OIA Softball
Mililani fends off relentless Waianae, 9-7, for OIA Red crown


  



Sat, Apr 26, 2014 @ [ 7:00 pm ]


FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Waianae 1 0020047102
Mililani 5 3 0001X9131

W: Aubree Kim    L: Cranci Kamaka

MIL: Justine Fabella 2-4 run 3 rbi dbl trp; Aubree Kim 7.0 IP 7 ER 13 K
WNAE: Nue Sivia 3-4 run 2 rbi dbl trp; Cranci Kamaka 6.0 IP 9 ER 3 K


WAIPIO - Mililani struck early then fought off relentless Wai'anae in the final inning in a nail-biting 9-7 win for the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red softball championship.

The Trojans (12-3) won their first league title since 2010 and ninth overall under rainy and windy conditions at the Patsy T. Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park.

"It was really nerve-wracking down to the last inning," senior shortstop Jade Yadao-Valdez said. "But I knew our team could pull through."

Lightning, however, would not strike twice for the Seariders (8-4), who came from a 6-0 deficit to beat Moanalua in Friday's semifinal, 12-11. Wai'anae's rally fell short when sophomore Aubree Kim retired the final three batters of the game, all representing the tying run.

Kim allowed seven runs, 10 hits and three walks with 13 strikeouts to pick up the complete-game win.

"I tried to take it one pitch at a time," Kim said of the harrowing last inning. "We were still up and I knew i had get by team's back because I they had my back the whole game."

The Trojans gave Kim a seemingly commanding 9-3 lead entering the top of the seventh. But Mahina Chong flared a single down the left-field line that shortstop Jade Yadao-Valdez had trouble fielding, allowing the batter to take second on the play. Kelcie Taguchi lined a double to left, but Chong had to hold up to see if the ball would be caught.

Lauren Tauanu'u drilled a two-run double to left to make it 9-4. Nue Sivia scorched a double to right to score Tauanu'u and Cranci Kamaka delivered a run-scoring single and took second on the throw to pull the Seariders to 9-7.

Kim buckled down and got Bresia Wagner out on strikes, holding courtesy runner Willie-Ann Perez at second.

"From there, none of those hits were going to happen any more," Kim said. "From there, I was going to get every out."

She kept her promise.

Randie Santiago tried to bunt her way on, but Mililani catcher Markie Okamoto pounced on the dribbler and threw out the batter as Perez took third. Kim put the game away by striking out Alyssa Salud-Mendoza.

Throughout the game, Kim said she used a lot of outside breaking pitches to neutralize the Seariders' power potential.

"I knew that one hit could change the game, so I really tried to keep them off-balanced," Kim said.

In the seventh, she said the Seariders began adjusting to her pitches, thus the string of five hits to start the inning.

The Seariders took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Mahina Chong opened the game with a line single to right-center. After Kim struck out the next two batters, Tauanu'u hit a flare down the right-field line that ended up a run-scoring triple. But Kim struck out Kamaka to prevent further damage.

The Trojans jumped on Kamaka by sending nine batters to the plate in a five-run bottom of the first inning. They then sent seven batters up in a three-run second to give the Trojans an 8-1 lead.

The Searidiers got two back in the fourth on Kalei Cacho-Kekahuna's two-run double. The runs that scored got on board via walks. Unlike Friday's semifinals, when Kim walked six, but still shutout Campbell, the Seariders' cashed in on the freebies.

Mililani added what turned out to be an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI single from Tori-Anne Baysa that made it 9-3.

The Seariders' bats woke up for the seventh, but fell short.

"Sometimes, we're starting little late," Wai'anae coach Lincoln Naiwi Jr. said. "We rebound and kind of pick it up on the back end.

"It was a good game. Hat's off to Mililani. They came to play."

Mililani's nine OIA title was the fourth under coach Rose Antonio.

Mililani, Wai'anae, Campbell, Moanalua and Pearl City will represent the OIA in the Division I state tournament. Sixth-place Leilehua will travel to the Big Island Tuesday to play Wai'akea for a play-in berth.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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