St. Anthony reaches final with 11-5 win
Advertiser Staff
St. Anthony made it an all-Neighbor Island Division II final by defeating Kalaheo, 11-5, in yesterday's second semifinal at Central O'ahu Regional Park.
St. Anthony (13-2) will face Kaua'i in today's 4 p.m. final at Les Murakami Stadium.
"I'm very proud of our team," said St. Anthony coach Shane Dudoit. "They worked day in, day out for this opportunity. It's all theirs, it belongs to them. It's their team, it's their school."
St. Anthony's Ryan Rodriguez batted 2 for 3 with two runs and three RBIs, and Michael Jahns went 2 for 3 with three runs.
"It was a team victory," said Rodriguez, a junior. "It wasn't one individual."
The Trojans scored five in the third inning to take a 6-1 lead. After Kalaheo closed to 6-4 in the fourth, St. Anthony added three in the bottom half of the inning to regain control.
"We were able to put pressure on them, executing and stealing," Dudoit said of the third inning. "We got timely hits in key situations."
St. Anthony had three hits each in the third and fourth inning.
Trevor Ventura, a freshman, allowed one run over the first three innings for the victory.
Richard Preza-Haynes drove in two runs for Kalaheo (12-4).
KALAHEO (12-4) 010 300 2—5 6 3
ST. ANTHONY (13-2) 015 302 X—11 10 0
Aaron Fernandez, Steve Vega (3), Sean Ouchi (6) and Lawaika Bator. Trevor Ventura, Joshua Hansen (4), Aronne Santos (7) and Aaron Uehara. W — Ventura. L — Fernandez.
Leading hitters — Kalaheo: Richard Preza-Haynes 2 RBIs; Alika Kaanapu triple. St. Anthony: Santos triple; Jordan Kahalekai-Bermoy 2 runs; Michael Jahns 2-3, 3 runs; Ryan Rodriguez 2-3, 2 runs, 3 RBIs; Matt McCraney 2-2, 2 runs; Uehara triple.