Hawaii Sports

On this day in 1983, Iolani went against what had worked all year to win the state baseball title. The Raiders had been known as a small-ball team until the state final against Castle, when coach Les Uyehara took the reigns off. Iolani didn’t bunt a single time and banged out 10 hits against stellar Knights starter Ross Sakamoto. Sakamoto was unbeaten in his state career and had thrown 109 pitches in a semifinal win over Aiea the day before. […]

On this day in 1969, Paul Badeaux won his seventh game of the season and beat Waipahu 2-1 to give Kailua the OIA championship. The Surfriders went on to win the state title, beating Punahou 2-0 in the championship behind Charlie Sedello. Badeaux got the Surfriders to that point with a 5-2 victory over Waimea. Badeaux was just as good in his senior year as the Surfriders repeated as OIA champions, but he fell short of a second state title […]

Mid-Pacific opponents had to be aware of anything even before Dunn Muramaru took over. On this day in 1953, third baseman Don Oura layed down a bunt with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth inning to give Mid-Pacific a suprise 8-7 victory over Farrington. The Owls scored four times in the ninth inning on two errors, an intentional walk and Oura’s heroics. Cleanup hitter Greg Ontiveros was walked to pitch to Oura. It was the final game […]

On this day in 2010, Saint Louis finally broke through and won the ILH after a 20-year wait. Catcher Moses Samia hit a three-run home run and Chris Chung threw five scoreless innings and the Crusaders beat Mid-Pacific 6-2 at Damon Field. Saint Louis finished the season 16-1 and earned the ILH seeded berth at the state tournament. Mid-Pacific (12-4) and Punahou (11-5) got the league’s other tickets to the big show. Chung and Saint Louis beat Kailua in the […]

On this day in 1973, Hawaii baseball coach Les Murakami saw something very special. Murakami, who signed Gerald Ako two weeks later despite never having seen him pitch in a real game, settled into his seat at Honolulu Stadium to watch the OIA championship between Aiea and Castle. He was one of 2,354 people in attendance for what would become one of the best-pitched games in Hawaii history. Ako, who stood 5-8 and weighed 165 pounds, threw a one-hitter with […]