Konawaena was two outs away from a berth in the HHSAA Division II championship and a shot of redemption against BIIF rival Kamehameha. But a stubborn Saint Francis team had other plans on Thursday afternoon in Honolulu.
Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning against Saint Francis, the Wildcats held a comfortable three run lead with one of the BIIF’s best pitchers, Shaylann Marie Grace, inside the circle.
Grace struck out the first batter she faced in the seventh, but then it all fell apart. Down to their final two outs, the Saints managed to rally for four runs, earning an 8-7 victory when Kaena Keliinoi was hit with the bases loaded to bring in the winning run in walk-off fashion.
Saint Francis advances to face BIIF champion Kamehameha-Hawaii in the state title game today at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. The Warriors edged Kalani in the other semifinal matchup.
A victory would have set up a rematch of the BIIF D-II championship, a best-of-3 series which the Warriors won 2-1. Instead, Konawaena will now take on Kalani in the third place game, which will take place at McKinley High School today at 1 p.m.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and led 7-3 by the fifth behind the power of Grace and clean-up hitter Jayla Medeiros. Grace did nearly everything she could offensively to put Konawaena on top. She went 2-for-3 with a home run, knocking in two and scoring three times.
Medeiros added two more home runs, picking up three RBIs in the process, while also scoring three times.
But Saint Francis would not go away, cutting the deficit down to three in the sixth.
The Wildcats went down in order in the top of the seventh, setting up the Saints come-from-behind rally in the bottom of the frame.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Kolbee Kealoha doubled into the left-center gap. After, Skye Ah Yat was hit by a pitch and Jordyn Lono singled to center, bringing in Kealoha. With two on, the Saints elected to send up pinch hitter Nanea Kalama, who doubled to right to tie the game.
Joelle Perreira walked and Hailey Matsumura was hit by a pitch to load the bases, bringing up Keliinoi. Grace clipped her as well, allowing the winning run to cross the plate.
Grace took the loss, allowing five earned off 12 hits. In 6 1/3 innings, she struck out three and walked three.
Matsumura led the Saints offense with three hits. Sammie Ofoia and Kealoha had two hits each.
Sierrah Kupihea went the distance in the circle for Saint Francis. She allowed seven earned off six hits, while walking three and striking out eight.
