Kapaa High School’s varsity softball team has placed third in the DataHouse Softball State Championships — Division II state tournament. The tournament’s No. 3 seeded Warrior wahine defeated Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, 4-0, Saturday afternoon at
Kapaa High School’s varsity softball team has placed third in the DataHouse Softball State Championships — Division II state tournament.
The tournament’s No. 3 seeded Warrior wahine defeated Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, 4-0, Saturday afternoon at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium in Honolulu.
“Again, considering the circumstances — where we started, where we finished — we’re extremely happy with our results,” Kapaa head coach Francis Takasaki said in a phone interview Saturday. “The girls put in a lot of hard work and dedication in the season. We’re really delighted with the end results and finishing up No. 3.”
Play ended after six innings because of a two-hour time limit.
Kapaa (13-2) got its first run in the top of the second inning. Warriors sophomore outfielder Shailee Telles-Kelekoma hit a sacrifice bunt to score freshman courtesy runner Talia Washington from third.
In the third, Warriors senior starting pitcher Kailey Rivera knocked a solo home run to left field.
“She was really putting out. Really happy because that’s her first home run in the season, and it came at a really ideal time,” Takasaki said. “We’re really happy for her.”
In the fourth, Warriors senior outfielder Tyra Alao crossed home from third base on a wild pitch.
Then in the fifth inning, junior infielder Tia Takasaki hit an RBI double to centerfield. Rivera, who got on base on a hit-by-pitch, scored the run on Takasaki’s double.
“Our hitters were out in front of the ball,” the Warriors coach said. “We had to make some adjustments, and we actually had to weigh them down with our bats — using heavier bats. It all worked out, and we had a lot of timely hits this time. We all put it together and came out with a W.”
KS-Hawaii (17-7) was retired in the bottom of the sixth inning with two groundouts and a flyout.
Kapaa got its four runs on five hits, left four runners on base and had one error. Rivera was 1-2 with the solo shot in the third inning.
Rivera was also the winning pitcher. She threw all six innings, striking out one and hit one batter.
KS-Hawaii had zero runs on three hits, left four runners on and recorded one error. Senior outfielder Elexis Emmsley was 1-2 for Big Island’s Warriors.
Sophomore starter Brooke Baptiste took the loss. She, too, threw all six innings with six strikeouts, three walks, one wild pitch and one hit batter.
In addition, the list for the Kauai Interscholastic Federation softball all stars was released Saturday.
All but two of the spots on the all star roster are filled by Kapaa players. Moreso, Warriors infielder Takasaki was named Player of the Year.
“Again, for us, everything is a ‘one team’ concept. We really don’t like to look at ourselves as individuals standing out,” the Warrior wahine coach said. “We have a lot of unsung heroes in every game that we have that may not get the recognition from the media.
“We really make sure they understand how important that they’re all (valuable to the team), even though they may not get their names put in the paper or anything like that. That’s something that’s important for us.”
Division II results from Saturday are:
w Championship: No. 2 Aiea (OIA) 4, Saint Francis (ILH) 3
w Third place: Kapaa (KIF) 4, KS-Hawaii (BIIF) 0, six innings (time limit)
w Fifth place: Radford (OIA) 7, Waipahu (OIA) 7, tie, five innings (time limit)
w Consolation: Kalani (OIA) 8, Konawaena (BIIF) 1
Information from Hawaii High School Athletic Association and ScoringLive contributed to this story.
Pitcher: Kailey Rivera, Kapaa, senior
Catcher: Sabrina Telles-Kelekoma, Kapaa, junior
Infielder: Leipua Kaui, Kapaa, junior
Infielder: Tiani Kaui, Kapaa, sophomore
Infielder: Tia Takasaki, Kapaa, junior
Infielder: Kaleha Nishikawa-Chandler, Kauai, senior
Outfielder: Shailee Telles-Kelekoma, Kapaa, sophomore
Outfielder: Tyra Alao, Kapaa, senior
Outfielder: Selena Morita, Kapaa, senior
Utility: Hilarie Marcelino, Kauai, junior
Player of the Year: Tia Takasaki, Kapaa, junior
Coach of the Year: Francis Takasaki, Kapaa
