Kamehameha holds off Maryknoll, 8-6; teams now tied for first
By Wes Nakama
In yet another tense slugfest that went down to the wire, Kamehameha held off visiting Maryknoll, 8-6, on Monday afternoon in exciting ILH softball action on the Warriors' scenic field at Kapalama Heights.
The victory created a first place tie between the two powerhouse teams, who are both 11-1 in league play. They will meet again at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Sand Island in a "rubber match" game that is expected to determine the regular season title and first automatic state tournament berth.
"The stakes can't be higher, and that's why you play the game," Kamehameha coach Mark Lyman said. "That's what it's all about, to be able to play meaningful games, games when it matters and when it counts. We're just glad we were able to put ourselves in a position where we can play those games."
As usual, it wasn't easy on Monday.
The Spartans jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning after leadoff batter Reyni Hiraoka reached on an infield error, advanced to third on Palehua Silva's double to left-center and scored on Kailee Gattu's sacrifice fly to right field. Maryknoll then made it 2-0 on Kyla Abad's run-scoring double to left-center.
But the Warriors responded right away in the bottom of the first, with Loganne Cambra's two-run homer over the left-field fence and then Anela Pau's solo blast, also over the left field barrier to put Kamehameha ahead, 3-2.
The Spartans came back in the third after Sheyzhelle Iokia singled to center, advanced to second on a bunt single and then scored on an infield throwing error to tie it at 3-3. Maryknoll then took the lead back at 4-3 ater Puka Sapolu's RBI single to right field.
That lead did not last long, as Cambra led off the bottom of the third with a walk, Addison Wong followed with a single to center and Pau reached on a perfectly placed bunt single to load the bases. After an infield pop-up, Aariah Goo came to the plate with one out. After drawing a 2-2 count, Goo launched a blast that sailed over the fence in right center for a grand slam that suddenly put the Warriors ahead, 7-4.
"I took a deep breath, and it was see-ball, hit-ball," said Goo, a sophomore who batted seventh in the lineup. "It was an outside (fastball), which is my pitch. I envisioned my swing, and made it happen."
Spartans coach John Uekawa said while the grand slam certainly was impactful in the scorebook, he felt it didn't necessarily seal the victory.
"It's not so much the grand slam, it's what our team does after they hit the grand slam," Uekawa said. "That's what we're trying to teach ... 'Don't put your head down.' "
The Warriors extended the lead to 8-4 in the fifth, after Wong reached on a bloop single to right, went to third on Pau's single to center and scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Jaylee-Rose Penitani.
Maryknoll then closed it to 8-6 in the sixth after Iokia's run-scoring single to center and Taylor Takishita's RBI groundout.
But in the top of the seventh, Peahi Grilho moved from left field to pitcher in relief of Rylie Teramoto and retired the side in order, the last two on strikeouts.
"They (the Spartans) were chipping away, and it's always like that," Lyman said. "You cannot rest against Maryknoll, you cannot hit a grand slam and think, like, 'We just won this game.' You look back, and then they'll score two ... You can never take them lightly, ever, not until the last final out. Because if that (leadoff) girl gets on, and the top of the lineup comes up, it can be a whole different game.
"That's just how it is when we play Maryknoll, so we gotta push hard. We were talking to (Grilho) beforehand, we said, 'We're probably gonna need you coming into the seventh.' So she knew what she had to do, and she went in and executed. So hat's off to her."