Jason Castro collected four hits including a walk-off single up the middle to score Corey Brown in the bottom of the ninth inning to give North Shore a 7-6 win over visiting Waikiki tonight at Waipahu's Hans L'Orange Park.
The designated hitter from the Houston Astros organization via Stanford University doubled twice and improved his batting average to .438. The Honu received two hits apiece from Brown and Matt McBride, and displayed some power when first baseman Chris Carter launched a two-run home run to left field.
North Shore (2-4-1) utilized six pitchers on the evening, and reliever Christopher Hicks (1-0) emerged victorious after recording the final out in the ninth inning when Waikiki held a 6-5 advantage. Starter Sang-Hwa Lee tossed four scoreless innings and struck out five, but did not factor in the decision.
The BeachBoys (2-5) recorded 13 hits in the game, and despite stranding 10 runners on base, took their first lead of the game in the ninth inning after a four-run rally capped by a two-run single from Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants. Left fielder Tommy Giles doubled and drove in a run en route to a three-hit night, and Posey finished a perfect 3-3 with two walks and two RBIs.
Waikiki reliever Blake Parker (0-1) took the loss after surrendering two runs on three hits in the game's final 1/3 of an inning.
The squads return to Hans L'Orange Park tomorrow at 1 p.m. for the rubber match of the three-game series.
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