Mililani senior Aubree Kim threw a no-hitter with 17 strikeouts and the Trojans advanced to the semifinals of the DataHouse/HHSAA Division I Softball Championship with a 6-0 win over third-seeded Maui today at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
A day after striking out 16 while throwing 157 pitches in a win over Kaiser, Kim turned in a far more efficient performance while recording the second no-hitter in a state tournament in her career. She threw the first as a sophomore in a 3-2 win over Maryknoll in the 2014 quarterfinals during Mililani’s run to the state title.
“Amazing today. Different Aubree from yesterday,” Mililani coach Rose Antonio said. “Looked like she was just trying to her spots and not overthrow and what an accomplishment for her.”
Kim walked three against the MIL champion Sabers and threw 109 pitches. In 14 innings so far in the tournament, she’s accounted for 33 of her 42 outs on strikeouts and got 15 swinging today.
“I think yesterday, I learned from it. The first couple innings (against Kaiser) I was trying too hard, trying to throw too hard,” Kim said. “(Today) tried to get more spin instead of speed.
“Today it felt a lot better than yesterday. Even thought he numbers were almost the same today, it felt way, way better.”
Although the scoreboard in right field kept everyone in the stands updated on the status of the no-hitter, Kim said she wasn’t thinking about the possibility in the circle.
“It means a lot,” Kim said. “I think just the win in general means more.”
The victory sent Mililani to the state tournament semifinals for the third straight year and Trojans will face the winner of tonight’s feature game between second-seeded Kamehameha and defending state champion Campbell.
“It’s going to be a like a championship game,” Kim said, “because whichever team wins it’s going to be super tough.”
oh yeah, Jensen’s little sister again!