ALA WAI – Finishing strong was the theme in Iolani’s win over Punahou Wednesday afternoon.

The Raiders overcame three early errors and a 4-0 deficit by scoring five unanswered runs to rally past Punahou, 5-4, at Ala Wai Field. Iolani, ranked No. 8 in the inaugural ScoringLive/OC16 Softball Power Rankings improves to 4-1 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu league play. Punahou, ranked No. 4 in the same rankings, suffered their second straight loss, dropping to 3-2 in the regular season.

“In the ILH every game is a battle so we take the same approach in every game; one inning at a time, one out at a time,” said Iolani coach Corey Okamura. “We knew Punahou was going to hit the ball so we just try to play sound defense. (We) made a few errors but we’ve been coming back all year. Just glad we didn’t wait till the seventh inning.”

Defense played a big part in the Raiders’ victory. Despite picking up nine hits in the contest, Punahou was only able to plate four runs. The Raiders’ defense shined the brightest in the top of the fourth, picking up two outs to end the inning on a bases loaded situation.

“We made some mistakes today, but fortunately we have a nice mix of kids,” said Okamura. “Couple freshman, bunch of sophomores, but we have six seniors so the senior have been here before. They settled everybody down and believed in (our pitcher) Taylor (Garcia-Perreira).”

One of the seniors coming up big for the Raiders was centerfielder Brielle Asato. With the bases loaded and one out remaining in the top of the fourth, Asato made a spectacular diving catch to prevent any runs from being scored.

The Raiders’ defense wasn’t always on point however. To start the first inning, Punahou’s Sarah Sumida was able reach first base thanks to a fielding error. Sara Jinee Buck’s sacrificial bunt advanced Sumida to third base, allowing Nicole Nishizawa to bring her home one batter later, giving Punahou an early 1-0 lead.

Punahou pushed their lead to 2-0 after the second inning with a Shelbie Fujinaga run. Fujinaga got a base via a double and Katelyn Chagami brought her home. The Buffanblu then extended their lead to 4-0 after a two-run homer by Krystin Wong in the top of the fifth inning.

Then Iolani started to rally.

With eight at bats, the most out of any inning, the Raiders eliminated the Buffanblu’s lead with four runs in the bottom of the fifth.

Asato was the first Raider to get on base in the fifth, thanks to a base on balls. Spencer Oda joined Asato on base after a Punahou field error. Cassie Ho filled the bases two batters later after Nishizawa walked her. Nishizawa continued to have problems finding the strike zone, walking Garcia-Perreira, which in turn allowed Asato to score the Raiders’ first run of the game.

“Just be more selective on pitches,” Okamura said on the Raiders’ late offensive strategy. “Nicole (Nishizawa) pitches a lot, she was getting tired. She started missing her spots so we just had our girls be a little more selective, working deeper in the count. Fortunately it worked out for us.”

Alyssa Espiritu brought Oda home on the next at bat, making the score 4-2. The Raiders tied the score at 4-all on a Kealaulaikalani Gier shot into the outfield. Gier was able to bring two runners home because of a misplay by the Buffanblu outfielders.

Punahou was unable to generate any offense the rest of the way and the Raiders’ were able to pull out a come from behind victory. Karley Devens’ double in the bottom of the sixth would prove to be the game-winning run. Asato’s sacrificial bunt advanced Devens to third and Oda brought her home a batter later to make the score 5-4 in Iolani’s favor. 

“We were just working really hard during the game and it just all came together for us,” said Devens, who also recorded the final out of the game. “Somehow we just kept working and it just happened.”

The Raiders will face top-ranked Kamehameha on Saturday, Mar. 22, while Punahou takes on Mid-Pacific on Monday, Mar. 24.

“This was really big, I don’t know, I’m speechless,” Devens said after the game. “My team and I just worked hard throughout the whole game. We never gave up.”