Softball

Punahou senior D’Asha Saiki started it off homering in her first two at-bats. Junior Maya Matsubara provided the necessary scoring late with back-to-back two-run homers in the fourth and fifth innings. And to top it off, junior pitcher Ashanti Martinez, who has carried the load on the mound all season, worked five innings and then re-entered the game in the seventh inning to get the final two crucial outs to record both a win and a save. She also blasted […]

They were the only team from the East to reach the OIA Division I softball semifinals and took third place after beating Waianae. The Kaiser Cougars were rewarded for their strong effort in the league tournament with a No. 8 ranking in the Star-Advertiser Softball Top 10 released today. It’s the first ranking for the Cougars this season and the first time they have appeared in the top 10 since April 10, 2017. Kaiser finished the regular season 8-4 in […]

Family, tradition, success. Those three components are the link between Waialua’s OIA Division II championship team in 2009 and the team that outscored Radford 22-12 on Saturday night to win the title. Current head coach Rod Dicion was an assistant coach on the ’09 staff. That team went on to reach the state final, losing to Kauai 1-0. “My brother-in-law (Jay Keao) was the head coach of that team. My daughter, Althia, was on that team. When they came to […]

No team seemed to have a solution for the hot bats of Leilehua’s softball powerhouse. The Lady Mules had mowed down a string of opponents in recent games. They scored 18 runs in a playoff win over Moanalua. Twelve in a semifinal victory over Waianae. Then came Campbell, and when the Sabers turned to Chloe Sales, she was ready. The southpaw went the final four innings as the Sabers rallied from an early deficit for a 12-3 victory over Leilehua […]

It was methodical, almost mechanical, and classic Campbell. For a few innings, the spirited and young — the starting infield is comprised of freshmen — Kaiser Cougars hung tough. Then came a six-run fourth inning by No. 1 Campbell, breaking a 1-all tie en route to a 9-3 victory for the Sabers in the semifinals of the OIA Division I softball playoffs on Friday night at McKinley. Now it’ll be Campbell, the defending league champion, against defending state champion Leilehua […]

The last time they met, Waianae seemed on the verge of a pitchers’ duel with Leilehua. On Friday night, just like that battle back on Mar. 30, Leilehua’s bats woke up in a big way. No. 7 Leilehua rallied from a six-run deficit for a 12-8 win, paving the way for a matchup with Campbell in the OIA softball championship game on Saturday. In their previous meeting, Waianae freshman pitcher Mya Keliiwaiwai‘ole kept Leilehua quiet for three innings in a […]

Former catcher Keicha Brunn is the new softball coach for the Sacred Hearts Lancers. The Sacred Hearts athletic department made the announcement this week. Brunn was part of the 2007 ILH and state Division II championship team. The team also reached the D-I semifinals in ’08 and the D-I quarterfinals in ’09. Brunn has coached club softball for the past six years, specializing in pitchers and catchers. Brumm replaces Jeremy Shimokawa, who led the Lancers to a 2-14 record in […]

Waianae wasn’t fazed by No. 2 Roosevelt’s previously undefeated record heading into Thursday’s OIA quarterfinals. Come playoff time, every team comes in with a clean slate. So when the Seariders (9-5) dealt the Rough Riders (12-1) their first loss of the season in a 7-4 victory at Stevenson Middle School, it wasn’t necessarily viewed as an upset to those on the team that put the work in, despite the discrepancy in seeding. Waianae entered as the No. 4 seed from […]