No. 4 Mililani pulls away to rout Kaiser, 11-1

Mililani's Aubree Kim threw a one-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts to lead the Trojans back to the OIA Division I title game. Steve Erler | Special to SL

Mililani (12-2 overall) advances to the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I title game after knocking off Kaiser, 11-1, in six innings at McKinley's softball stadium. The Trojans will play the Sabers (13-1 overall) for the OIA crown and a seeded berth to the state tournament on Friday night at 7 p.m. following the Division II title game. Mililani handed previously unbeaten Kaiser (13-1 overall) their first loss of the season.

Junior pitcher Aubree Kim fired a one-hitter and threw 13 strikeouts and walked five for the game. Kylie-Ann Bello scored two runs and crushed a grand slam in the second inning to break open the game for the Trojans.

Keri Togami added a run in the first inning, as she beat the tag at home for the first score of the game. Kaiser loaded the bases as Kim walked Seli Aholelei, Rainelle Matsuoka and Kayla Russell got on due to an error. Tiana Ching-Lake's RBI single scored Aholelei, which turned out to be the only hit and score for the Cougars. From there, the Trojans shut down Kaiser offensively.

"We settled down and we were focusing on one pitch at a time. We overcame the weather conditions. The defense did great tonight and backed up Aubree, especially in a game like that," said Mililani coach Rose Antonio.

"I put myself in that situation and I try to forget about it and focus on one pitch at the time. I knew they were a good hitting team and tried not to let it get to me and hit my spots," said Kim.

Mililani came alive in the second inning, exploding for six runs. The Trojans loaded the bases and Togami and Maya Yoshiura each brought in runners with RBI singles. Faced with two outs, Kylie-Ann Bello crushed a grand slam over the centerfield fence to give the Trojans a 7-1 lead and they never looked back.

"The home run really broke that open and it was the turning point in the game. It was important we kept swinging like that," said Antonio.

"From the time it hit the bat, it hit the sweet spot. All I was thinking was getting a base hit since there were two outs. Every time I go up to bat, I hope to keep the momentum going for our team," said Bello, who is the lone senior on the team.

"It was beautiful and it made my night," said Kim, on Bello's home run. "I got to give the credit to my team because I can't score any runs but they came up and got my back to score 11 runs."

Bello added another run in the fourth after scoring off of Kristen Ishii's double and Brooke Yasuda scored off of Markie Okamoto's RBI single in the fifth.

Tristan Cozo's 2RBI single brought in Ishii and Merilis Rivera to put Mililani up 10 runs in the top of the sixth. Kim retired the side to end the game.

Mililani and Campbell split the regular season series and this is the second year in a row they meet for the OIA crown.

"My team is confident and we talked about communicating more and pulling through as a team," said Bello.

Kaiser will play Pearl City at 3 p.m. for third place. Both teams clinch spots in the state tournament.

Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].