Saint Louis seniorc Tanner Atiburcio and Kaiser junior Seli Aholelei both pitched lights out and contributed to their own cause at the plate for their respective teams last week. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Male Athlete of the Week: Tanner Atiburcio, Saint Louis baseball
Throughout his high school baseball career, Tanner Atiburcio has contributed wherever he could. He started at second base on last year's state-title winning Saint Louis team, but moved over to first this year.

Saturday, Atiburcio took the mound against league-leading Mid-Pacific and was masterful in leading the Crusaders to a much-needed 5-2 victory.

Atiburcio threw a complete game and allowed two runs on five hits. He overcame three walks and struck out a batter. At the plate, Atiburcio went 2 for 3 with a double and three runs batted in.

"That was absolutely a big confidence boost for him and a big confidence booster for our team," Saint Louis coach George Gusman said.

It was easily Atiburcio's best game — both on the mound, pitching, and at the plate, hitting — of the season. He was tagged for six runs in in first start, when he lasted just 2 2/3 innings against Punahou. In his last outing before Saturday, Atiburcio was knotted up in a 3-3 tie against Kamehameha on March 28, before the game was suspended due to inclement weather.

"He had only given up two hits through the fifth inning in that one before it was suspended," Gusman said. "He had a great fall season. He was pretty efficient with his pitches during the preseason, but we just didn't play well defensively in that Punahou game to start the year."

Saturday also marked Atiburcio's first multi-hit game of the year.

"It's like anything else where you get some momentum and hitting is contagious," Gusman said. "We got a few more hits than usual against Kamehameha and we didn't have a bunch of hits, but we clutched up with the hits we had against Mid-Pac, so I'm very satisfied with that and excited for our guys."

As for Atiburcio, who stands 5-11 and bats sixth in the lineup, Gusman thinks he might project well as a pitcher at the collegiate level.

"He's borderline Division-I (caliber) with his velocity and his breaking ball," Gusman said. "He didn't pitch much last year, if at all, but I think for him at the next level, his best chance to play might be as a pitcher."

Atiburcio pitched and played shortstop on the JV, but with more-than-capable arms in All-Hawaii Player of the Year and eventual-Milwaukee Brewers' draft pick Jordan Yamamoto and Univerity of Hawaii-commit Pono Anderson leading a talented pitching staff, Atiburcio's services weren't required last year.

"His job was to play defense for us at second base. Fortunately — or unfortunately — for us, we didn't have to use him, but he pitched in the preseason and would throw regularly in bullpen sessions every week," Gusman said.

Gusman moved Atiburcio to first base this year to take some responsibilities off his plate.

"The reason we did that was that we anticipated him doing more pitching and because of the demands of playing middle infield," Gusman said. "We devote a lot of time to infield practice, so it would take a lot less stress off him and wear on his arm."

Prior to Saturday, the Crusaders had lost both previous meetings against the Owls this season, including a heartbreaking one-run loss in 10 innings that marked a season-worst four-game losing streak

"We had a really nice preseason, (but) I think our level of competition was probably not as good as the ILH was going to be overall, because once we come into the ILH everybody is so good and so well coached," Gusman said. "We've been up and down because of the level of competition. We had a bunch of losses in a row so beating Kamehameha on Thursday and coming back to beat Mid-Pac (Saturday) just got our confidence back for our entire team that we can compete."

Atiburcio and the Crusaders (4-5) will complete the suspended game (from the bottom of the fifth inning) against Kamehameha at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Goeas Field in Hawaii Kai before taking on Iolani Thursday and completing the regular season against Punahou Saturday.

Female Athlete of the Week: Seli Aholelei, Kaiser softball
Whether it's with a bat or a ball, Seli Aholeilei is doing some major damage this season.

The junior shortstop/pitcher on the Kaiser softball team is sporting a .464 batting average with 13 hits, eight runs batted in and eight runs scored. More than half of her hits have gone for extra bases, including a league-best four triples.

Aholelei's numbers in the pitching circle as just as impressive. She is 3-0 with a 0.58 ERA and has allowed just two runs (one unearned) on five hits in 12 innings pitched. Aholelei has 17 strikeouts and given up just two walks all year.

"Her hitting has improved, but her pitches have improved, too," Cougars' coach Mitch Matsumoto said. "She throws really hard and her balls have a lot of movement, so it makes her tough to hit."

The 5-foot-8 Aholelei was a key contributor in two of Kaiser's three wins last week. She tossed a complete game, scattering five hits with six strikeouts, and batted 2 for 3 with a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored from her leadoff position in an 11-2 win over Kailua Tuesday.

In a 27-1 rout of McKinley Saturday, Aholelei batted 4 for 6 with a home run and a pair of triples. She also drive in three runs.

"She did really good," Matsumoto said. "She's bigger and stronger than she was, so she has a lot more power now."

It's not something that is unique to just Aholelei.

"They all came back as stronger kids this year and compared to last year, I think all the juniors grew up, so the team is all more confident in playing," said Matsumoto who has a heavy crop of juniors on his team, including Aholelei and fellow pitcher Crystal Ching-Lake.

"They're different kinds of pitchers — I can't say that one is better than the other — but they do complement each other well," Matsumoto said of the pair. "They're both No. 1 pitchers, so we pitch them according to the competition. We haven't had a chance to throw both of them in a close game, so whoever is on the mound will probably throw the whole game."

Truth be told, the Cougars (8-0) haven't had very many close games to speak of this season. They have won all but two of their games by nine or more runs and have won three times in games shortened by the 10-run differential mercy rule.

Kaiser, which is ranked seventh in this week's ScoringLive/OC16 Softball Power Rankings, has a 2 1/2-game lead on second-place Kailua in the seven-team Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I East.

"I think we're peaking and the confidence level of our team is building," said Matsumoto, whose team finished second in the East last year, but went 0-2 in the league playoffs and failed to qualify for the state tournament.

"Every year somebody has a target on their back, as the cliche goes, but we want to approach it so that every team that we play has a target on (its) back, whether it's a bottom feeder or a top dog, and that's how we coach the games," Matsumoto said. "It takes the pressure off of us. This year we just want to get into the playoffs and see what happens from there."

Aholelei, a third-year starter who also plays club rugby, as a leader the rest of the players look up to, along with Rainelle Matsuoka and Marissa Oda.

Off the field, he describes her as just another teenager.

"She looks fierce and tough, but inside she's so sweet and just fun to be around," Matsumoto said. "All the girls like her, she's not high-maintenance. One of the things that amazes everybody is she sings really good. She has a real beautiful voice. The good thing is she has three younger sisters. One is already at Kaiser and there's two more than I hope will get here because her whole family is athletic."

Aholelei and the Cougars return to the diamond to face Roosevelt at 3 p.m. Thursday at Stevenson Middle School and hosts Kaimuki Saturday.

BASEBALL
Pono Anderson, Saint Louis — Struck out four batters, walked none and allowed one run on six hits in seven innings pitched in a win over Kamehameha

Blayze Arcano-Llacuna, Campbell — Batted 3 for 4 with a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored in a win over Waianae

Jaisten Cabatbat, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Batted 3 for 3 with three RBIs, two runs scored and two stolen bases in a win over Pahoa

Riley Costa, Keaau — Batted 2 for 3 with a double, three RBIs, two runs scored and a walk in a win over Pahoa

Trenton Darley, Pearl City — Struck out nine batters, walked one and allowed one run on three hits in seven scoreless innings pitched in a win over Waipahu

Allan Dong, Punahou — Batted 2 for 4 with three RBIs in a win over Kamehameha

Koa Eastlack, Mililani — Struck out five batters, walked one and allowed three hits in seven scoreless innings pitched in a win over Leilehua

Sean Fernandez, Saint Francis — Batted 3 for 3 with a home run, four RBIs and three runs scored in a win over Hanalani

Brandon Henderson, Kamehameha — Batted 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored in a loss to Punahou

Keola Himan, Campbell — Batted 2 for 3 with three RBIs in a win over Radford

Jarred Kaneshiro, Maryknoll — Struck out five batters, walked none and allowed one (unearned) run on two hits in seven innings pitched in a win over Hanalani

Kelsey Katayama, Konawaena — Batted 4 for 5 with a walk and three runs scored in a tie against Honokaa

Kila Kapihe, Campbell — Struck out eight batters, walked none and allowed three hits in five scoreless innings pitched and drove in three runs in a win over Waianae

Sean Kinel, Mid-Pacific — Batted 2 for 2 with a double, two RBIs, three runs scored and a walk in a win over Iolani

Jarin Kobashigawa, Maryknoll — Batted 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs in a win over Hanalani

Trayson Kubo, Leilehua — Struck out eight batters, walked four and allowed one (unearned) run on one hit in seven innings pitched in a loss to Mililani

Mykah Kuratani, Kapolei — Batted 2 for 2 with two doubles and three RBIs in a win over Waialua

Tyler Kushima, Pearl City — Batted 3 for 4 with three runs scored in a win over Leilehua

Kody Leiu, Farrington — Struck out seven batters, walked two and allowed three hits in six scoreless innings pitched in a win over Nanakuli

Noah Lono-Soares, Kapolei — Batted 2 for 3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored in a win over Waialua

Jordan Macias, Kapolei — Batted 3 for 3 with a home run, triple, four RBIs and two runs scored in a win over McKinley

Jacob Maekawa, Mid-Pacific — Doubled, drove in three runs, drew a walk and scored twice in a win over Iolani

Stanley Misioka, Farrington — Batted 3 for 4 with a run scored in a win over Nanakuli

Tyler Mondina, Waiakea — Batted 3 for 3 with a triple, double, three RBIs and a walk in a win over Hilo

Joshua Muneno, Maryknoll — Struck out four batters, walked none and allowed two (unearned) runs on six hits in seven innings pitched in a win over Pac-Five

Gehrig Octavio, Waiakea — Batted 2 for 3 with a home run, two RBIs, two runs scored and a walk in a loss to Keaau

Micah Peters-Valdez, Aiea — Batted 2 for 4 with a double, three RBIs and a run scored in a win over Farrington

Justin Quesada, Keaau — Batted 3 for 4 with a walk and a run scored in a win over Waiakea and batted 2 for 4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored in a win over Pahoa

Markus Ramos, Campbell — Struck out six batters, walked three and did not allow a hit in four scoreless innings pitched in a win over Radford

Noah Sakatani, Kaiser — Homered, drove in four runs and scored twice in a win over Kaimuki

Matthew Sasaki, Kalaheo — Batted 2 for 3 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored in a win over Waialua

Oakland Scanlan, Waipahu — Struck out 12 batters, walked none and allowed five hits in seven scoreless innings pitched in a win over Radford

Kekai Smith, Kalaheo — Struck out six batters, walked three and did not allow a hit in four scoreless innings pitched in a win over Waialua

Francis Sonoda, Pac-Five — Batted 2 for 2 with two RBIs and two runs scored in a win over Damien

Jantzen Tamanaha, Punahou — Batted 2 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs scored in a win over Kamehameha

Ryley Widell, King Kekaulike — Struck out 14 batters, walked three and allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings pitched in a win over Maui

Pikai Winchester, Iolani — Batted 3 for 4 with two RBIs in a loss to Mid-Pacific

Casey Wond, Pac-Five — Batted 3 for 3 with a double, RBI and a run scored in a win over Damien

BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Hezekiah Agiga, Waianae — Had seven kills, four digs and an ace in a win over Waipahu

Nicolas Caballes, Hawaii Baptist — Had six kills, seven digs and three aces in a win over Damien

Hugh Hogland, Iolani — Had 12 kills in a win over Mid-Pacific

BJ Hosaka, Hawaii Baptist — Had 20 assists in a win over Damien

Jeminae Solomua, Waipahu — Had seven kills and eight digs in a loss to Waianae

GIRLS WATER POLO
Autumn Akiu, Roosevelt — Scored three goals in a win over Moanalua

Ava Countryman, Kahuku — Scored four goals in a win over Kalani

Shania Custodio, McKinley — Scored five goals in a loss to Farrington

Lila Dewilde, Waialua — Scored four goals in a loss to Roosevelt

Natassia Dunn, Punahou — Scored three goals in a win over Iolani

Amber Hamil, Leilehua — Scored three goals in a win over Pearl City

Leilani Herrera, Kapolei — Scored three goals in a win over Moanalua

Charity Lopes, Kalani — Scored six goals in a loss to Kahuku

Kiana McDonald, Le Jardin — Scored three goals in a win over Kamehameha II

Megan McHale, Waialua — Scored four goals in a win over Kailua

Lexxi Mellor, Kailua — Scored three goals in a loss to Waialua

Alexis Molina, Mililani — Scored five goals in a win over Farrington

Lisa Namatane, Kalani — Scored four goals in a loss to Kahuku

Naomi Peltier, Farrington — Scored six goals in a loss to Mililani and scored five goals in a win over McKinley

Brianne Tengan, Roosevelt — Scored three goals in a win over Waialua

Chiemi Trias, Pearl City — Scored three goals in a loss to Leilehua

GOLF
Caleb Keohokapu, Kailua — Shot a 3-under par 69 to win the OIA boys' tournament at Ted Makalena Golf Course

Miki Manta, Kalani — Shot a 1-over par 73 to win the OIA girls' tournament at Ted Makalena Golf Course

SOFTBALL
Jocelyn Alo, Kahuku — Hit two home runs and drove in five runs in a loss to Kalaheo

Kaipo Castillo, Farrington — Batted 3 for 4 with a home run, triple and four RBIs in a win over Radford

Tiana Ching-Lake, Kaiser — Struck out four batters, walked none and allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings pitched in a win over Castle

Cydney Curran, Campbell — Batted 2 for 4 with three RBIs, a walk and three runs scored in a win over Waianae and batted 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored in a win over Leilehua

Alyssa Espiritu, Iolani — Batted 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored in a win over Saint Francis

Elisa Favela, Campbell — Struck out 11 batters, walked one and allowed one run on five hits in seven innings pitched in a win over Leilehua

Christine Hipa, Kamehameha — Batted 3 for 3 with two home runs, four RBIs, two runs scored and a walk in a win over Sacred Hearts

Tamia Hirano, Maryknoll — Batted 2 for 3 with two RBIs in a win over Mid-Pacific

Kaylee Ishii, Castle — Hit a three-run home run and scored twice in a win over Moanalua

Sadie Kapaku-You, Kapolei — Struck out two batters, walked none and allowed two runs (on unearned) on seven hits in seven innings pitched in a win over Leilehua

Aubree Kim, Mililani — Struck out seven batters and allowed one run on two hits in five innings pitched in a win over Waianae

Taylyn Kimura, Pearl City — Drove in four runs, walked twice and scored one in a win over Waipahu

Shearyna Labasan, Maryknoll — Struck out six batters, walked five and allowed one run on six hits in seven innings pitched in a win over Mid-Pacific and struck out 13 batters, walked one and allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings pitched in a win over Pac-Five

Vesi Liilii, Aiea — Batted 3 for 4 with two RBIs in a win over Radford

Kaimana-Joy Manzano, Konawaena — Batted 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs in a win over Waiakea

Rainelle Matsuoka, Kaiser — Batted 2 for 3 with two doubles and three runs scored in a win over Kaiser and batted 2 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs in a win over Castle

Kailee McGloghlon, Farrington — Hit two home runs and drove in three runs in a win over Radford

Jordan Millwood, Kamehameha — Batted 2 for 2 with a home run, seven RBIs and a walk in a win over Sacred Hearts

Nicole Nishizawa, Punahou — Struck out 11 batters, walked three and allowed one run on four hits in seven innings pitched and drove in two runs in a win over Sacred Hearts and struck out eight batters, walked two and allowed two runs (one unearned) on five hits in seven innings pitched in a win over Iolani

Darian Obara, Pearl City — Batted 3 for 4 with a double, walk and three runs scored in a win over Waipahu

Rachel Ogasawara, Kamehameha — Batted 4 for 4 with a double in a win over Pac-Five

Merilis Rivera, Mililani — Batted 2 for 3 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored in a win over Waianae

Suzzana Saelua, Radford — Batted 3 for 5 with three RBIs and three runs scored in a loss to Farrington

Taylor Shigeta, Pearl City — Drove in three runs and scored twice in a win over Waipahu

Shaye Simms, Saint Francis — Batted 2 for 3 with two RBIs, a walk and a run scored in a loss to Iolani

Ulalia Soa, Waipahu — Batted 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored in a loss to Pearl City

Chelsea Song, Kaiser — Batted 5 for 5 with three RBIs in a win over McKinley

Sarah Sumida, Punahou — Drove in two runs, walked twice and scored twice in a win over Sacred Hearts and batted 2 for 4 with two RBIs in a win over Iolani

Taylor Takushi, Moanalua — Batted 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI in a win over Kaimuki

Kyler Tsukada, Moanalua — Struck out seven batters, walked six and allowed three hits in six scoreless innings pitched in a win over Kaimuki

Makana Tyrell, Kamehameha — Batted 2 for 3 with a home run and four RBIs in a win over Pac-Five

Taufau Williams, Kailua — Batted 3 for 5 with a home run, two doubles and three RBIs in a win over McKinley