Favela fans 10 to lead Campbell in 5-4 win over Lahainaluna


Campbell pitcher Elisa Favela threw a complete game with 10 strikeouts to earn the victory over Lahainaluna. Brien Ing | SL

MANOA — Aside from one inning where she ran into trouble, Elisa Favela was dominant Tuesday.

The sophomore pitcher struck out 10 batters and gave up just two hits to lead Campbell to a 5-4 win over Lahainaluna in an opening-round game of the DataHouse/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Softball State Championships.

An afternoon crowd of about 150 fans at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium saw the Sabers improve to improve to 13-4 and into Wednesday's quarterfinal round, where they will play top-seeded Kamehameha.

"There's a lot of pressure when you come to this tournament," Campbell coach Shag Hermosura said. "That 'W' is big in the state tournament, but we're going to have to make a lot of adjustments to get ahead against Kamehameha (Wednesday)."

Favela had a no-hitter going through five innings, but loaded the bases in the sixth and allowed a grand slam to Lithe Pokipala-Waiohu, the Lunas' clean-up hitter.

"We played all right, we didn't play our best today," Hermosura said. "I think Elisa was on her game as a pitcher but we didn't hit as well as we wanted to or execute."

The Sabers struck early, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning — all coming with two outs. Caragh Morris got on base with a fielder's choice and Favela and Kawehi Kahana drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Morris came home when Nashlynn Anguay reached on an error and Sierra Mariano followed with a two-run double.

Campbell added two more runs in the second inning. Cydney Curran walked and advanced to third on another Lahainaluna error and came home on a Morris single to right field. Chardonnay Pantastico scored the other run when she came home on a ground ball to give the Sabers a 5-0 lead.

Favela said the early runs provided a nice cushion, but may have led to some mental lapses later in the game.

"It feels good because we're leading, but we shouldn't take them lightly," Favela said. "I think we did relax because they caught up after that hit, but after that we just had to get mentally stronger and keep going."

Mikaela Cabagua got the Lunas' first hit when she came in to pinch hit in the top of the sixth inning. The next two batters, Tobi Bonifacio and Janah Pagatpatan, reached on an error and was hit by a pitch, respectively, to load the bases for Pokipala-Waiohu, who belted a 1-1 pitch over the left centerfield fence.

Favela regrouped and retired the final four Lahainaluna batters to end the game.

"I just had to work my spots a little harder and just make sure I kept my pitches down so they don't hit it," Favela said.

Hermosura said that he had little knowledge of the Lunas entering the game.

"We didn't know anything about them," Hermosura said. "We never did see them in a preseason tournament. All I knew is that they're a tough team and we had to bring our best to get the 'W' today."

Lahainaluna, the Maui Interscholastic League runner-up, fell to 9-6 and will play Waianae in a 9 a.m. consolation game Wednesday. Campbell, the third-place team out of the Oahu Interscholastic Association, plays Kamehameha in a 5 p.m. quarterfinal later that day.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].