They came into Wednesday’s Oahu Interscholastic Association softball game with similar records, but when it was all over, the gap had widened considerably.
Part of it is the division they play in. Pearl City went 6-6 in the OIA West softball standings. Moanalua went 5-7 in the East. The Chargers are seeded fourth and Na Menehune fifth.
Close game, you would think, right? Didn’t turn out that way. Maybe that’s why many Honolulu Star-Advertiser Top 10 voters are giving lots of high grades to the Chargers despite that .500 regular-season record. They’re not in the Top 10, but they are just outside of it.
Moanalua head coach Kristie Morikawa said Pearl City is better than its (now 7-6) record shows after the Chargers drubbed Na Menehune 17-1 on Wednesday.
“That West is a very tough division,” she said. “There isn’t much separation between the top six teams.”
That’s where Pearl City twice faced three teams that finished above them who are all in the Top 10 — Campbell, Mililani and Kapolei.
Check out the scores of four of Pearl City’s six losses to see just how competitive the Chargers were:
>> Kapolei 5, Pearl City 3
>> Campbell 10, Pearl City 5
>> Mililani 2, Pearl City 1
>> Kapolei 4, Pearl City 1
“We are getting better and we are executing better,” Pearl City left fielder Kristin Frost said after the win. “The same step forward we made we need to take into (Thursday’s quarterfinals at No. 5 Kaiser). We need to continue to trust each other, trust our eyes at the plate and make good decisions.”
The Chargers will surely be tested by the Cougars, who went 12-0 in the East.
It was a dismal effort by Moanalua on a nonstop drizzly day in Pearl City.
Altogether, Na Menehune made four errors, yielded 10 walks and nine hits, and didn’t get a hit against Chargers pitchers Tyanna Kaaialii and Frost. In addition there were eight wild pitches thrown and three hit batters by Moanalua pitchers Kyler Tsukada and Shanelle Lum.
“It was kind of disappointing because that’s not usually how we play,” Tsukada said. “I know we could have played better.”
Tsukada added that the team did not return to full strength after a key player, shortstop Summer Kamioka, suffered a concussion while being tagged on the head diving back to a base in the preseason.
Kamioka did not return to the lineup and is still feeling the effects of that injury, according to Tsukada and Morikawa.
“Making the playoffs meant a lot, though,” Tsukada said. “But our initial plan went out the window when we lost our shortstop. We pushed through and had a good season, even without her.”
Here is Wednesday’s full box score:
MOANALUA (5-8)
…………………………..AB R H BI
Tayla Takushi, cf………….2 0 0 0
Shanelle Lum, lf, p……….3 0 0 0
Raven Rosa-Lasco, c……2 1 0 0
Iyana Reed, 2b…………..1 0 0 0
Makamae Kaleikini, ss….1 0 0 0
Kylie Kawelo, 3b…………1 0 0 0
Rheyl Arakawa-Lee, rf….1 0 0 0
Megan Oshiro, ph……….1 0 0 1
Genice Gabriel, 1b………2 0 0 0
Kyler Tsukada, p…………0 0 0 0
Lacey Wilson, lf………….1 0 0 0
Bhana Pagampao, ph…..1 0 0 0
Totals……………………16 1 0 1
PEARL CITY (7-6)
……………………………..AB R H BI
Kristin Frost, lf, p…………….3 2 2 1
Darian Obara, ss…………….3 0 0 0
Maiki Au, ph, pr………………1 1 0 1
Hailey-Alexis Yamaguchi, c…1 1 1 0
Tiana Akau, pr……………….0 1 0 0
Kylie Tasaki, rf……………….4 2 3 0
Noel Saunders, cf…………..0 3 0 0
Taylor Shigeta, 2b, lf………..1 2 1 2
Anasaria Cabato, 1b………..3 1 1 2
Cheyne Obara, dp, pr, 2b….3 2 0 1
Tyanna Kaaialii, p…………..0 0 0 1
Hope Casarez, 3b…………..2 2 1 1
Totals………………………21 17 9 9
Moanalua…..000…..10…..—……1 0 4
Pearl City…..841…..4x…..—…..17 9 1
2B: Frost, Shigeta. E—Rosa-Lasco, Kaleikini (2), Wilson, D. Obara. SB—Frost, Saunders, Casarez. SAC—Saunders. LOB—Moanalua 5, Pearl City 4.
Pitching
Moanalua…………IP…R..ER..H..BB..SO
Tsukada (L)……….0.1…7…5…2…3…0
Lum………………..3.1..10…7…6…6…2
Tsukada…………..0.1…0…0…1…1…1
Pearl City……..IP..R..ER..H..BB..SO
Kaaialii (W)…….4…1…1…0…4…6
Frost……………1…0…0…0…0…0
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