HONOLULU, Hawaii- The Waimea Waves’ (1-8) struggles continued falling to the Waikiki Surfers (6-3) 6-4 on Sunday afternoon at Mililani High School.
The highlight of the day came in the top of the third inning with the Surfers clinging to a 3-2 lead after scoring three in the top of the first off of Waves’ starter Andrew Bynum (UC-Irvine).
Surfers’ catcher Alan Cheatham (Principia College) deposited a 2-2 offering over the left field wall for the second long ball of the young season. “Right off of his bat it was out,” said Surfers Head Coach Steve Hernandez. “He hit 10 out of school so it doesn’t surprise me.” “On a 2-2 count I always expect a fastball but it ran in a little; I got all of it,” Cheatham said confidently.
After the blast, the Waves, playing well behind Head Coach Tony Nieto despite the subpar record, would not relent scoring one in the bottom of the fourth behind an RBI single by Nathan Venz (Louisiana Tech) and tying the score 4-4 on a ground rule double by Matt Harrison (UNC) in the bottom of the sixth.
The Surfers quickly would take the lead for good just a half inning later on consecutive RBI doubles by Daniel Rockett (University of Texas-San Antonio) and Zane Hensley (Tarleton State) off of Waves’ reliever Jake Eichhorn (Cabrillo College) who falls to 0-2. Brandt Keown (UC-Davis) picked up the win in relief (1-0) and Jason Gareri (Hill College) recorded his second save.
The Waves will try and even the series tomorrow morning at Mililani High School with Mitch Merten (UC-Irvine) opposing Tyler Hardin (University of Central Arkansas. First pitch is set for 9 AM.