The Gold Coast bats went cold at the wrong time at the Little League Softball West Regional in Missoula, Montana on Tuesday.
In front of a few hundred fans and even a local TV crew, Missoula — the top-seeded hometown squad — took down Gold Coast 9-0 in the senior (ages 13-16) championship game.
“We came up a little short,” said Gold Coast coach Shane Alani. “The girls battled, but (Missoula) was just the better team today.”
The Big Islanders couldn’t come up with an answer for the pitching of Missoula ace Macey Newbary, who allowed just three hits and tallied five strikeouts in a complete game effort.
Quiet bats were not something Gold Coast or its fans had grown accustomed to at the tourney. Entering the title game, Gold Coast had averaged a shade under 10 runs per game and four players were hitting over .500, including Shaylee Alani, who had seven home runs and 21 RBIs.
“They threw nothing but outside to her,” said Shane Alani. “She put it in play hard a few times, but that’s just how the ball rolls sometimes.”
Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Kiarra Lincoln provided two of the hits for Gold Coast, and Waiakea’s Taylor Nishimura the other.
Earlier in the day, Gold Coast avenged a tournament opening loss to Northern California with a 6-4 comeback win, showing how far the team had progressed in less than a week.
“After we lost that first game, I don’t think anyone expected us to be in the championship game,” Alani said.
Kealakehe’s Kiara Cantiberos recorded the win on the mound. She allowed four runs over seven innings of work, striking out two, walking none and giving up seven hits.
Alani ignited the offense, going a perfect 4 for 4 including a three-run home run.
The Gold Coast girls went down 4-0 in the bottom of the first after a grand slam, but wasted little time dwelling on the big play. Gold Coast recorded three straight outs to end the inning, and cut into the lead in the bottom half with RBIs off the bats of Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Taylor Sullivan and Konawaena’s Teizha Kaluna.
Alani’s homer in the fourth propelled Gold Coast into the title game.
Gold Coast finished the tournament with a 6-3 record, but can walk away with a Terminator-esque “I’ll Be Back” mantra. Alani said the team will lose only one player next season.
“It was a great learning experience for all these girls,” Alani said. “They proved to themselves that they can play softball with anybody. The girls played and represented Hawaii so well. We are thankful for everyone back home who made this trip possible.”
MAJORS
The Gold Coast major team remained perfect in San Bernardino, California, knocking off Alaska 8-3 on Tuesday in the ages 9-12 tournament.
Gold Coast ace Shaylann Marie Grace was strong on the rubber and at the plate. Grace struck out 11, and allowed one earned run over six innings of work. She also went 2 for 3 from the plate, driving in one and scoring one run.
After going down 3-1, Gold Coast blew the game open with a fourth inning rally. Seven runs crossed the plate, thanks to an RBI double by Hillary Connors, a two-run error and three singles.
Gold Coast (3-0) will look to continue the winning streak against Montana (1-2) on Wendesday.
