Red Raiders fifth in state

The Kaua’i High School girls softball team swept their Friday matches to finish the Hawai’i High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) Softball Division II Championships in fifth place.

Wailana Borrero, whom the Raiders have been grooming throughout the season, gave up just two hits in their Thursday opener against Sacred Hearts, but the Raiders dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker in the sixth inning despite outhitting Sacred Hearts, 4-2.

Randi Oketani whacked into a double and a triple with Sam Koga nailing a single in the effort.

However, second-seeded Kalaheo Mustangs also got bumped into consolation play as KS-Hawai’i thumped the Mustangs 12-2 on Thursday to set the stage for the Friday opener.

Kaua’i, third seed in Div. II play, went strong against Kalaheo to walk away with an 11-2 win to face the Waipahu Jackrabbits for the fifth place berth.

The Raiders went on to take that contest 4-1 according to results posted on the HHSAA website and will return to Kaua’i with a 2-1 record from the state championships.

Borrero continued her duties on the mound, picking up both wins on Friday, holding the second seeded Mustangs to just 6 hits, and continuing to hold the Jackrabbits to 5 hits.

Jessica Iwata, lead off hitter for the Raiders, whacked for 3 RBI and a homerun against Kalaheo with Borrero going 4-4 as Kaua’i bats outhit the Mustangs 15-6.

Borrero finished that outing with a pair of RBI. Angela Kirchner, firstbase, was 3-4.

Iwata’s bat continued to burn against Waipahu as she finished 1-4 on a double as the Raiders outhit the Jackrabbits 6-5.

Koga finished 2-3 with a pair of singles. Kirchner, 1-3 against Waipahu, nailed an RBI triple, and Cherise Simeona, 1-2, also notched an RBI in her in-the-park homerun. Robin Jose singled.

Jacqui Inouye is the head coach for the Red Raiders.