ASIJ right-hander Joe Sexton suffered his first loss of the season Friday at Kubasaki. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa – Lukas Gaines’ control wasn’t what it usually is. And a game-long drizzle and rain muddied things up a bit for him.
But the Kubasaki senior right-hander worked his way out of trouble time and again and helped himself by driving in three runs with three hits as the Dragons pulled away for a 13-3 win Friday over American School In Japan.
“That was interesting. They’re a good team. And the weather didn’t help,” said Gaines, who made up for six walks by striking out 12 and allowing only two hits in the latest showdown between the last two Far East Division I Tournament champions.
Friday’s meeting was the teams’ third in the last seven days. Kubasaki beat ASIJ 3-1 and lost 9-3 last weekend in Tokyo. Since the 2023 season, the Dragons hold a 5-4 edge over the Mustangs, including a split of the last two D-I tournament finals.
“There were a few nerve-wracking times” during Friday’s game, Gaines said. He fanned the last two batters with the bases loaded in the top of the third, then struck out the side with Mustangs runners at second and third in the next inning.
The Mustangs went ahead 3-0 in the first two innings, with the help of two first-inning errors and Woochan Nam’s RBI single in the second, before the Dragons righted the ship in the bottom of the inning.
Cam Fisk and Asher Romnek walked with the bases loaded, Luka Koja singled in Jacy Fisk with the tying run, then Gaines put the Dragons ahead for keeps with a two-run single, plating Cam Fisk and Romnek to make it 5-3.
Romnek’s bases-clearing double in the bottom of the third made it 8-3. Jacy Fisk added a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
In the bottom of the fifth frame, Gaines singled in Dan Demitrack. Koja came home on an outfield error, Nathan St. Louis walked with the bases loaded, then Jacy Fisk singled in Marcus Waltz to put Kubasaki up by 10 to trigger the mercy rule.
ASIJ right-hander Joe Sexton suffered his first loss of the season, giving up four hits, four earned runs and four walks while striking out three in two-plus innings.
Kubasaki senior right-hander Lukas Gaines struck out 12 Mustangs, five of them coming in the third and fourth innings to escape a pair of jams. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
