Games To Watch As OIA Baseball Heads Into Mid-season
As the OIA Red West baseball season hits the midway point, MidWeek‘s West Oahu Islander breaks down the first half and looks ahead to the key games remaining.
Aiea Na Ali’i
Record: 2-2 (heading into last weekend)
Key win: 11-1 over Waipahu March 13
Must-see games remaining: Pearl City April 13 and at Campbell March 27
Make-or-break game: Mililani at home Saturday
Mid-season summation: No team had a tougher start in the Red West than Aiea, which opened with on the road against Mililani and at home versus Campbell, both with a combined 7-1 heading into last weekend. Na Ali’i rebounded nicely from their 0-2 start to post back-to-back wins over Leilehua (10-9) and Waipahu (11-1) and remain in the mix. Its fate hinges largely on how well it fares in a key stretch of their upcoming schedule, which will include four straight road games: Campbell March 27, Leilehua March 29, Waipahu April 6 and Kapolei April 10.
Campbell Sabers Record: 4-0 Key win: 9-1 over Waipahu March 6
Must-see games remaining: Mililani Wednesday and at Pearl City April 10
Make-or-break game: Waipahu at home March 30
Mid-season summation: The Sabers have been nothing less than spectacular in pitching and defense, giving up a mere three runs in their first four Red West games. At the plate, they’ve also put up runs, 28 of them during that span. Only Pearl City (33) and Red East-power Kaiser (29) have scored more up to this point in the season. Campbell’s final three contests will be on the road, including visits to Kapolei April 3, Pearl City April 10 and Mililani April 13.
Pearl City Chargers
Record: 2-2 Key win: 17-3 over Kapolei opening day
Must-see games remaining: Campbell April 10 and at Aiea April 13
Make-or-break game: Waipahu April 3
Mid-season summation: The young Chargers have performed well to date and probably deserved a better fate than a 2-2 record through their first four games. Indeed, they were only a few plays away from winning in both defeats, which came to Waipahu (3-2) and Mililani (4-2). The wins came versus Kapolei (17-3) and Leilehua (12-6). With four of their last seven at home, the schedule lines up for a nice late-season run if the team can take care of business.
Kapolei Hurricanes
Record: 0-5 (heading into last weekend)
Must-see games remaining: Campbell April 3, Leilehua April 6, and at Pearl City Saturday
Mid-season summation: Like Aiea, the Hurricanes were dealt one of the more demanding schedules with games in succession versus Pearl City, Waipahu, Mililani and Campbell to start their Red West season. The good news is that they will finish up with four of their last five at home. Generating offense will be among the themes in the second half, as the team had scored just 10 in its first four games.
Waipahu Marauders
Record: 2-2 (heading into last weekend)
Key win: 3-2 over Pearl City March 9
Must-see games remaining: Mililani April 10 and at Pearl City April 3
Make-or-break game: Aiea April 6
Mid-season summation: Runs have been hard to come by for the Marauders, who moved up to Division I this spring after winning the DII state title last May. They have tallied just eight runs, four games into their Red West slate. Like Pearl City, underclassmen fill out much of the lineup, so the team figures to be far more seasoned during the second half. Four of their final seven games will be on the road.
