LIHU‘E — The Waimea Lady Menehune appear worthy of their standing as the No. 2 seed in the Datahouse/HHSAA Softball Division II Championships after Wednesday night’s 6-0 win over Kalaheo to reach today’s semifinal round.
The Kaua‘i Red Raiders were not as fortunate, falling to the tournament’s No. 1 seed Kalani, by a 6-0 score, ending their bid at back-to-back state titles.
Waimea pitcher Michelle Koerte got the win for Waimea, shutting out the Kalaheo offensive attack and finishing with seven strikeouts. She gave up six hits on the night, just hours after being named the KIF All-Star at the pitcher position.
Catcher Taylor Ephan, having also been named the KIF Player of the Year, Wednesday, continued to showcase her skills by going 3 for 4 at the plate with a double and two runs scored.
Mariebeth Watanabe and Gaylan “Ulu” Matagiese, both All-Stars as well, each went 2 for 4 as Waimea banged out 10 hits as a team.
The Lady Menehune took a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. That score would go unchanged for the next 4 1/2 frames, until Waimea came back up to bat in the top half of the sixth inning and added three big runs to gain some separation.
The Lady Menehune plated one more in the top of the sixth to create the final 6-0 tally.
Pitcher Sarah Fitzherbert took the loss for Kalaheo, who got a 3 for 3 day at the plate from Theresa Capllonch.
Waimea advances to take on Waialua, which pulled an upset Wednesday with an 8-1 win over No. 3 Hana. The Waimea-Waialua game is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the University of Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
If Waimea is able to advance today, it will play in Friday’s championship game, scheduled for 5 p.m. at the UH RWSS.
Kaua‘i was unable to get its offense going against top-seeded Kalani, mustering just five hits in the contest.
Kalani pitcher Rayme Awaya got the victory, ending the night with seven strikeouts.
Kaua‘i pitcher Naja Pungan suffered the loss, though she gave up just six Kalani hits. Kalani’s Kristi Belshe had the big hit with a home run, as she drove in two runs and scored twice.
The Raiders will head into the fifth-place bracket and take on Konawaena at 5 p.m. at the Central O‘ahu Regional Park. Konawaena entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed but fell to Pac-Five, 6-3, Wednesday.
In Div. I action, top-seeded Mililani was a 12-5 winner over Waianae.
Castle was a 2-1 winner over No. 3 seed Waiakea and Punahou topped No. 4 seed Baldwin, 6-0.
No. 2 Mid-Pacific and Campbell played the fourth quarterfinal game, but results were unavailable as of press time.
