Beautiful, breezy afternoon at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. I’m always stunned when I hear the occasional complaint about this facility. To me, it’s awesome. You can sit behind home plate, get a nicely elevated view and take in tons of fast action — the nature of fast-pitch softball without a million throws to first — and see quality games.
I mean, baseball had it great with access to Les Murakami Stadium and Hans L’Orange Field. Softball gets similar treatment. If you are a fan who sees one or two games (or more) per week all season, the sight of a scoreboard being used is sweet.
Opening Round
Final: Campbell 6, Leilehua 1
First inning
LEI: The Mules jump to a 1-0 lead on Reilyenne Nahulu’s solo shot over the left field fence. The wind was blowing from right to left at the time, and Nahulu lifted it up into the stream nicely. Elisa Favela, Campbell’s ace, struggles to throw strikes early, going to three-ball counts three times. She strikes out Chasity Stalcup to end the inning. MULES 1, SABERS 0.
CAM: Leilehua pitcher Chasity Stalcup starts by getting leadoff batter Chardonnay Pantastico to ground out to third, then encounters control problems with four straight balls to Cydney Curran and three in a row to Nashlynn Anguay, who eventually singles to center. With runners at second and first, Favela rips a line drive to center, scoring Curran. Anguay uses her speed to reach third, but Favela gets a wee bit greedy and is thrown out at second base trying to advance. Stalcup gets a big break — the second out — on that. Then she gets Sierra Mariano to ground out to short. MULES 1, SABERS 1.
Second inning
LEI: Shanaye Mattson leads off with a blast to right center for a double, and then Favela evades big trouble when Gwen Maeha’s towering blast to left sails about 5 feet foul. That ball was about 25-30 feet above the fence. Favela bears down to strike out Maeha (swinging), and then whiffs Brandi Leong. Staisa Micky pops out for the third out.
CAM: Stacup works out of a jam. After an throwing error by SS Brandi Leong allows Caragh Morris to get on base, Darien Robinson reaches base when her sac bunt turns into a bobbled catch at first. That one is ruled a base hit. After Nikki Corla advances the runners with a nice sac bunt, Ashlyn Yagin strikes out and Pantastico lines out to second to end the threat.
Third inning
LEI: Chelsea Lobitos leads off with a single to left, but Favela induces two ground balls and a pop out. No Mule made it to second base.
CAM: Sabers break it open with four runs — three unearned — aided by a throwing error by Leong. Anguay single with one out, reached second when Leong’s fielder’s choice toss to second sailed into right field. Anguay came home when Mariano singled to center for a 2-1 Campbell lead.
After a rare 7-5 fielder’s choice putout, Robinson belted an 0-1 pitch high above the fence in left field for a three-run homer. SABERS 5, MULES 1.
Fourth inning
LEI: Favela revving up. She strikes out the side with two swinging third strikes and the final out on a drop-dead change-up down the middle for a called third strike.
CAM: Stalcup also settles down, retiring the side in order.
Fifth inning
LEI: An error at short (bad hop) and double (by Lobitos) helps the Mules get runners at third and second with one out. But then a boo-boo on the base path. Nahulu hits a soft grounder to first, and is tagged out by first baseman Caragh Morris halfway up the line. On the same play, however, Micky got caught in a rundown between third and home and was tagged for the third out. Whoops.
CAM: The Sabers tack on another run. Mariano reaches first on a single to right, then advances to second an overthrow to first by RF Nahulu. Mariano comes in to score on a single to center by Morris, who reaches second on a fielding error by CF Tiana Cantero-Kawelo. That’s four errors by the Mules, but Campbell doesn’t score another run in the inning. SABERS 6, MULES 1.
Sixth inning
LEI: Cantero-Kawelo leads off with a single to center, but a 6-3 double play by Sabers SS Pantastico douses that fire.
CAM: Sabers get two runners on base with more help from Leilehua — its fifth error — but come up empty. Stalcup has fared fairly well against one of the state’s top teams, allowing just three earned runs.
Seventh inning
LEI: Mattson leads off with a double, but Favela retires the next three batters for the win.
Lahainaluna vs. Kapolei
Final: Kapolei 3, Lahainaluna 0
First inning
LAH: The Lady Lunas put two runners on base with help via a Kapolei infield error and a walk, but leave them both stranded.
KPO: Lunas ace Taylor Asio, a sophomore, strikes out the side. Impressive movement on her fastball, got the first two batters swinging and the third one looking.
Second inning
Both sides go down 1-2-3 at the plate.
Third inning
LAH: Asti Archangel leads off with a single, but the Lunas come up empty.
KPO: Rayna McKean leads off with a single, and a throwing error by Lahainaluna’s shortstop — after an outstanding diving catch off the bat of Kamrynmae Kanae — allows McKean to advance to second. But the ‘Canes strand McKean.
Fourth inning
LAH: Lunas go down in order.
KPO: Sala Pedebone socks a one-out double, advances to third on a sac bunt, and the scores when Lunas catcher Mele Pasikala attempts to throw Pedebone off third base. Pasikala’s throw veers into left field and Pedebone scores the game’s first run. Asio then strikes out Kayla Higa to end the inning. Asio now has six strikeouts with no walks. CANES 1, LUNAS 0.
Fifth inning
LAH: The Lunas again put two runners on base, and again come up empty. Elikapeka Garcia walks and Ariana Badua reaches on an infield single, but Asio grounds out to end the inning.
KPO: Prestyne Kaimi-Montira’s solo homer to left on a 3-2 count opens the margin to two runs. Her high shot came just a few pitches after she sent another long ball to the roadway in foul territory down the left side. CANES 2, LUNAS 0.
Sixth inning
LAH: Three up, three down. That includes a tremendous line shot off the bat of Pasikala that went straight to Kapolei’s CF.
KPO: For a second inning in a row, the ‘Canes get a leadoff home run. This time it’s Pedebone, who sends an 0-1 pitch over the fence in center. CANES 3, LUNAS 0.
Seventh inning
LAH: Lunas go in order, complete-game win for Sadie Kapaku-You over a tough sophomore, Asio, who fans nine and walks one in defeat.
Kaiser vs. Keaau
Cougars versus Cougar!
FINAL: Kaiser 9, Keaau 1.
First inning
KEAAU: Kaiser ace Seli Aholelei strikes out two of the three batters.
KAIS: Aholelei leads off with a single and advances to third on a fielder error by the LF. She scores on Elyse Tsutsui’s single to center. KAIS 1, KEAAU 0.
Second inning
KEAAU: Aholelei walks two, but whiffs two more. Keaau yet to put a runner in scoring position.
KAIS: Kai Hasegawa reaches base on a two-out bunt single, but nothing else materializes.
Third inning
KEAAU: Aholelei is on fire. She gives up a hit, but strikes out the side. That’s seven Ks.
KAIS: Kaiser breaks the game open with a five-run frame. Tsutsui and Rainelle Matsuoka single, and Tsutsui comes home on a double to left by Tiana Ching-Lake. Next batter, Haley Suzuki, sends a grounder to third, and the 3B throws wildly to first after stepping on third base (probably thinking mistakenly it was a force-out situation). That allows Matsuoka to score easily from third.
Kayla Russell steps in and cranks a 1-0 pitch high over the left-field fence for a three-run homer. KAIS 6, KEAAU 0.
Fourth inning
KEAAU: The BIIF runners-up get on the scoreboard thanks to an error by Aholelei. She walked Erleen Ogawa with one out, and Ogawa stole second and third bases. With two outs, Macey Mokuhalili laid down a bunt and Aholelei opted to go for a tag instead of throwing. She lost control of the ball on the tag attempt and Ogawa scored from third. Aholelei still struck out the side and now has 10 strikeouts with two walks.
KAIS: Keaau pitcher Kilohi Kamakea-Wong has her first 1-2-3 inning.
Fifth inning
KEAAU: They’ll face a new Kaiser pitcher, Crystal Ching-Lake, who moves in from left field.
Keaau goes three up, three down. Ching-Lake whiffs two.
KAIS: Marissa Oda is hit by pitch and courtesy runner Hannah Grace McDermott scores on a single to left by Russell. KAISER 7, KEAAU 1.
Sixth inning
KEAAU: Ching-Lake hits the first batter, Kamakea-Wong, but no damage done. Ching-Lake has struck out three in two innings of work.
KAIS: Two more runs for Kaiser. Aholelei homers to right center, Tsutsui singles and scores on an infield error with Trina Ching-Lake at bat.
Seventh inning
Crystal Ching-Lake retires the Big Islanders in order. She goes 3 innings in relief with no runs, no hits, six strikeouts and one hit batter.
Maryknoll vs. Pearl City
Final: Maryknoll 8, Pearl City 3.
First inning
PC: The intermittent, strong trade winds blowing in from right field played a factor here. So did Spartans ace Shearyna Labasan’s struggles on the mound. She hit the leadoff batter, got a double play, then walked two batters. THen Hailey-Alexis Yamaguchi sent a blooper to short right field that kept blowing back toward the infield until it fell for a single, scoring Darien Obara for the game’s first run.
Taylyn Kimura then singled to left, scoring Natalie Kang from third, and suddenly it was a two-run lead. Labasan then walked Tyanna Ka‘aiali‘i to load the bases, but struck out Taylor Shigeta to end the inning. PC 2, MS 0.
MS: The Spartans had runners third and second when a botched suicide squeeze led to the second out. But Kanoe Tanigawa delivered a two-strike single to left, bringing Nohealani Hee home from third base. Tamia Hirano followed with a single to right — nearly caught by a diving Yamaguchi — to score Mylee Enos, tying the game at 2.
Tanigawa then raced home on a wild pitch to give the Spartans a 3-2 lead. Kamalei Labasan followed with a full-count single to right, bringing Hirano home.
After two walks to load the bases, Shearyna Labasan stepped in for the second time in the inning and drove a line drive off the glove of the first baseman. Kamalei Labasan and Kasey Magdadaro scored as the ball caromed behind the first-base bag. The pitcher, Tyanna Ka‘aiali‘i, retired Bree Soma on a grounder to first, finally ending the inning. MS 6, PC 2.
Second inning
PC: Three up, three down.
MS: Mylee Enos singles to right with one out and comes in to score on a two-out double to center by Hirano. Note: the run scored after a foul fly ball was dropped by Pearl City’s RF during Hirano’s at-bat. Unearned run. MS 7, PC 2.
Third inning
PC: Obara walks and scores on a double to center by Yamaguchi. Labasan bears down and retires the next two batters to end the inning.
MS: Magdadaro is hit by pitch to lead off the inning, but she’s stranded at third.
Fourth inning
PC: Chargers get a single and walk, come up empty again. Labasan is teetering on trouble here and there, but finds her way out of it most times.
MS: Hee leads off with a walk and courtesy runner Kiana Arcayena scores when a high pop up by Hirano is dropped by 2B Cheyne Obara. MS 8, PC 3.
Fifth inning
PC: Taylyn Kimura reaches on a two-out single to left, but is stranded. Labasan cruising along.
MS: Ka‘aiali‘i clearly petering out after nearly 130 pitches. Talk about guts. But she gets through the fifth, retiring the Spartans in order.
Sixth inning
PC: Three up, three down. Labasan has retired seven in a row.
MS: The Spartans load the bases with two outs when Ka‘aialii finally calls it a night. Kristin Frost takes over and gets a groundout to end the latest Spartan threat.
Seventh inning
PC: Labasan in full control, gets the complete-game victory.
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