Wapahani baseball tops Eastbrook in top-10 matchup shortened by the elements

SELMA — In a game halted by lightning and finished early for darkness, Wapahani baseball pulled out a come-from-behind victory on the home field.

The Raiders — tied for No. 9 in Class 2A in the latest IHSBCA coaches poll — hosted 2A No. 6 Eastbrook in an early-season top-10 matchup at Coach Brian J. Dudley Field. After a 50-minute lightning delay in the middle of the third inning, Wapahani rallied back to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth, after which the game was called for darkness.

"It's hard to keep everybody engaged for close to an hour in the dugout," Wapahani coach Heath Dudley said. "A bunch of 15-to-18-year-olds, to keep them contained and focused on the task at hand, knowing we're going to be able to get through the lightning stuff and have enough daylight the play some innings."

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Before the delay, Eastbrook had scored twice in the top of the third inning to go up 3-1. Wapahani was near the top of its batting order immediately after the extended break, and Dudley knew they couldn't put up an empty inning with time until sunset suddenly a factor. They didn't manage to tie it, but the Raiders scored one when Eastbrook's third baseman interfered with junior Haiden James at the bag, which allowed James to advance home and score.

"Before the lightning, that was what I told them," Dudley said. "We were in the exact same part of our lineup that they were the time before. I was like, 'We have to answer back, even if it's one, we have to answer back. We can't put up a zero here.'"

In the fourth inning, senior pitcher Brandt Longfellow displayed a similar level of composure after the layoff and struck out three straight Eastbrook batters.

"I can't say enough about Brandt," Dudley said. "That (fourth) was probably his best inning of the day, so kudos to him."

Wapahani baseball senior Brandt Longfellow winds up a pitch during the Raiders 5-4 win over Eastbrook at Wapahani High School on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.

Wapahani went down similarly quickly in the bottom of the fourth before surrendering another run in the top of the fifth when a center-field blast by Panthers junior Kavion Martin just missed the outstretched glove of Raiders senior Eli Andrews to turn into an RBI triple. Longfellow's sixth and final strikeout left Martin stranded at third.

As the game entered the bottom of the fifth inning, the Raiders knew it was likely going to be their last chance with the sky steadily darkening. The top of the lineup was due up once again, and they quickly had two runners reach with Haiden James reaching via error and Andrews walking. A wild pitch allowed them both to advance to scoring position, and a subsequent error at third base allowed James to reach home for the third time.

Andrews moved from second to third on a dropped third strike that put out senior Quentine James, then junior Kayson Perdue grounded out to bring Andrews home and tie the game at 4-4 with two outs. Sophomore Gabe Lappin hit a double into center field to bring up Longfellow, and he knocked one into right field where an error allowed Lappin to score the winning run.

"For me, it's them not giving up and just fighting and playing as long as you possibly could," Dudley said. "Obviously, we would have loved to have not had the lightning situation and played the full seven. However, given the circumstances, they knew and we knew it was probably the last inning, so we played it as such."

The James brothers powered Wapahani's offense in the victory. Haiden James reached base in all three of his plate appearances — two singles and one error — and made his way home each time. Older brother Quentine James, who also hit 2-for-3 on the night, brought him home with an RBI single in the first inning and again in the third, though he wasn't credited with the RBI for the second one because Haiden scored via the interference call at third base.

"I expect it from him because he works just like me," Quentine James said. "He's hard-working, and we're both hard-nosed. I mean, we've done it in our backyard playing whiffle ball. We do this all the time. It's just brotherly love."

Wapahani baseball senior Quentine James takes a swing during the Raiders 5-4 win over Eastbrook at Wapahani High School on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.

Longfellow pitched all five innings and earned the win, finishing with six strikeouts while allowing four earned runs on six hits and one walk. He also came up clutch on offense with the winning swing but wasn't credited with a hit due to the error. The senior was reasonably frustrated by the delay, but he channeled that frustration to stay zoned in rather than letting it affect his play.

"I was just ready to go back out there," Longfellow said. "I was mad that it got delayed, and it took hours out of the game. I could have kept pitching, so I took that into the game and just kept on going, kept up the momentum."

Knocking off a fellow top-10 team and potential sectional opponent would serve as a big confidence booster for most teams. Wapahani, however, is a naturally confident bunch, even as they look to replace significant senior production from last season's semi-state runner-up team.

Instead, this win proved something else about the Raiders.

"More than anything, I'm probably more excited about the fact that they didn't give up more than it's confidence," Dudley said. "We feel like if we play well and play the right way, we're going to be able to compete with teams, particularly 2A teams, so confidence-wise, it's always great to get a win, but I think we learned more about ourselves, just being able to fight through and piece some things together."

Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@usatodayco.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Wapahani baseball tops Eastbrook in early-season sectional preview