Back in 2019, Kealohi Grace was a bright-eyed freshman on the latest in a long of powerhouse Kamehameha softball teams, just eager to lend a hand however she could.
“The team was small, and I was there for the team no matter what,” she recalled. “It was a good time. I was just in it for the girls and the needs of the team.”
She’s reprising some of that roll as a senior, just under different circumstances.
If the world had been playing by the rules the past two years, Warriors coach Akea Kiyuna might well have a 10-time champion on her hands entering the playoffs. However, two lost BIIF seasons don’t keep her up at night.
“I’d be lying as a coach if I didn’t think about it a little,” she said, “but you never let that guide how you coach a team.”
Usually come playoff time, Kamehameha is the heavy favorite and ready to shine its medals, but this season the league’s Division II dynasty is flying under the radar.
For one, there is less experience on hand for the Warriors than usual. Kiyuna and Grace are two of the few links to the 2019 squad that won an eighth straight title.
“We have a lot of newer players, but we’ve been fortunate they’ve been picking it up for the amount of time that we’ve had,” Kiyuna said. It’s nice that we have numbers (24 players).”
It might have been an eye-popping result at the time, but looking back, Ka Makani’s 7-2 win against the Warriors in March might not have been all that much of a surprise.
“HPA played well,” Kiyuna said, “and we didn’t adjust as well as we needed to. But HPA deserved that win. We just have to adjust if we play them again.”
To earn a rematch, the Warriors (5-1) will have to beat Honokaa (4-2). Seeded second, Kamehameha opens its long-delayed BIIF title defense at 3 p.m. Wednesday against the Dragons at Pahoa District Park. Ka Makani (7-0) earned a spot in Saturday’s championship game on Tuesday with a 25-1 victory against Pahoa in Waimea.
Kahiwa Ili and Emily Hora have been handling pitching duties for Kamehameha this season, and Kiyuna credits Rebekah Sipinga for providing the team with a spark at third base and with her bat.
“Something the coaches say is that we haven’t started to reach our peak yet,” Grace said. “I think we can improve a lot. Our defense, how we start on offense.
“It’s unfortunate that I missed my sophomore and junior years BIIF-wise, but this has been a good refresher for this team, especially because we have a lot of new girls.”
For HPA on Tuesday, Brooke Samura went 3 for 3 with two home runs, nearly hitting a third, and Kyana Brucelas also was 3 for 3, hitting one home run and finishing a triple short of the cycle. Kaila Kaahu was 3 for 4 with two doubles, and April Kina’u Grace struck out six in three innings, giving up a hit.
“We just need to continue playing good and they will have a good shot at the title,” Ka Makani coach Travis Bondallian said.
As for the Dragons-Warriors semifinal, Kamehameha won at Honokaa, 11-4, but the Dragons won their last three games, including a 17-1 win at Pahoa last week to earn the third seed.
Honokaa connected for 12 hits, two apiece from Malie Espejo (three runs, two RBIs), Kailani Hanohano (two runs, two RBIs), Iliana Kaiamakini (four runs), Mahina Young (three runs, one RBI) and Ulu Lewis (two runs, one RBI).
Espejo pitched four innings of relief to get the victory, allowing two hits and one unearned run with five strikeouts. Young worked a shutout first and walked three.