[ HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL ]
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Punahou catcher Kaha Weir tagged Iolani runner Katie Lau out at the plate, but the Buffanblu still lost 1-0 to the Raiders and allowed Iolani to close the gap between them to two points.
Raiders keep hopes alive
For four games and six innings, Punahou pitcher Sarah Weiskopf had not given up a run against Iolani in her career. Leave it to a pinch hitter to change all of that.
Ashley Reinig led off the bottom of the seventh with a triple to center, and eventually scored on a wild pitch for the only run of the game as Iolani kept its slim hopes at a state tournament berth alive with a 1-0 victory over Punahou yesterday.
"That was for the seniors," Reinig said of the last home game for the Iolani seniors.
The win improved Iolani's record to 9-3-1, just two points behind Punahou at 10-3. The Raiders play at Sacred Hearts today while Punahou takes on Hawaii Baptist. Punahou can clinch the ILH's second state tournament berth with a win or an Iolani loss. Kamehameha, which has already clinched the ILH title, gets the other berth.
For at least another day however, the Raiders kept their playoff hopes alive behind clutch hitting and quality pitching.
Starter Sheryl Fukuda went the distance, spacing nine hits through seven innings, but getting the critical outs when needed.
After a fielding error that loaded the bases, Fukuda was able to get Kaha Weir to ground out to end the fourth. The Buffanblu came right back to load the bases again in the fifth inning, this time with one out, but Cristen Aona popped out on an attempted bunt to the catcher, who fired down to third to double off the runner, and keep the game scoreless.
"Iolani was able to execute at the right times when we couldn't, and that was the difference," Punahou interim coach Ray Minami said.
For the first six innings, it seemed like Weiskopf was going to befuddle Iolani's batters for the fifth straight time. The Raiders managed only four hits through six innings, but base-running blunders limited any scoring chances.
With one out in the bottom of the third, Kaz Masutani was thrown out at home plate after trying to score from second on a base hit to right. Then in the fifth, pinch runner Katie Lau tried to score from second after an error by the second baseman, but was thrown out at the plate.
"With Sarah out there on the mound, we knew our chances were going to be limited, so I made sure we stayed aggressive," Iolani coach Chris Shimabukuro said.
That aggressiveness paid off as Reinig's hit in the seventh nearly went for naught as she was almost thrown out trying to stretch her double into a triple. However, the umpire called her safe on the play, which allowed her to score on a wild pitch two batters later.
"I'd been in that situation before, but I just wanted to blast it," Reinig said about the hit.
"(Punahou's) pitching and defense is top notch," Shimabukuro said. "But I'm proud of the way our girls came back."
Iolani 1, Punahou 0
W--Sheryl Fukuda. L--Sarah Weisskopf.
Leading hitters--Pun: Nicky Hamayasu, 2-3; Erica Miyabara, 2-3. Iol: Kaz Masutani, 2-3, 2b; Tara Yanagihashi, 2-3; Ashley Reinig, 3b, run.
Kamehameha 8, Maryknoll 0
Three Kamehameha pitchers combined on a seven-inning no-hitter. Starter Brandi Peiler went the first three innings and finished with five Ks, while Kate Robinson added another three innings and five Ks, and Noe Esperas pitched the final inning and struck out two. Maryknoll almost had a hit in the first inning, but with a runner on first Heather Uekawa's ground ball to right ended in a fielder's choice as the runner was forced at second base.At Kamehameha H.S. Field
Yesterday's make-up of Saturday's game
Maryknoll 000 000 0 -- 0 0 4 Kamehameha 130 211 x -- 8 10 0 Jade Kurihara and Brooks Perriton; Brandi Peiler, Kate Robinson (4), Noe Esperas (7) and Kaulana Gould, Nicole Kalakau (7).
W--Peiler. L--Kurihara.
Leading hitters--Kam: K. Gould, 3-4, solo HR, 2 RBIs; Emi Snow, 2-2; Liane Horiuchi, 2-run HR; Lena Nahale, solo HR; Laua'e Chang, 2b.
