By Wes Nakama
In a surprising shift in the OIA softball balance of power, three of the four league semifinal teams are from the Eastern Division.
Kaiser, Kalani and Moanalua will join defending champion Mililani in Thursday’s doubleheader at McKinley. East runner-up Kalani (9-2) will face West No.1 Mililani (10-1) at 5 p.m., followed by East champ Kaiser (10-1) vs. East No. 3 Moanalua (9-3) at 7. Both games will be televised live statewide on Spectrum OC16.
Kalani advanced with an impressive 11-3 quarterfinal victory over West No. 3 Kapolei (5-6) at Kilauea District park on Wednesday afternoon. The Falcons took a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, and after the Hurricanes cut the deficit in half in the top of the second, Kalani extended it to 7-2 in the bottom of the second and held Kapolei to just one run the rest of the way.
The Hurricanes had beaten the Falcons in the previous two OIA quarterfinals.
“We’ve always seen this year as this is when we’re all grown up and can push to our potential,” said Kalani junior centerfielder/pitcher Naomi Stremick, who went 2-for-4 with a double and RBI triple and also pitched three innings of shutout relief. “Early on in the season, it was a little difficult with the losses against Kaiser and we lost players due to injury, so this group has experienced a lot of bumps in the road. But we all just want to extend the season and stay together.”
The Falcons certainly established themselves as the aggressor early on Wednesday, sending 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first inning and scoring on Layna Faria’s run-scoring single to right field, Haley Ching’s sacrifice fly to left, Kira Yamaguchi’s RBI single to center and an infield error for a quick 4-0 lead.
Kapolei answered in the top of the second with a run-scoring single from Kaylisa Nakoa and Hayden Imai’s RBI double to cut it to 4-2. But Kalani stayed hot in the bottom of the second, sending nine batters to the plate and stretching the lead to 7-2 after Stremick’s run-scoring triple, another sac fly to left by Ching and Tien Saiki’s RBI single to right.
“We knew this game wasn’t going to be easy, and they proved it today — they outplayed us in every aspect of the game, so you gotta tip your hat to them,” said Hurricanes coach Enson Queypo. “I think they came a lot more ready to play than we did, they really impressed me. But it wasn’t like a surprise, I knew this team is good. And so is Kaiser and Moanalua. They’re all getting better, and it’s making the whole league that much more competitive.”
Kapolei got a run back in the third after a leadoff single, wild pitch and infield error, but the Falcons scored three more times in the bottom half after Shya Morinaga was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Kyla Castro blooped a two-run single to short left field to make it 10-3.
The first seven batters in the Kalani lineup all got at least one hit and at least one RBI, and the top six each scored at least one run.
“Our goal is to win every inning, it helps to break it down and not have to worry about the big picture, we cut it into pieces,” said Falcons coach Iris Stremick. “I think it helps, mentally. We did that against Moanalua (in an 18-10 victory last Saturday). It’s a good pattern, a good feel for us.”
Faria finished 3-for-3 with the RBI double, Castro went 2-for-2 with the two-run single, Morinaga went 2-for-4 and Yamaguchi went 2-for-5 with the RBI single.
Imai went 3-for-4 with the run-scoring double, and River Hawn finished 2-for-3 for the Hurricanes, who will play host to Wai’anae in Thursday’s fifth-place bracket game at 3 p.m. A victory is necessary to keep their state tournament hopes alive.
“If we are focused, and we take care of what we are supposed to on the field, we should be fine,” Queypo said. “But that’s been the issue with us this season, so I’m just gonna have to see how we respond.”
