The Lahaina Warriors and Kaanapali Coast Monarchs won their 1st Round Playoff matchups and will advance to the best-of-three semi-final round beginning this week.
Last Sunday the Warriors defeated the La Perouse Pirates 3-2 behind the pitching of ace John Lamb and some early offense sparked by Wes Troyan (2 for 4, double and 2 runs scored) and Jimmy Perez (2 for 4, double, 1 run scored and 2 RBIs) at the top of their lineup. Lamb finished the day with 17 strikeouts, scattering 3 hits and 1 walk over 9 innings. Both runs allowed were unearned.
The Warriors (6th seed) will now face the Upcountry Dirtbags (1st seed) in a best-of-three series getting underway Tuesday night at Maehara Stadium, first pitch is scheduled for 6:30pm. This marks the Warriors first appearance in the 2nd Round of the Playoffs since the Spring 2022 season. They will be attempting to advance to the MABL Championship Series for the first time since they won it all during the Spring 2015 season. The Dirtbags are trying to get back to the Championship Series for the third straight season.
In the afternoon game last Sunday, the Monarchs beat the West Maui Brewers 6-2 behind the pitching of Jacob Tiu (4 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, and 4 Ks over 5.0 IP) and Brandon Gonsalves (4 H, 0 BB, and 1 ER over 4.0 IP) and timely hitting by Anthony Benigno (2 for 3, double and 3 RBIs) and Tiu (1 for 4, 2 RBIs).
The victory marks the Monarchs’ (4th seed) first playoff win in franchise history, and they will look to carry their season success into a 2nd Round matchup with the two-time defending champion Kihei Centipedes (2nd seed). Game 1 of that series will be played at 6:30pm on Wednesday, May 15 at Maehara Stadium.
Both 2nd Round series will conclude on Sunday, May 19. The Dirtbags and Warriors will play the second game of the series at Eddie Tam Park with the first pitch scheduled for 10am and the rubber match played immediately to follow (if needed). The Centipedes and Monarchs will follow the same format at Kalama Park in Kihei.
The winners will advance to the Spring 2024 MABL Championship Series to be held on May 26 and June 2 at Maehara Stadium. When possible, games will be streamed on the MABL Instagram page, and as always, scores, stats, and photos will be available on the league website following the games.