Nanakuli's Keanani Chai tags out Kaiser's Na Pua Ho for the final out in the Golden Hawk's 8-5 win. Ryan Sakamoto | Special to SL

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Kaiser's Rainelle Matsuoka connects with a pitch against Nanakuli. Ryan Sakamoto | Special to SL

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Nanakuli pitcher Chyanne Koko throws a pitch to the plate against Kaiser. Ryan Sakamoto | Special to SL

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They did it again.

The Nanakuli Golden Hawks avenged an early 3-1 regular season loss to undefeated Kaiser, to claim back-to-back OIA White softball titles with an 8-5 victory at Central Oahu Regional Park on Saturday night.

Kaiser was previously 13-0 on the season prior to the title game.

"It was a huge, exciting, nail-biting win for our program," explained Nanakuli Head Coach Ricky Gusman. "The kids wanted it more this year than they did last year because it's harder to repeat."

The Lady Golden Hawks got off to a quick start scoring five runs within the first two innings, and later added to the lead with three runs in the top of the seventh for insurance. Nanakuli was very active at bat combining for a grand total of 17 hits spread throughout the game. Leading the way offensively for the Lady Golden Hawks was Ashley Van Gieson who went three-for-four at the plate with two singles, a double, two RBI's and a run. Another big factor at the plate for Nanakuli was Emma Kawaiaea who batted a perfect two-for-two, netting her two doubles, two RBI's and a run.

"We made adjustments," explained Gusman. "We lost to them 3-1 the last time, so we kind of remembered their approach to pitching so we changed our approach to hitting."

Lauren Ku got the first hit off the game for Nanakuli when her intended bunted ball netted her a single. Kawaiaea got a free pass to first on the next pitch, which was followed by Precious Paulo-Meyers bringing Ku home for the first run of the game and for the Golden Hawks. Van Gieson would follow it up two batters later with a 2 RBI double to give Nanakuli a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first.

Starting pitcher for the Lady Hawks, Chyanne Koko pitched two strikeouts in the first inning, but some Nanakuli errors were able to generate a Cougar run. Second-batter in the lineup Kimberly Dilda got the first hit for Kaiser, and was able to advance to second base due to a Nanakuli fielding error. Dilda would later score via a passed ball while teammate Lesieli Aholelei was at bat. That was all the scoring Kaiser would do in the first and Nanakuli carried a 3-1 lead heading into the second inning.

The second inning was no different offensively for the Lady Hawks as the first batter of the inning Keanani Chai, was able to get a base hit. Batting next for Nanakuli was Alexis Paulo-Meyers, who connected on a juicy pitch, splitting a ball deep in between left and center field for an RBI triple.

After the hit, Kaiser Head Coach Mitch Matsumoto switched out starting pitcher Crystal Ching-Lake for Aholelei who took over the pitching duties the rest of the way. Aholelei promptly struck out the first batter she faced but would give up an RBI double to Nanakuli's Kawaiaea. Fortunately for Aholelei and the rest of the Lady Cougars, Kawaiaea was called out stretching for third. Nanakuli scored two runs in the inning to extend their lead to four.

Kyra Hoohuli got a quick hit on Nanakuli's pitcher Koko early on, and would later advance to second base thanks to Kai Hasegawa's sacrificial bunt. However, there would be no scoring for the Lady Cougars in the second inning as Kaiser picked up their second out on the following at bat and a subsequent batted ball hit a runner resulting in the third out of the inning.
Defense really shined for Kaiser in the top of the third as they picked up three consecutive outs in a row. Aholelei strucked out opposing Nanakuli pitcher Koko for the first out of the third inning, and second baseman Dilda made a beautiful catch on a fly ball in shallow right field like a wide receiver in stride. First baseman Marissa Oda capped off a perfect third inning by scooping a ground ball rolling her way.

It was a defensive struggle for both teams for the next two innings as no runs were scored until the bottom of the fifth.

With the score still 5-1, in favor of Nanakuli; Kaiser was in desperate need of a spark. Throughout the season the Lady Cougars averaged 13 runs per game and they was hitting well below their average. That spark came off of the bat of Rainelle Matsuoka, who powered a ball pass the fences for the first home run of the game.

"All of our girls are capable of doing that," said Kaiser Coach Matsumoto. "We just came out flat in the beginning."

The Nanakuli defense picked up after the big hit, getting three outs within the next four Kaiser batters. However, the one batter who they didn't get out was Oda, who also powered a homerun pass center field to chip away from the Golden Hawk lead as the score was now 5-3 after five innings.

A scoreless sixth inning would pave the way for an exciting finish heading into the seventh, and final inning of regulation.

After going scoreless the past four innings and momentum on the side of Kaiser, Nanakuli finally got into a rhythm against Aholelei to pad some insurance runs to their lead.

Koko was the first to bat for the Golden Hawks in the seventh inning, and she connected on the first pitch Aholelei threw at her for a base hit. Batting after Koko was Van Gieson, who followed suit and also connected on the first pitch Aholelei threw at her. Kelcie DeFreitas was at bat next, and just like a game of Horse, DeFreitas matched her teammates batting in front of her, which also brought Koko home for an RBI.

"After you see a pitcher for a while you recognize your pitch," said Gusman about getting hot in the seventh inning. "It's about pitch recognition; we work on recognizing your pitch, if you see it, hit the ball. She (Aholelei) was trying to get ahead of us and throw strikes, so we were hitting strikes."

Chai would be the only other batter in the top of the seventh that was able to generate a base hit. She made it count by bringing in home Van Gieson and DeFreitas, which pushed the run total to eight putting the Lady Cougars in a five-run hole heading into the bottom of the seventh.

Matsuoka got things started again for Kaiser as she gambled and picked up a double as the lead-off batter in the bottom of the seventh. Following the hit, Koko walked Bailey Gongob, and also gave up an RBI, as Aholelei was able to bring Matsuoka home to cut the lead to four. Oda was walked up next at bat, which loaded up the bases with the tying run at home plate. After Oda was walked, Kawaiaea stepped in the circle in relief for Nanakuli. Koko finished with three strikeouts, as well as three hits and a run scored to help her case for the win.

The Nanakuli defense was able pick up their first out of the inning, but not before Tiana Ching-Lake got on base with a single to load the bases once again.  On the consecutive at bat, Hoohuli brought Aholelei home before getting out at first base to put the out count at two. Unfortunately for the Cougars, the runner at third gambled and got caught out stretching for home plate and Nanakuli was able to end the game on a double play.

"I'm really proud of this organization, my coaches, the players, really proud. I cannot say enough of how hard these kids worked. Everybody said we we're kind of a fluke, but we're here," proudly said by Gusman.

Both teams will represent the OIA in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association/DataHouse Division II Softball State Championships along with Aiea and McKinley which takes place from April 30-May 3.