In a duel between two of the state's top hurlers and former teammates, it was only fitting that the game be decided in mano-a-mano fashion.

Mid-Pacific starter Keiki Carlos' connected with a Winona Pauline pitch to lead off the fourth inning and deposited it over the fence in left field for what would ultimately be the game-winner in a 1-0 win for the Owls, who advanced to defend their state title in the final game of the DataHouse Division I Softball State Championships.

"Before I went up to bat, Coach told me to do it for my grandpa who passed away just two weeks ago this month. So I just kind of did it for him" said Carlos. "He used to like to watch me play and just having that mindset in my head before I went up to bat really got me into the mood I guess."

The shot to left was one of just a handful of well-hit balls in the game for Pauline, who was dominant for much of the game, allowing just three hits, with eleven strikeouts and two walks.

"Nona (Pauline) is fast and she's an awesome pitcher so all I did was rnmake contact and hit the right spot and it just went." remarked Carlos.

The one-run cushion provided by the blast to left would ultimately be enough Carlos, who looked much sharper than she did just a day ago in a nail-biting win in the quarterfinals over Wai'anae.

"Yesterday I wasn't on my 'A' game and I just took that as a learning experience. But today when I was warming up I felt really confident, I was hitting my spots, I was popping the glove...I just felt a lot more normal I guess." added Carlos.

The numbers certainly told the tale, as the Owls' senior fireballer kept up with Pauline pitch-for-pitch, rnsurrendering just four hits and a walk to go along with seven strikeouts.

And as a credit to both her return to 'normal' pitching and an extremely active Mid-Pacific defense, no Hurricanes' baserunner was able to advance beyond second base.

"They (the Owls' defense) just did awesome today, I couldn't have done it without them...(Lindsey) Matoi made some clutch outs, just the whole defense, the outfield did awesome." said Carlos.

In order to bring a second straight state title back to Manoa, the Owls will need to take on Campbell, a 6-2 winner over Kamehameha in the first semifinal of the evening.

"Definitely the seniors want to go out with a bang, and just to defend it (the state title) is a lot of pressure, so we're just glad we're here, and we know a lot of girls on Campbell so we wouldn't want to play anyone else." added Carlos.

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