Kauai High School’s varsity softball team defeated Molokai of the Maui Interscholastic League in the consolation final of the DataHouse Softball State Championships – Division II tournament. The Red Raider girls beat Farmers, 14-4, in five innings Saturday at Patsy
Kauai High School’s varsity softball team defeated Molokai of the Maui Interscholastic League in the consolation final of the DataHouse Softball State Championships – Division II tournament.
The Red Raider girls beat Farmers, 14-4, in five innings Saturday at Patsy Mink Softball Stadium on Maui to place seventh at the state tournament.
“We won the consolation bracket. The girls worked really hard, had fun and pulled through. That’s what mattered,” Kauai High head coach Elena Kealoha said in a phone interview Saturday.
Kauai High scored 11 runs in the opening inning — seven of which were scored off drawing a hit by pitch or a walk with the bases loaded.
“They were having a little bit of a hard time with the pitching in the first inning — put a lot of runners on base and sent a few home,” Kealoha said. “But our hitting came through as well.”
Ahead 7-0, Red Raiders starting pitcher Kailee Nii knocked a 3 RBI double to center field. Sophomore second baseman Tia Takasaki, senior center fielder Caley Caires and freshman left fielder Taira Abreu scored on Nii’s double.
In the following at bat, senior catcher Tammie Yoshimori hit an RBI double to to left field. Junior courtesy runner Katelyn Kuhlmann crossed home plate from second to score the team’s 11th run of the inning.
Kauai then scored three more in the fourth inning. Senior right fielder Shanie Querto hit a 2 RBI double to left field — Yoshmori and junior third baseman Kahela Nishikawa-Chandler scored on the hit.
Abreu then hit an RBI single to plate sophomore designated player Kyra Hirokane from third.
Molokai scored two runs in each the second and fifth innings. Farmers senior second baseman Khaylie Adachi-Kawamae hit and RBI single to the shortstop in the second inning — sophomore third baseman Sydney Rawlins scored from third.
Molokai senior catcher Tai Yamamoto hit an RBI single to center field — senior shortstop Kapua Lee was plated from third off Yamamoto’s hit.
Kauai High totaled 14 runs off eight hits, left two runners on base and had one error. Yoshimori was 3-3 in the batters box with two RBIs and a run.
Nii was the winning pitcher, striking out five batters and walking three in five innings.
Molokai had four runs off five hits, left three runners on base and recorded three errors. Rawlins was 2-2 and scored two runs for the Farmers.
Kauai High ended its season with a 9-3 overall record — going 7-2 in the Kauai Interscholastic Federation regular season and 2-1 at the Division II state tournament.
Kealoha said she’ll miss her senior class, but also expects the team to do well again next season with the underclassmen who will be returning.
“(There were) lots of tears. We have a whole bunch of seniors moving on,” Kealoha said of the season concluding. “They’re moving on to bigger and better things. Most of them will be playing ball in college. They’ll have more experience. Just reminded them of how proud we are of them, how much they’ve accomplished throughout the year and how much they mean to us.”
Statistics from Hawaii High School Athletic Association.
