HHSAA Softball
After 19 years, Raiders return to title game


Stacy Kaneshiro | ScoringLive
May 4, 2019, 1:39am

  

Fri, May 3, 2019 @ [ 7:30 pm ]

Baldwin

8

Iolani

11

FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Baldwin 1 0114018124
Iolani 4 2 0311X11152

W: Aleia Agbayani    L: Aliya Harmon    SV: Ailana Agbayani

IOL: Allie Capello 1-1 2 runs 3 rbi HR; Ailana Agbayani 3.0 IP 1 ER 4 K
BAL: Lia Castillo 3-4 2 runs 5 rbi 2 HR; Kacey Sakamoto 4.0 IP 4 ER




MANOA — Iolani cashed in on four Baldwin errors in an 11-8 win Friday night to advance to the DataHouse/HHSAA Division I state championship for the first time since 2000, the last time the Raiders won it all.

"This was never expected," said Iolani first-year coach Benny Agbayani, who has three freshmen in the starting lineup. "It's just having the seniors, their leadership. They believe in our philosophy. The Iolani saying is ‘One Team.'"

The No. 7 Raiders (18-5) will take on defending state champion and No. 2 Leilehua (12-6) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

Five of the Raiders' runs were unearned, including 5 of 6 in the first two innings of the game.

Aleia Agbayani pitched four-plus innings, allowing seven runs (two unearned) and 11 hits. Kid sister Ailana Agbayani, who started the game at shortstop, allowed a run in three innings of relief to notch a save.

The Bears (12-6), the Maui Interscholastic League runner-up, had stunned top-seeded and No. 1 Campbell in Thursday's quarterfinals. But they were a shell of themselves against the Raiders.

The Raiders batted around in a four-run first, when the Bears committed two errors. Three of the runs were unearned. They padded their lead with two more unearned runs in the second to take a 6-1 lead.

The Bears chipped away to pull to 6-3, only to see the Raiders triple their lead with a three-run fourth. Allie Capello hit a two-run home run and Tori Lynn Maeda had an RBI ground out.

Baldwin pulled to 9-7 with a four-run fifth compliments of Lia Castillo's grand slam off Aleia Agbayani. Castillo added a solo shot off of Ailana Agbayani in the seventh.

It was the third consecutive game the Raiders scored 11 runs in the tournament.

Baldwin's Aliya Harmon pitched two innings on two different occasions. She started the game but was pulled after the first inning. She returned in the sixth to replace Kacey Sakamoto, who pitched four-plus innings.


Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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