KAKAAKO — A new champion will be crowned Saturday night. 

No. 6 Campbell will face No. 4 Kapolei in the title game of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I softball tournament at McKinley Tiger Softball Stadium. 

The Sabers (10-5) and Hurricanes (9-3) advanced to the final by virtue of their down-to-the-wire wins over No. 1 Mililani and No. 5 Moanalua, respectively, in a semifinal doubleheader Friday at McKinley. 

Campbell toppled the two-time defending champion Trojans, 6-4, in extra innings in the nightcap, which ended after 11 p.m. and took more than three hours to complete. 

Sophia Alo's ninth-inning single to the gap in right-center scored two runs to give the Sabers the lead for good. They backed starting pitcher Kaienna ‘Enna' Fuentes-Arellano with 10 hits, including a combined seven base-knocks by second batter Taylor-Elise Mendoza (4 for 5) and Alo (3 for 5, three RBI), Campbell's third hitter. 

"It took all of us coming together as a team, all the work that we put in," said Alo, a senior first baseman. "We honed on stringing it together and backing Enna up; that's all that mattered mores for us this game, to back our pitcher up and do our job."

After Mililani scored three runs in the first inning off Fuentes-Arellano, she buckled down and tossed five scoreless frames before Kahiau Aina led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run to tie it at four. 

"I was having a rough time because there was, like, rocks and I just needed to make an adjustment because I wasn't gonna give up on my team in the first inning," Fuentes-Arellano said of her early struggles in the pitching circle Friday. 

The Sabers jumped out to an early lead on Fuentes-Arellano's RBI-ground out to score Nanea Pantastico in the top of the first inning, but the Trojans pulled ahead in the bottom of the frame on an RBI-single by Kamryn Aoki and a two-run Emma Parker homer. 

Fuentes-Arellano responded by stranding six baserunners through the end of six innings, all of them in scoring position. She scattered eight hits and five walks with four strikeouts in a complete-game effort that saw her throw 124 pitches. 

"Enna's a dog and we've been working, watching film and just telling her where we need her pitches to be — nothing can be left on the white, we just gotta hit our corners and let the defense do their work. If we're leaving pitches on the white, they don't have to do too much work, but when it's off the plate, they got to work to get their hits," Campbell coach Katie Epenesa said. 

Campbell pushed across single runs in the third and fifth innings — the latter coming on an Alo single through the right side of the infield that plated Pantatstico — to even the score at three-all. 

The Sabers reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth. Keyra Moses-Fuller got on with a one-out double and came home two batters later on a double to fence in right-center by pinch hitter Sadie Fernando to push her team ahead, 4-3. 

However, the lead was short-lived as Aina turned on an inside pitch from Fuentes-Arellano and crushed it over the fence in right-center to lead of the next half-inning. 

"She's a great hitter and I was trying to work around her, but she just got that one," Fuentes-Arellano said. "I think just staying mentally strong like we've prepared all season is what helped me a lot and just trusting in myself and my team that we were going to come back.

The Trojans nearly walked off with the win when Parker singled on a ground ball up the middle with one out. Aoki, who had got on via walk and advanced to second on a sac bunt, rounded third on Parker's hit, but Pantastico had made the stop and fired home to catcher Mya-Nicole Mendoza, who applied the tag on Aoki in time for the second out. 

"She's about that," Epenesa said of Pantastico, a senior shortstop. "She's about those heads-up plays; her IQ for the game is really good. She knew she didn't have that runner at first, so she held the ball and fake pumped and she's all about that."

The very next batter, Aubri Nakashima, hit a fly ball to deep center field that would have easily allowed for Aoki to tag up for the winning run, but it was caught by centerfielder Shyla Gabrillo for the third out instead to send it into extra innings. 

Gabrillo began the Sabers' ninth-inning rally with a one-out single before Pantastico reached on a fielding error. Mendoza followed with a single to load the bases for Alo, whose hit found grass in right field and allowed both Gabrillo and Pantastico. 

"I was just trying to do something small. I was trying to get a grounder, I was trying to do anything so my teammate could score, even if I had to get out myself," Alo said. 

It was Alo's team-leading 25th hit on the season and her 27th and 28th runs batted in this year — also team-high marks. 

"I'm just proud of these girls, really. Yes, we went down by three (runs), but we've been working the mental part of the game and we haven't peaked yet. I'm just proud of these girls that we're finally peaking in the playoffs," Epenesa said. 

Mililani ace pitcher Hinano Bautista, the reigning All-Hawaii Player of the Year, left the game after five innings due to an apparent lower leg injury. Bautista, who also bats third for the Trojans and has driven in a team-best 24 runs this year, was hit in the area of her left ankle by a comeback in the top of the third inning. She was tended to by athletic trainers and in obviously discomfort, but remained in the game. 

Bautista led off the bottom of the fifth for the Trojans and popped up for the first out. As she ran to first, Bautista was visibly limping and struggled to get back to the dugout. When she was returning to the circle to start the Campbell sixth, Mililani coach Rose Antonio and Bautista had an on-field conversation that led to Bautista being removed from the game. 

Bautista was replaced by Taylor Adriano, who struck out seven Sabers over her four innings of relief. Adriano allowed three runs, only one of them earned, on five hits in the loss. 

Fuentes-Arellano recorded her third win of the season, which coincided with Campbell's first victory over Mililani since March 29, 2025. The previously-undefeated Trojans had won both regular-season meetings against the Sabers this spring. 

"We put in a lot of hard work and we know that they're a great team, they have a great pitching staff, (but) we just needed to play our game and have fun and just eliminate the errors," Fuentes-Arellano said. 

Campbell will be making its first appearance in the OIA title game since 2023, when it defeated Waianae by a score of 7-0. 

In addition to their defeats at the hands of Mililani, the Sabers had also dropped one-run games to Pearl City (19-18, on March 2) and Kapolei (7-6, on March 3). They finished third in the Western Division behind the Trojans and Sabers. 

"We're just a whole different team right now, I love the way these girls bounced back, the way they responded to adversity and really trusting in the process that they've been doing from then to now so it feels amazing as a coach to see these girls finally figuring it out and peaking at the right time," Epenesa said. 

Mililani (11-1), which was seeking its fifth consecutive finals' appearance, will play at East top seed Moanalua (13-2) for third place Saturday at 11 a.m.

Na Menehune were trying to reach the championship game for the second time in as many years, but fell victim to a Maya Jelf-led Kapolei team in the early semifinal Friday. 

Jelf, a junior pitcher, recorded a complete game with eight strikeouts to help the ‘Canes return to the title game for the second time in three years. Jelf, who played sparingly as sophomore at Mililani last year, scattered seven hits and walked just one batter. All four of the runs she surrendered were unearned. 

"She's been doing it all season long for us after finally getting an opportunity this year to play and she's really been taking advantage of it, whether it's on the mound or in the field. Her bat's been dynamic the whole season so far — she makes good contact and she also hits for average — so she's been doing it on both ends of the ball for us," Kapolei coach Enson Queypo said. 

Moanalua saw its nine-game win streak come to an end. It never led Friday's contest, but stayed within striking distance for much of it. 

The Hurricanes struck first in the top of the second inning. Miya Jelf, younger sister of the starting pitcher, cleared the bases with a two-out, two-strike double to the gap in right center. 

"Our two-strike approach was really good today at the plate that we practice on an everyday basis," Queypo said. He praised his freshman centerfielder, who bats ninth, for coming through in the clutch and giving her team an early lead. 

"She was relaxed, she didn't pressure herself out and she stayed short to the ball and got enough bat on the ball to score those runs, so that was very big for us in that situation, especially at the bottom part of our lineup. She's been doing that all season long where she turns over the lineup and sets the table for top of the order to keep it going," Queypo said. 

Needless to say, it was a boost of support much apprecaited by Maya Jelf. 

"I was on my feet, I was so excited. It was a very proud big-sister moment for me. I know it's hard because she's a freshman and she's never experienced this, so she's nervous and we always have talks about this, so for me, I was really proud of her and happy that she got that moment," the elder Jelf expressed. 

Moanalua pulled even in the bottom of the third on three unearned runs. Jolie Mochizuki, Kaylah Sato and Ramzy Bumagat each recorded run-scoring hits in the frame, but Maya Jelf stranded the go-ahead runner 90 feet from home by getting Ava Atagi to strike out looking for the third out. 

Jelf, however, was not about to let the unearned runs affect her disposition. 

"I try to pick up my team and help them realize that it's just one mistake and to keep their head up because we got the next one and for me, I just think about happy thoughts so I don't get stressed out and lose my focus and I just keep my trust with them," she said. 

Jelf went on to retired nine of the next 10 batters before she issued her lone walk of the afternoon to Shayne Kunimura to lead off the bottom of the seventh. 

In the interim, however, Kieryn Imai put the ‘Canes aheda for good with a solo home run left the fence in left field with one out in the top of the third. Imai later pushed across what proved to be a necessary insurance run in the top of the seventh with her RBI-single back up the middle that scored Jaydycie Queypo-Alvarado. 

"Kiki's our third batter for a reason, you're not going to hold her down for the whole game. She makes adjustments well and that's why she's in our third spot, because she is pretty much our best hitter that we can and she comes through in the clutch all time. The insurance run at the end of the game was very big for us," Queypo said. 

Kapolei took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh. Two batters after the leadoff walk to Kunimura, Mochizuki singled and an error allowed Kunimura to score to cut the ‘Canes' cushion to one run. After the run scored, however, Mochizuki was cut down for the second out of the frame while trying to stretch a single. 

Jelf then closed out the game by getting Karah Pasion to strike out on a rise ball. Just one inning prior, in the bottom of the sixth, Jelf recorded the third out of the frame after she made a diving catch on a bunt that was popped up between the pitching circle and home plate. 

"I honestly was not expecting that, but I just thought to myself that this is the time that I need to shine and I need to be there for my team and no matter what outcome, just lay it out and do my best," said Jelf, who improved her record to 4-3 on the year. 

Jelf's eight strikeouts were the most she recorded in a single game this season. 

"I just trying to work my mechanics and remember that I don't have to overpower myself and try to handle it on my own because I have a team that I can trust and I know has my back," she said. 

Mochizuki took the loss for Na Menehune. She allowed three runs on three hits over two innings of work before she was replaced by Harper Fukuda. Fukuda was charged with two runs on seven hits over five frames. 

Kapolei has won six of its last seven games after a 3-2 start to the season. 

"It really feels special because these girls, they work hard every single day and their hard work is the reason why we're here. Nothing was given to us, these girls had to earn every little thing," Queypo said. 

The Hurricanes' last OIA championship came in 2022; they reached the final in 2024, but lost to Mililani by a score of 13-2. 

Queypo has relished working with his youthful squad, which does not include a single senior. 

"I like where our program is, we're right there where we want to be to compete. Our program is getting stronger and stronger and I'm excited to see what it all comes out to going forward with this young bunch of great kids that I get to work with," Queypo said. 

Kapolei and Campbell split their two meetings during the OIA West regular season this year. The Sabers won the first matchup, 5-4 in 10 innings on March 23 before the Hurricanes claimed the rematch, 7-6, on Apr. 3. 

First pitch at McKinley Saturday is slated for approximately 7 p.m. The game will be preceded by the Division II title game between Radford (12-2) and Nanakuli (14-0) at 4 p.m.

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