WAIMEA — Kapa‘a High pitcher Seijia Makanani hit two home runs Friday during the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation softball games that were contested at the Waimea Athletic Field.
But the effort came up just a bit short as the Lady Warriors dropped the opener of the double-header, 4-3 against Waimea. Makanani whacked another home run in the nightcap that helped fuel Kapa‘a to a 12-2 win.
Home runs played key roles in the contests, where Waimea shortstop Sianni Sakai’s two-run homer in the fifth inning put Waimea over the top in the opening game.
Trailing 4-0 in the seventh, Makanani unleashed her two-run long ball that ended with Kapa‘a getting three runs on three hits in the effort that came up a single score short.
Warrior catcher Savanna Simons followed Makanani in the box, and singled with two away. Menehune errors adanced her to third, and Simons scored when Kai-Lee Kupihea got aboard on another Waimea miscue. The threat ended when Kupihea was nailed on a steal attempt of second base.
Waimea pitcher Taelor Camelo picked up the win on the mound, giving up three runs, two being earned, on seven hits, including the Makanani home run, while walking one and striking out three Warriors.
Makanani helped herself on the mound in the loss, allowing just one earned run on five hits, including the Sakai homer, while striking out four Menehune batters and walking one.
Settling down, Makanani took the mound in the nightcap to allow just three Menehune hits for two runs while walking three Menehune and striking out six Waimea batters.
She jumped into the batter’s box for a solo home run with one away to give Kapa‘a an early 3-0 bulge on four Warrior hits. Simons followed with a three-bagger. So did Kupihea, who scored Simons on her RBI triple. Tira Ann Kaui singled to score Kupihea, and the threat ended with a Waimea double play.
With two away in the second inning, Warrior Rhea Furtado got aboard on a fielder’s choice, Kaia Davis-Caberto was hit by a pitch, and Makanani drove both runners home on a 2-RBI single. Simons followed with a two-run homer to drive the Warriors to a 7-2 lead following two innings of play.
Waimea’s Sakai, who finished the opener with two hits, was hit by a pitch, and eventually scored Waimea’s first run in the nightcap. She had no other hits after being intentionally walked for the remainder of the contest.
With one away, Ryleah Torres got aboard on a fielder’s choice and scored on a Hunter Akita RBI single with two away.
Kapa‘a went on to score two runs in the fifth, and put away the contest with a three-run sixth inning on the 10-run ruling.
Top bats for Kapa‘a included Makanani with a home run and a single with three runs crossing. Simons also homered and singled with two runs crossing. Kaui finished with a double and three runs batted in.
Camelo was strapped with the loss on the hill, giving up 13 hits for 12 runs while walking three and striking out four Kapa‘a hitters.
Waimea, currently 8-3-1 in Scoring Live stats, next makes the trip to Isenberg Park in Lihu‘e Wednesday for a single contest against Kaua‘i High, with the first pitch going at 6 p.m.
Kapa‘a, currently 7-3-1 in Scoring Live stats, next hosts Kaua‘i High Saturday at the Kapa‘a High School diamond for a double-header. The first pitch is at 10 a.m.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
