Kailua Surfriders claim 15th OIA baseball title with 8-1 win over ‘Aiea Na Ali’i

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED APRIL 27, 2024

HONOLULU — Kailua is back on top.

The Surfriders capitalized on ‘Aiea’s miscues to win the OIA Division I baseball championship, 8-1, at Les Murakami Stadium Friday night.

It was the 15th overall title in program history, the ninth under longtime coach Corey Ishigo.

“It’s the toughest one, the ninth one, for us,” said Ishigo.

Ishigo was emotional after the game and was swarmed by his players on multiple occasions.

“That’s my family,” he said. “I treat them like family and they’re all my kids.

“This team, we have great people on this team. I think it’s different than others, where they all have good grades — this is the first year nobody is on academic probation — and they’re great people too, off the field.”

Na Ali’i jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first after a run scored on an error, but it was all Kailua (13-2) from that point forward.

After the Surfriders tied it in the bottom of the second, they used a five-run rally in the third inning to take full control of the game. An interference call extended the inning for Kailua before Masao Minami hit a double to make it a 3-1 game. An ‘Aiea error and balk also led to runs for Kailua in the inning.

Jayden Hunt earned the win in relief of Kaalekahi Kuhaulua and was named the ‘Yeah U Player of the Game.’

“It feels amazing,” said Hunt, who improved to 6-0 on the year with an ERA of 0.77.

“This team is good. We got defense, you know, we work on everything. We work hard, practice doesn’t make perfect, but hey, it works.”

Kaimana Burgo and Minami each had two hits as the Surfriders tallied nine in the contest.

‘Aiea (12-3) was limited to just three hits in the loss.