KEAAU – If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a million times.
KEAAU – If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a million times.
Whether fair or foul, BIIF coaches are likely to agree on at least two things afterward: good game, both teams played hard.
That familiar and understandable line wouldn’t have done Friday’s BIIF Division II softball semifinal opener between Kohala and Kamehameha justice.
It was a heck of a game, and both teams played ultra hard.
With pitchers Brooke Baptiste and Mikayla Kekoa dueling each other into extra innings, it was matter of who made one more play.
With two on and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Jessica Cameros smacked a single to left to lift the Warriors to a 3-2 victory, putting the five-time defending BIIF champs on the cusp of another appearance in the finals.
“I was telling myself to hit the ball down and not pop up,” said Cameros, who entered the at-bat 0 for 3. “It was exciting for us when the game was tied, and it was a great feeling to get the winning RBI.”
After the teams packed eight innings of clean softball neatly into a hour and 45 minutes, the prevailing thought on both sides and from onlookers was palpable: every game should be played like this.
“Kohala made us stay on our toes,” Warriors coach Akea Kiyuna said. “They stepped up, we had to step up.”
Better yet, let’s do this again. Game 2 is back at Kamehameha’s field at 1 p.m. Saturday and the Cowgirls (13-5) will try to extend the series to a deciding game Monday.
“Physically we were there, and mentally I think we were there,” Cowgirls coach Nathan Kekoa said. “Let’s just come back tomorrow and play another good game.”
Kekoa implored his players to speed up their bats against the hard-throwing Baptiste, but the Cowgirls never could get their bats around on her fastball. The sophomore right-hander struck out 13 and allowed just five singles – three to catcher Keiko Yamura – with just one walk in a complete game that was her most dominant start of the season.
“I knew she was capable of this,” Kiyuna said. “We just had some things we needed to work on.”
The Warriors (13-4) connected for nine hits against right-hander Mikayla Kekoa, including Taylor Sullivan’s two-run home run, which scored Leiloa Bustamante, who led off the second with a double to right. Sullivan was 2 for 3.
Kamehameha’s other extra-base hit came courtesy of Kiarra Lincoln’s double in the eighth. The hit to right moved Ashlyn Wengler, who had singled, to third.
Kekoa got the second out of the inning on a popup, but Cameros came through.
“She’s been progressing as a leader,” Kiyuna said. “She hasn’t always been the star, but she has always been a contributor to our success.”
Mikalya Kekoa struck out four and didn’t walk a batter.
There were times not so long ago that Kohala, the two-time runner-up, appeared out sync mentally while playing on Kamehameha’s sprawling, college-like campus.
Those times appear to be in the past. The Cowgirls sparkled defensively and weren’t charged with an error. Yamura threw out two runners trying to steal, center fielder Kayla Joy Juan Kealoha made a basket catch to wipe out a double and save a run and third baseman Cheylin Imai deftly caught a foul pop up while brushing against the Warriors’ dugout.
“We built this defense for Kamehameha and Konawaena,” coach Nate Kekoa said. “We’ve been working hard on it, recognizing each batter, knowing what their consistencies are in hitting and trying to counter everyone. I think it played right into our hands.”
Yamura manufactured a run in the third, reaching third base on a single, stolen base and a wild pitch, then scoring on Nicole Castillo’s grounder. Yamura drove in the tying run in the fourth with a two-out hit off of Baptiste’s glove to bring home Setsuko Kimura, who led off the inning with a hit.
Kamehameha has lost twice as many games this season as it did from 2014-16, but a little adversity taught the Warriors a valuable lesson.
“We do better when we’re happy,” Cameros said. “We were way more pumped up.”
Konawaena 14, Honokaa 2
Despite playing without head coach Shellie Grace, Konawaena had no problems handling Honokaa, winning 14-2 in the opening game of a BIIF Division II semifinal series at Gabby Inaba Field on Friday.
The Wildcats hit from top to bottom in their lineup, going up 6-2 in the first two innings before breaking the game open with an eight-run fourth inning, which eventually led to a shortened, five-inning affair.
“I am proud of the girls and they played so hard,” said Konawaena athletic director Kellye Krug, who will finish the season as head coach after Shellie Grace was let go. “They have been working really hard all week and executed the way they needed to today. It was a group effort.”
Andi Uemura and Erin Kaimuloa Bates led the offensive attack with two hits each. Bates went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Uemura reached base three times with a pair of singles and a walk. She scored three runs.
Konawaena was also aided by eight walks from two Honokaa pitchers.
Shaylann Marie Grace picked up the victory inside the circle for the Wildcats. She allowed two hits, struck out six and walked one. Keesha Matsuoka took the loss for the Dragons.
Konawaena is the the No. 1 seed for the league tournament and has already locked up a state berth thanks to being the best Division II team during the regular season. Honokaa is the No. 4 seed. The two teams will meet again in Kealakekua at 1 p.m. Saturday.