as Philly opened up a two-game lead over surprising Washington in the National League East.

 

So far this month, Victorino is batting .302 with eight of his 13 hits going for extra bases, scoring nine runs and driving in 10. 

 

The teams of Maui's two other big-leaguer player – Oakland catcher Kurt Suzuki and Seattle reliever Kanekoa Texeira – were idle yesterday.  Suzuki could come off the 15-day disabled list today versus Cleveland.  Texeira pitched two perfect innings in his last outing on Friday, lowering his season ERA to 3.65.

 

TAUFA A HOOSIER:  Milika Taufa, a two-time all-state basketball player for Lahainaluna, has signed a national letter of intent to play for Indiana University next season.

 

The powerful 6-footer visited the IU campus in Bloomington last week and was sufficiently impressed to reject an offer from LaTech.  She also drew interest from Iowa, Northwestern, Eastern Michigan and Mississippi State, according to the Honolulu Advertiser.

 

Taufa, along with junior point guard Maiki Viela, led the Lunas to the state Division-I title during the past season.  She scored 26 points with nine rebounds and five blocks in the title game victory over Konawaena.

 

PREP SOFTBALL:  The Lunas softball team opens its bid in the state D-I softball tournament today, facing Castle in a 3 p.m game at Central Oahu Regional Park.  The winner meets third-seeded Waikakea in Wednesday's 1 p.m. quarterfinal.

 

MIL champion Baldwin was seeded fourth and drew a first-round bye.  The Bears will meet the winner of Punahou vs Kapolei at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

 

In the D-II tourney, Molokai opens versus Kauai High at 5 o'clock today.  Third-seeded Hana faces the winner of Waialua-Kohala at 5 o'clock Wednesday.

 

The boy's volleyball D-I and D-II tournaments also are set for this week on Oahu, as is the state track and field meet.

Punahou routs Baldwin for baseball title

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

This one was over before Baldwin ever even came to the plate on Saturday night.  Punahou erupted for 10 runs in the top of the first inning and romped to a 13-2 win over the hometown Bears to capture its seventh straight state baseball championship.

 

It took the Bears three pitchers to get out of the first, silencing a partisan crowd of more than 2,000 at Iron Maehara Stadium.

 

The loss ended third-seeded Baldwin's season at 26-4, while unseeded Punahou closed out yet another championship campaign at 22-7-1.

 

Three Baldwin players were named to the all-tournament team:  first baseman Brock Shishido, second baseman Kaulana Ching and left-handed pitcher Chase Tokunaga, who was the winning hurler in Baldwin's 5-2 semifinal victory over top-seeded Saint Louis.

 

Meantime, second-seeded St. Anthony had to settle for a fourth-place finish in the Division-II tournament held concurrently at Hans L'Orange Field in Waipahu.  The Trojans opened with a 15-3 rout of Campbell before losing 9-2 to eventual champion Waimea in the semis and 12-3 to HPA in the third-place game.

 

Named to the D-II all-tourney team were two St. Anthony players:  outfielder Trevor Ventura and Jarret Stinger as a utility man.

 

In water polo, the fourth seeded Lahainaluna girls opened with a 6-5 win over Roosevelt before losing 16-1 to eventual champion Punahou in the semis and 8-4 to Kahuku in the third-place match.

 

MORE BASEBALL:   Baldwin, making its first appearance in the state title game since last winning the championship in 1995, advanced with a 5-2 victory over Saint Louis on Friday night.  Punahou defeated Mid-Pacific 4-1 in the other semifinal game.  The third-seeded Bears improved their season record to 26-4 behind a three-hit performance by senior left-hander Chase Tokunaga.  Punahou (21-7-1) capitalized on senior right hander Alakai Aglipay's arm and bat.  In addition to going the distance on the mound, Aglipay also had a pair of hits and drove in a pair of runs.

 

SOFTBALL: After needing a dramatic playoff victory to capture the MIL overall title, Baldwin is seeded fourth in the state Division-I softball tournament that begins Tuesday at the Rainbow Wahine Stadium.

 

MIL runnerup Lahainaluna will open its bid in a 3 p.m. game versus Castle, with the winner facing third-seeded Waiakea in Wednesday's 1 p.m. quarterfinal.

 

Baldwin will tangle against the winner of Punahou vs Kapolei at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

 

Mililani is the top seed, followed by Mid-Pacific.

 

In the D-II tourney, Hana is seeded third and meets the winner of Waialua-Kohala at 5 o'clock Wednesday at Central Oahu Regional Park.  MIL runnerup Molokai opens versus Kauai High at 5 o'clock Tuesday.  Lanai is seeded first, with Waimea second and Konawaena fourth.

VOLLEBYBALL:  The boy's D-I volleyball tournaments begin Wednesday on Oahu, with Baldwin seeded fourth.

 

The Bears draw a first-round by before opening in Thursday's 5 p.m. quarterfinal match at McKinley High.  MIL runnerup Lahainalua will face Kamehameha-Kapalama in a 5 p.m. match at Kaimuki High on Wednesday.

 

The eight-team D-II event begins on Thursday.  Third-seeded Seabury Hall will meet Kohala in a 5 p.m. match at Farrington High.

 

BIG LEAGUES:  Oakland LH Dallas Braden registered only the 19^th perfect game in ML history yesterday as the A's beat TB 4-0. … Shane Victorino's seventh homer of the season, a solo shot to right in the seventh, helped Philadelphia to a 5-3 win over Atlanta. … Seattle reliever Kanekoa Texeira had the best outing of his rookie season on Friday, pitching two perfect innings in an 8-0 loss to the Angels. … Oakland C Kurt Suzuki could return from the DL as soon as Wednesday's game vs. Cleveland.

 

NO KOA IKAIKA:  The new baseball team in town, Na Koa Ikaika of the Golden Baseball League, opened its pre-season camp yesterday at Iron Maehara Stadium.  Four former MIL standouts are bidding for spots on the final 22-player roster:  infielders Gered Mochizuki and JJ Pacheco, C Joe Kala and first baseman Ikaika Lester.

Isagawa captures state golf crown

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

When Cassy Isagawa ran away with the MIL individual girls' golf title, some observers around the state attributed her dominance to a lack of competition on Maui.  Wrong.

 

Yesterday, she followed up her opening-round 73 with a 74 over the challenging Palmer Course at Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu's North Shore to register a one-stroke victory over Kelli Oride of Kauai High for the state championship. 

 

Iolani's Marrissa Chow and Punahou's Alina Chang tied for third, three shots off the pace.

 

Isagawa's efforts helped Baldwin to a second-place finish in the team standings for the second straight year.  Punahou took top honors 455, eight shots better than the Bears and 22 ahead of Waiakea.

 

In the boy's tournament, Kamehameha-Maui's Aaron Kunimoto finished at 146 for third place.  Campbell's Rudy Cabalar and Kamehameha-Hawaii's Nainoa Calip completed the regulation 36 holes at 141, with Cabalar winning the playoff after one hole.

 

Punahou took the boy's team title by eight strokes over Moanalua.  Baldwin finished fifth and Lahainaluna sixth.

 

Fourth-seeded Lahainaluna opens its bid in the state water polo tournament today, facing Roosevelt in a 3:15 p.m. quarterfinal match at the Central Oahu Regional Park.  Roosevelt advanced with a 15-2 rout of Kealakehe.

 

STATE BASEBALL: With Maui High suffering a 5-0 loss to Mid-Pacific in yesterday's opening round, it's now up to Baldwin to keep alive the MIL's title hopes going into today's quarterfinal round of the Wally Yonamine Foundation state baseball tournament.

 

The Bears (24-4) will be facing Campbell in tonight's 7 o'clock marquee game at Iron Maehara Stadium.  Campbell (18-6) advanced with a 4-3 win over OIA rival Moanalua.

 

The three other quarterfinal games also provide intriguing matchups.

 

At 11:30, fourth-seeded Hilo (15-2) tangles with Mid-Pac (23-7), which rode a two-hit, 10-strikeout outing by lefty Lawrence Chew to subdue the Sabers, who were held without a hit until Dane Oshio hit a big-hop single over the second baseman's head with two outs in the sixth. 

 

Maui High's Alika Aheong worked in and out of trouble for most of the evening before the Owls put away the game with a four-run, two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth.  The loss relegated the Sabers (16-8) to Friday's 8:30 a.m. consolation game against Mililani.

 

At 2 p.m., top-seeded Pearl City brings a 28-0-1 mark against sixth-time defending state champ Punahou (19-7-1), which needed five innings to rout Mililani 12-0.  At 4:30, second-seeded Saint Louis (26-4) faces Kailua, which is coming off a 6-1 win oveer Kaiser.

 

Meantime, St. Anthony is competing in the D-II tournament on Oahu, facing Konawaena at 2 o'clock.

 

Both baseball tournaments run through Saturday night.  Games involving MIL teams will be aired on Maui's ESPN 550 and via the internet on ESPN550.com.

 

MORE PREPS:  Tennis began a three-day run on today in Kona and the judo championships will be held Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawaii campus.

 

Next week, the softball championships will be held at Rainbow Wahine Stadium.  Baldwin and Lahainaluna will represent the MIL, with the Lady Bears posting a dramatic 4-3 win in yesterday's playoff game at Patsy Mink Field on the Maui High campus.  Tayler Shimizu drove in the winning run on a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh.

 

The boy's volleyball D-I and D-II events will be held at various high school gyms on Oahu.  And the track and field meet will be hosted by Kamehameha-Kapalama.

Shane slams Santana as Phillies romp

By Fred Guzman

ESPN550.com

 

For Shane Victorino, it was a familiar feeling with a familiar result.

 

In Game 2 of the 2008 National League division series, the Phillies center fielder hit a grand slam after pitcher Brett Myers worked a walk against Milwaukee's CC Sabathia.

 

Yesterday, Mets' ace Johan Santana improbably walked pitcher Jamie Moyer on a full count to load the bases.  And Victorino struck again, slugging a grandslam homer to spark a nine-run outburst in the fourth inning as the Phillies crushed their arch-rivals 11-5.

 

It was Victorino's fifth homer of the season and his second career grandslam.  He's now batting .243 with 22 RBI, which ranks him sixth in the NL.

 

Philadelphia won two of three games in the series, moving past the Mets into first place in the NL East.

 

Things aren't going as well for Kurt Suzuki.  For the first time since taking over as the Oakland's starting catcher in 2007, Suzuki was placed on the 15-day disabled list after missing his five previous games with a strained muscle.

 

Suzuku is batting .254 with four homers -- including three in his final four outings before becoming injured.

 

Rookie reliever Kanekoa Texeira worked two innings on Saturday in Seattle's 6-3 loss to Texas, giving up four hits and a run.  It was the right-hander's sixth appearance of the season.   He's worked a total of 8.1 innings and has a 5.40 ERA.

 

STATE BASEBALL:  The state Division-I baseball tournament returns to Iron Maehara Stadium for the first time in four years, and hometown Baldwin High is seeded third in the event, which begins a four-day run on Wednesday.

 

The MIL champions earned a first-round bye and will face the winner of Wednesday's 11:30 a.m. tournament-opener between Campbell (17-6) and Moanalua in Thursday's 7 p.m. quarterfinal game. 

 

OIA champion Pearl City, with a 28-0-1 record, is the top seed.  Saint Louis (26-4), which captured its first ILH title since 1989, is seeded second. Hilo (15-2)  of the Big Island is seeded fourth in the 12-team field.

 

MIL runnerup Maui High (16-7), which needed a playoff victory over Kamehameha-Maui to earn the league's second berth, will face ILH runnerup Mid-Pacific (22-7) in Wednesday's featured 7 p.m. first-round game.  Although unseeded, Mid-Pac is the state's third-ranked team.  The winner will meet Hilo at 11:30 am on Thursday.

 

The other first-round match-ups will feature  OIA rivals Kaiser vs. Kailua at 2 o'clock and six-time defending champion Punahou (18-7-1) of the ILH vs. Mililani of the OIA at 4:30.

 

St. Anthony is seeded No. 2 in the eight-team D-II tournament, facing Konawaena in Thursday's 2 p.m. game at Hans L'Orange Park in Waipahu.  Radford is the top seed, with Waimea third and Maryknoll  No 4.

 

Both tournaments run through Saturday night.  Games involving MIL teams will be aired on Maui's ESPN 550 and via the internet on ESPN550.com.

 

MORE PREPS: Four other state championships will be held this week.  The boy's and girls' golf are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at Turtle Bay on Oahu.  The MIL's best hope to earn individual honors belongs to Baldwin's Casey Isagawa, who won the league girls' individual title by an astounding 44 strokes with a 1-under par 283. SH SO Alex Chiarella  won the boy's title. … Lahainaluna is the fourth seed in the water polo tournament that begins Wednesday at the Central Oahu Regional Park.  The Lunas will draw an opening bye, facing the winner of Roosevelt-Kealakehe at 3:15 p.m. Thursday. …. Tennis will begin a three-day run on Thursday at the Keauhou Beach Resort in Kona … The judo championships will be held Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center on the UH campus.

 

GOLF:  Michelle Wie finished third in the Tres Marias LPGA event in Morelia, Mexico, two strokes off the pace.  Wie earned more than $87,000 for her efforts.