Kubasaki left-hander Luka Koja delivers during Friday's 14-7 loss at American School In Japan. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO – Billed as a rematch of last spring’s Far East Division I Baseball Tournament final, a four-game, two-day weekend at American School In Japan’s Mustang Valley did not go the way Kubasaki had hoped.
The Dragons took two on the chin from host American School In Japan, 14-7 and 13-4, on Friday. Then after the Dragons topped St. Mary’s 6-4, ASIJ rallied from a 4-0 deficit to edge Kubasaki 5-4 in nine innings on Saturday.
Despite the 1-3 outcome, Dragons players and coaches said they welcomed the chance to play somebody besides Kadena, their lone American foe on Okinawa.
“Some positives, some negatives,” Dragons coach Aaron Fisk said. “We had a lot of fun. The pitchers pitched well. We made some mistakes in the outfield and the infield and we could have hit better.”
Win or lose, the Dragons gained something extra than they do playing the Panthers repeatedly back home, infielder-pitcher Lukas Gaines said.
“We play Kadena over and over, but when we face other teams, it kind of shows our skill level against other teams that we’ll see” in the Far East D-I tournament, April 29-May 2 at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan.
ASIJ has won Far East seven times and lost in last year’s final 2-0 to the Dragons at Kubasaki. Prior to Far East, the Dragons went 3-1 in a four-game weekend set at ASIJ, a win each over Zama and St. Mary’s and a split of two games with the Mustangs.
“Winning games like these gives us a confidence boost,” Gaines said. “Losing helps us see what we have to work on.”
It also gave the Dragons a feel for different ballfields and pitchers mounds. They play on natural grass on Okinawa; Mustang Valley is a turfed field, the same surface as Yokosuka’s Berkey Field.
American School In Japan's Ray Takizawa readies a relay throw to first base after erasing Kubasaki's Asher Romnek at second. The Mustangs won 5-4 in nine innings. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki's Skylar Waltz conneects for a two-run home run in Saturday's 5-4 loss at Americaqn School In Japan. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki right-hander Julian Hall delivers during Saturday's 5-4 loss at American School In Japan. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki right-hander Brodie Romnek delivers in Saturday’s 6-4 win over St. Mary’s. Romnek got the save, striking out the side in the seventh. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki’s Luka Koja dives back to first ahead of the tag by St. Mary’s Raku Kodai, The Dragons won 6-4. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki first basesman Jacy Fisk fields a ground ball during Saturday’s 6-4 win over St. Mary’s. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki right-hander Lukas Gaines delivers in Saturday’s 6-4 win over St. Mary’s. Gaines got the win with six innings of work. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
American School In Japan's Shou Murakami-Moses sends a relay throw to first base after erasing Kubasaki's Drake Garza at second. The Mustangs won 13-4 in Friday's second game. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki's Asher Romnek launches an RBI single during Friday's 14-7 loss to American School In Japan. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki’s first-game starter, left-hander Luka Koja, clearly struggled with the artificial mound on Friday. He had allowed 15 hits in 20 innings entering the game,but was touched for 8 hits and 6 walks in three innings of the 14-7 loss.
Brothers Asher and Brodie Romnek combined with Gaines to bat 7-for-12 with five RBIs in the losing effort.
The second game gave both coaches a chance to play second-line players who don’t normally see action during regular-season varsity games.
Saturday brought two games in which the Dragons took sizeable early leads, hung on to win against the Titans and lost in extras to ASIJ.
“We performed a little better” on Saturday, Gaines said. “We were definitely more locked in, didn’t make as many errors as we did yesterday.”
Gaines got the win in the St. Mary’s contest, surviving a shaky fifth inning in which the Titans scored four times, all the runs unearned. He struck out seven and gave up four hits and three walks. Koja doubled and drove in a run in three trips.
The last game against ASIJ was the best and worst of times for the Dragons. They led 4-0 after three innings, getting a two-run homer from Skylar Waltz and an inning-ending double play started by Koja.
“It was a fastball in close,” Waltz said of his home run, on a 1-0 pitch from Toshi Odaira. “When I hit it, I knew it was gone.”
In the bottom of the frame, with one out and Woochan Nam at third, Toby Halloran flew out to Koja. The strong-armed center field threw on a fly to Ian Heaton, who tagged out Nam sliding in to home.
“That’s my thought, every time I’m in the outfield,” Koja said.
“He’s done that all the time,” Heaton said.
Alas, the Mustangs held sway from there.
Billy Freund scored from third on an infield error in the fourth. In the sixth, Freund’s fly ball to right-center dropped in when Koja fell over right fielder Maximus Ramos. Leo Linsley then singled in a run and Ray Takizawa’s sacrifice fly cut the margin to 4-3.
It was the Odaira Show for the Mustangs the rest of the way.
In the seventh inning, he reached second on an error, took third on a wild pitch and scored the tying run on a fielder’s choice groundout. Two innings later, he led off with a walk stole second, advanced to third on a single, then scored the winning run on a wild pitch.
“Situational things,” Fisk said of what the Dragons need to work on. “We need to swing more; we’ve been watching too many pitches. And team defense. When and where to throw the ball.”
The Dragons are next scheduled to host Kadena on Wednesday.
