LIHU‘E — The 2010 Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation softball season opened up with a doubleheader, Saturday, and the Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders picked up right where they left off in 2009, coming away with a 10-2 victory over the Kapa‘a
LIHU‘E — The 2010 Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation softball season opened up with a doubleheader, Saturday, and the Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders picked up right where they left off in 2009, coming away with a 10-2 victory over the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors in the first game at Isenberg Park.
Kaua‘i pitcher Naja Pungan gave up two first-inning runs to Kapa‘a, before settling down and going the rest of the way unscathed.
Raiders catcher Carly Matsumoto did a strong job behind the plate and was in the middle of Kaua‘i’s biggest offensive inning, legging out an RBI triple in the fifth to ignite a rally that gave Kaua‘i some breathing room.
Trailing 2-0, the Raiders took the lead in the bottom of the second, bringing home three runs on two hits.
Neither team got much offense going through the top of the fourth, until Kaua‘i added a run in the bottom half on three hits to take a 4-2 lead.
The fifth inning swung the momentum squarely in the Raiders’ favor. Pungan got the first two batters to strike out swinging, before Kapa‘a put together a two-out rally with two hits and a walk to load the bases.
LeeAnna Baltazar struck a soft liner to the right side, but a sliding grab by the second baseman put an end to the threat and sent the Warriors back to the dugout empty-handed.
Kaua‘i retaliated by starting the inning with four consecutive hits, as Kawai Klattenhoff was knocked in on Matsumoto’s triple. Matsumoto scampered home on a wild pitch to take a 6-2 lead.
Two more hits and two productive outs gave the Raiders an 8-2 lead heading to the sixth frame.
Pungan set the Warriors down in order in the top half, including one strikeout, before three straight hits to open the bottom of the sixth created the final 10-2 margin.
In the second game of the night, Kaua‘i was unrelenting in a 15-5 win.
Stats for the second game were unavailable as of press time.
The Raiders (2-0) are back on the diamond Wednesday, when they will face the Waimea Lady Menehune at 5:30 p.m. at Waimea Canyon Park. It will be Waimea’s first game of the season.
Kapa‘a (0-2) will see action Saturday, with the weekend doubleheader against Waimea beginning at the normal start time of 10 a.m. at Kapa‘a Ball Park.
Saturday’s doubleheader began at 2:30 p.m. to accommodate SAT testing, which took place in the morning.