2B SPORTS SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2015 | WEST HAWAII TODAY Golden Girls Wailele Kane-Yates produced his second multihit game for Hilo. Aiden Joaquin did the same on a big day at the plate for North Hawaii. The Little League teams appear to be on a collision course again after each scored convincing victories Saturday at Naalehu Park at a District 4 tournament for ages 9-10. Hilo moved into the championship game with a 10-0 victory that sent Ka’u its first loss. Legend Lancaster earned the victory, and Ezekial Jara took the loss. Kane-Yates had a pair of hits after raking three against North Hawaii as Hilo rallied Friday for an 8-7 victory. In an elimination game, North Hawaii had no shortage of hitting stars as it bounced back in a big way with a 17-2 win against Hamakua. Logan Neves and Keola Pilayo each contributed three hits and two RBIs, and Quentin Hook doubled for the second consecutive day and drove in two. Gabe Key added a double, while Joaquin got the victory and now has four hits in two days. Ka’u and North Hawaii will meet at noon Sunday. The good news for the winner is a spot in Monday’s championship game. The bad news is it will have to beat undefeated Hilo twice. Hilo won the island title last season, beating North Hawaii 10-0 in the final. The big difference this season is the Big Island has been realigned as District 4. Previously it shared a district with Maui, so while Hilo had to go to Maui for a state play-in game last year, Monday’s champion advances directly to states, scheduled for June 18-22 at Central Oahu Regional Park. YAMAGUCHI: Still planning out future CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B was a packed house. We played against some amazing talent.” Yamaguchi wrapped up his career this season with another WCC title after Pepperdine again defeated LMU in the postseason tournament. Yamaguchi played a big part in the victory, hitting a solo home run in the top of the ninth to put the Waves up 4-2. “I was not going for a home run but at the same time I was,” Yamaguchi said. “As soon as they scored (making the game 3-2 in the eighth inning) I knew we had to get that run back. I was first up and why not go for it.” Pepperdine went 2-2 in the regionals, but could not overcome a very good Cal State Fullerton team, dropping both DRAFT: Trio embracing hard work and improving “Wow! Wow!” jockey Victor Espinoza said moments after crossing the finish line. “I can only tell you it is just an amazing thing.” The bay colt with the unusually short tail easily defeated seven rivals in the grueling 1 1/2- mile race, covering the distance in 2:26.65 — sixth-fastest in Belmont history — to end the longest stretch without a Triple Crown champion in history. “That little horse, he deserved it,” said Baffert, who at 62 is the second-oldest trainer of a Triple Crown winner. “He’s the one that did it. We were basically just passengers.” American Pharoah is the 12th horse and first since Affirmed in 1978 to win three races on different tracks at varying distances over a fiveweek span. He won the Derby by one length on May 2 and then romped to a seven-length victory in the rainy Preakness two weeks later before demolishing his rivals Saturday. Baffert and Espinoza ended their own frustrating histories in the Triple Crown. Baffert finally won on his record fourth Triple try, having lost in 1997, 1998 (by a nose) and in 2002. Espinoza got it done with his record third shot after failing to win in 2002 and last year on California Chrome. “I was prepared for somebody coming because I’ve been through this so many times,” Baffert said. Nobody did. “It’s just an amazing feeling that you have when you’re 20 yards from the wire,” Espinoza said. “And then at the wire I was like, ‘I cannot Kona’s Kaylyn Villanueva prepares to hit a pitch from Hamakua’s Ayezha Isabel during a Gold Coast Little League softball game at Waikoloa Community Park on Saturday. Softball action continues on Sunday at the Old Kona Airport Park. J.R. DE GROOTE/WEST HAWAII TODAY to 2014 Hilo graduate and outfielder Jodd Carter, a 24th-round pick of the Cleveland Indians. Both are roughly the same size at 5-10 and 170 pounds with similar speed. As for the 5-10, 185- pound Ka’aua, his throws to second base have ranged from 1.89 to 1.9 seconds, with a best of 1.83 seconds. MLB average is right below 2.0 seconds with most big league catchers consistently in the 1.8 to 1.98 second range. “The scouts told me I have a super quick release,” Ka’aua said. “But I want to get my arm stronger and drop my time down. If I can have a super quick release and stronger arm, that’ll help me big-time. “Being back home with coach Kaha helps me a lot. I get a lot of confidence and everyone sees it in my swing and notices that.” Like Ka’aua, Candaroma enjoys the habit of working hard and improving all aspects of his game. “It’s not rocket science. You’ll only get to someplace in life if you work hard,” Candaroma said. The most important tool for a MLB catcher is the ability to block breaking balls in the dirt. One who doesn’t have that fundamental footwork is a liability for pitchers with runners on base. It helped Ka’aua’s footwork that he also played middle infield growing up, and he was the second baseman on the 2011 Hilo Senior League team that won the World Series. That championship ballclub also included Torres-Costa, a 2012 Waiakea graduate, and JJ Kitaoka, a 2013 Konawaena graduate and UH redshirt freshman. SAME OLD Q Ka’aua, a 2013 Hilo grad, realized Torres- Costa was back to his old self when he faced Cal State Fullerton, a notorious fastball-hitting ballclub. Torres-Costa underwent Tommy John surgery during the spring of 2013. “Fullerton’s whole team can hit the fastball, but Q mowed them down,” Ka’aua said. “Those guys said it was his motion and he hides the ball well. He’s hard to pick up, and his ball shoots out and you don’t see it at all.” Torres-Costa rocks back in his delivery, bending his left knee before he reaches his load. It helps his rhythm, and also serves as a slight pause — like a Japanese pitcher’s delivery hesitation — to throw off a hitter’s timing. “Health-wise I’m 100 percent as a pitcher,” Torres-Costa said. “But I always want to get better, even it’s just 1 percent every day. Being back home with coach Kaha and coach Jerry Meyer it gives me the desire to do more hard work, and be grateful to play ball at UH, and have the opportunity to be draft-eligible. “I have to credit coach Jerry. He watches every game and he calls it a dip when I bend my left knee. He emphasizes that I be smooth in my delivery and confident in myself. Coming out of the bullpen, my mindset was to go in, do my job, get outs and help my team win. That’s what helped me.” Torres-Costa went to the same pro showcase in Anaheim that Candaroma was invited to. The UH southpaw’s last pro workout was on May 31 at Dodger Stadium, a memorable experience. “It was very surreal, just being in the stadium with all the history and throwing off the main mound,” Torres-Costa said. No one from the Los Angeles Dodgers told him his velocity that day. Torres-Costa didn’t really need to know anyway. He felt good and smooth in his delivery, and a scout gave him a nice sign. “The Dodger scout, who worked me out, gave me a thumb’s up,” Torres-Costa said. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B games against the Titans (9-3, 10-1). Despite being the No. 4 seed, the Waves defeated Arizona State (7-4) and Clemson (10-8). “If we were asked in the middle of the year if we would win the championship and make it to the regional tournament, everyone would have thought it would be a long shot but that we could do it,” Yamaguchi said. “We did great for the talent we had. We were a young team and they have a great few years ahead of them.” Yamaguchi hit .241 his senior year. He started 38 of 61 games and played in 48. He had 20 RBIs and 19 runs scored. He also hit four home runs. The catcher/ designed hitter struggled his junior season, hitting At 5-foot-11, 180-pounds, Yamaguchi’s best year’s at the plate came in his freshman and sophomore season. In his first season, Yamaguchi made 14 appearances and hit .310. During his sophomore year, Yamaguchi hit .309 with 18 RBIs and four home runs. He was at his best against league opponents during the regular season, hitting .323 with 10 RBIs and two home runs in 19 games. He was named to the ALL-WCC First Team. Yamaguchi is currently finishing his degree in Sports Medicine. He is leaving the door open for further baseball pursuits. “I am not leaving baseball out of the picture,” Yamaguchi said. “I will continue to work out, stay in shape, and see where it takes me.” From left to right, Quintin Torres-Costa, Chayce Ka’aua and Kobi Candaroma. KEVIN JAKAHI/HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD PHAROAH: Baffert wins on fourth Triple try CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B Hilo, North Hawaii cruise at Little League tourney HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL HIADA: BIIF has benefited from regional play CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B again, until 2014 under the HHSAA’s pilot program for state regional round play. Konawaena hosted Mililani in the quarterfinals, not at its home gym, but at Kealakehe’s gym. The Wildcats lost 54-51 and their season was finished. The obvious benefits for Konawaena was that the hometown fans didn’t have to pay a dime for airfare and hotel expenses, and the Wildcats didn’t miss a day of school. The 55th annual HIADA conference will be held Monday through Wednesday at Hilton Waikoloa, where state regional round play may wind up on the chopping block. In June 2013, HHSAA executive director Chris Chun initiated a pilot program for girls basketball and boys volleyball for state regional round play for the 2013-14 season. The next summer, state regional round play for boys and girls soccer was added for the 2014- 15 season. Again, the regional play helped the BIIF, especially Konawaena, which beat Kaiser 2-0 in girls soccer in the quarterfinals at Julian Yates Field. It was not just a significant victory for the BIIF, which has struggled in state Division I soccer, but more so the Wildcats didn’t miss school. The game was played on Saturday. None of the five leagues — BIIF, OIA, ILH, MIL, and KIF — have put in a proposal to continue state regional play for boys volleyball and soccer. Chun could come to the rescue or the OIA and ILH may decide they prefer not to travel and shoot it down. Konawaena AD Bill Trumbo won’t be holding his breath. Back in 1997, he was the UH-Hilo AD and not only remembered the huge crowd at Hilo Civic, but the complaints from the OIA and ILH about forking over money to travel. “We’ve got five leagues and if the OIA and ILH don’t want to spend money, it’s not happening,” he said. “The regionals is the same as girls basketball. They start grumbling that they don’t want to travel. We’ve got to travel all the time. It’s no fun. “It was a good venue at Hilo Civic, better than at McKinley, where a lot of our people can’t come. If you go Tuesday through Friday (on Oahu), our parents are working and they have to get airline tickets and hotel.” Even the best intentions sometimes has a host team landing on its head. “We ended up playing at Kealakehe (for girls basketball). That makes no sense,” Trumbo said. “We should have been playing at our own gym. We would have had a bigger crowd.” There was a BIIF boys basketball game that same night. But that contest could have been rescheduled to accommodate a state playoff game. One dream scenario for Trumbo would call for a 16-team tournament with four-team regionals, and the winners meeting in Honolulu. He also entertained the idea of a neighbor island state championship with a rotating site in the name of fairness. And maybe an Oahu champion visiting to play for an overall title. But the BIIF and the other leagues would never have enough votes to defeat the OIA and ILH bloc. And even then, Trumbo wouldn’t bother to hold his breath. OIA SMALL GIANTS One major complaint among leagues is the OIA’s policy determining statewide classification, based on wonloss records rather than school enrollment. A classic example is Farrington, a school with close to 2,500 students. The Governors won the HHSAA Division II state boys basketball championship in 2008, and ’11. A lot of basketball fans cried foul, but Waiakea AD Tom Correa looked at it from a big-picture perspective. “People have to be careful to watch what they wish for,” he said. “If you go division by school size, the OIA could have 20 teams rather than 14 (eligible) in a 12-team state tournament, and eight of the teams would be from the OIA. “Another league would lose representation due to that. Then you’ve got to really watch what you wish for.”
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