KAPA`A – At its root, and only at its root, the game meant very little. Waimea wrapped up the Kaua’i Interscholastic Federation first-round title Saturday with a sweep of Kapa’a. That rendered the remainder of the opening round meaningless in
KAPA`A – At its root, and only at its root, the game meant very little.
Waimea wrapped up the Kaua’i Interscholastic Federation first-round title
Saturday with a sweep of Kapa’a. That rendered the remainder of the opening
round meaningless in the grand scope of things.
But one would have a tough
time selling the Kapa’a Warriors and Kaua’i Red Raiders on that notion.
The
teams battled through a 12-inning marathon Wednesday night before the Warriors
emerged with a 3-2 victory. The game featured stellar pitching and highly
commendable defense on each squad’s part. But in the end, it was a minor slip
that cost Kaua’i the contest.
In the bottom of the 12th, Red Raider hurler
Cecilia Quibilan – who threw every Kaua’i pitch of the evening – walked Amber
Rivera. The Kapa’a first baseman then stole second despite hesitating between
the bases. A Quibilan wild pitch allowed Rivera to third, and she scored when
Warrior Jackie Alapai punched a routine grounder to the second
baseman.
Quibilan’s error was virtually the only blemish on her stat sheet
for the night. The right-hander struck out three Warriors, got out of five
innings facing just three Kapa’a batters and two others where she faced just
four. She fielded at least 11 balls that bounced right into her
lap.
“Cecilia pitched a heck of a game,” Kapa’a coach Radford Samfong said.
“She showed unreal stamina and did a great job for them.”
Both teams showed
that kind of willpower all night. The final run of regulation came in the top
of the third on a Warrior error. The next hit did not come until the bottom of
the seventh inning, when Kapa’a got back-to-back singles from pinch hitter
Jasmine Ornellas and Rivera. In fact, the Warriors might have had a chance to
score on Rivera’s punch into centerfield, but Samfong said he had too much
respect for Brittan Amii’s arm.
“I had to give the next batter a chance,”
the coach explained.
That batter was Alapai, who grounded out to second
base.
Each team had opportunities in the extra frames.
The Raiders got
Chelsea Kaluahine to third base in the top of the ninth. But they stranded her,
as they did nine batters on the evening.
“I just look at my girls and tell
them to keep doing what they’re doing,” Kaua’i coach Penny Vess said. “We
played excellent defense and hit the ball tonight, and Cecilia pitched a great
game. But we left a lot of runners on [base]. We had our chances.”
Neither
team threatened legitimately until the Warriors won the game in the
12th.
The loss dropped Kaua’i to 0-4 (KIF) on the season.
“The seniors
are starting to feel it a little,” Vess said. “But the girls are trying and
it’s all I can ask.”
The victory boosts Kapa’a to 3-3, and ends its
first-round play.
“The second round should be really interesting,” Samfong
said. “If the girls play like they did tonight, refusing to quit, we’ll be all
right.”
Kapa’a’s Tiana Laranio picked up the win after relieving Cherrise
Labuguen in the seventh inning. Quibilan picked up the loss.
Kapa’a’s
Kassandra Wong was 1-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Tyrene Kaluahine led the
Red Raiders at the plate, going 2-for-5 and walking once.Pitching dominates the
evening as Warriors move to .500 on year
