BeachBoys bounce Sharks, clinch East Division
November 18, 2007 - Hawaii Winter Baseball 2 (HWB 2)
Waikiki BeachBoys News Release
Waikiki starter Kenichi Matsuoka surrendered five hits, struck out six and held Honolulu scoreless through seven innings as the BeachBoys downed the Sharks, 6-3, this afternoon at Waipahu's Hans L'Orange Park. The win clinched the Hawaii Winter Baseball East Division championship for Waikiki (19-19-1) who finished the regular season 1 ½ games ahead of Honolulu (17-20-2), and advance to challenge the West Division champion North Shore Honu in tomorrow's league championship game.
Matsuoka (2-0, 0.00 ERA) was nearly flawless as the Tokyo Yakult Swallows prospect finished the season without allowing a run through 23 2/3 innings, and finished the campaign with a staggering 24/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The Kumamoto, Japan native retired 14 consecutive batters at one point during today's game, and struck out the side on nine straight strikes in the second frame.
Justin Sellers put the BeachBoys on the board in the second inning with a double to left field that scored Michael McKenry. After both squads posted goose eggs through the ensuing two frames, Waikiki third baseman Dan Murphy stepped up to the plate in the top of the fifth inning and mashed a three-run home run that landed just short of the retaining wall in right field, approximately 430 feet away. Jeff Kindel and Lucas Duda each notched RBI singles in the seventh and ninth innings, respectively, to put the BeachBoys up 6-0.
The Sharks rallied in the ninth thanks to a Tyler Flowers three-run home run that cut the deficit in half. But Waikiki reliever Zach Simons got Jason Place to strike out swinging to end the game-and Honolulu's season.
Sharks' starter Shingo Matsuzaki (1-3, 4.87 ERA) was saddled with the loss after allowing four runs on four hits through 4 2/3 innings. Matsuzaki did, however, move into the league lead with a season total of 59 strikeouts.
League officials conducted a coin toss immediately following the game, and determined that the BeachBoys will be the home team in tomorrow's league championship game. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. tomorrow (Monday, Nov. 19) at Hans L'Orange Park. The game will be televised live on K5 The Home Team (KFVE) and broadcast live on ESPN 1420 AM (KKEA).
The probable starters for tomorrow's game are: Shinya Nakayama (6-2, 3.12 ERA) for North Shore; and Kyohei Muranaka (3-1, 2.00 ERA) for Waikiki.
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Hawaii Winter Baseball 2 Stories from November 18, 2007
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