DIVISION I STATE SOFTBALL
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
St. Francis pitcher Britteny Akana limited Kailua to just one run over seven innings last night.
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St. Francis topples Kailua
When St. Francis won the Interscholastic League of Honolulu softball championship -- the school's first ever title at the Division I level -- the team was awarded a day off from school by the school's principal. Who knows what the Troubadours are in store for if they win two more games -- the magic number necessary for a state title.
Datahouse/HHSAA State Softball Championships
Division I
Seeds: 1. Mililani; 2. St. Francis; 3. Baldwin; 4. Waiakea
All games at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium
First round
Wednesday
Kapolei 9, Lanainalua 5
Campbell 14, Hilo 0
Kailua 4, Waipahu 3
Iolani 10, Moanalua 4
Quarterfinals
Yesterday
Iolani 12, Waiakea 3
Baldwin 5, Campbell 1
St. Francis 7, Kailua 1
Mililani 6, Kapolei 3
Semifinals
Today
St. Francis vs. Baldwin, 6 p.m.
Mililani vs. Iolani, 8 p.m.
Championship
Tomorrow
Semifinal winners, 8 p.m.
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The Troubadours kept their dream season going last night with a 7-1 victory over Kailua in the quarterfinals of the Datahouse/HHSAA Division I State Championships at the University of Hawaii's Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
"The girls got some hits early, and cashed in when they needed to," said St. Francis head coach Mark Glushenko. "(Getting ahead early) is always the hope, and it panned out this time."
Sasha Koki led off the game for St. Francis with a single and, after a sacrifice bunt from Jovan Hire pushed Koki to second, designated hitter Keala Bertufo roped a double to deep center field, scoring Koki. After Ashley Smith flied out to third, Shannon Lum knocked a single up the middle, scoring Bertufo and giving the Troubadours a 2-0 lead.
The Surfriders (12-5) answered in the bottom half of the inning when starting pitcher Krista Dumandan walked, moved to second on a Hopfe sacrifice bunt, and came home on a line shot over the shortstop by Januari Santiago to cut the deficit to 2-1. Kailua looked poised to take the lead with runners on second and third after Netia Ulugaono reached on a double, but Jarrish Mauhili-Kaneakua lined out sharply to end the threat.
St. Francis (13-3) got the run right back in the second when Kalyn Lee scored from second on a Britteny Akana hit and an error on left-fielder Mauhili-Kaneakua as the ball kicked off her glove. The Troubadours kept the hits coming as Hire knocked in Akana with a single up the box, and advanced to third when Santiago let the ball go through her legs. Bertufo continued the scoring streak with a single to the right side which brought in Hire, and increased the lead to 5-1.
"The five runs in the first two innings really made us feel not (overly) comfortable, but we were glad to be ahead," said Akana, the Troubadour pitcher. "It's nice to see a lot of our school coming out and supporting us."
Akana went the distance for the victory, allowing the lone run and seven hits.
When asked about his senior hurler's performance, Glushenko said: "Brittany is doing really well; she's coming into her own and peaking at the right time. I think she's one of the better pitchers in the state, and we're lucky to have her."
Kailua looked to chip away in the fifth when Brittany Tokunaga hit a double off the wall in left with one out, but the left fielder, Hire, gunned out courtesy runner Shantel Johnson at home, and Tokunaga was nailed at third to end the inning when she tried to take the extra base.
Five errors also hurt the Surfriders, when in many cases, the miscues allowed base runners to either score or advance into scoring position.
"They hit well, but we helped 'em out with a lot of errors," said Kailua skipper Bernard Victor. "I guess they were prepared for us. We were prepared for them, but it didn't work out. I didn't expect them to come out hitting (early) like they did, and it was hard to catch up with a good team like that when we were giving them runs." St. Francis added two insurance runs in the seventh to pull ahead with the final 7-1 advantage.
The win vaults the Troubadours into a semifinal showdown tonight at 6 p.m. with Maui Interscholastic League champion Baldwin (15-0).
"It's a game between two teams, and the game doesn't know who's better, who's worse or who worked harder," an optimistic Glushenko said. "We've just gotta get out there and play. It should be an interesting game."
Baldwin 5, Campbell 1
Pitcher Nicole Alconcel limited the Sabers (14-3) to just one run on two hits, and struck out 10 in the complete-game victory for the undefeated Bears.
Iolani 12, Waiakea 3
Lauren Oyadomari went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs and Tara-lyn Odo drove in two runs to help the Raiders (13-4) cruise past the Warriors (11-2).
Nicole Reister doubled and collected 2 RBIs to lead Waiakea at the plate.
Iolani moves on to the other semifinal matchup tonight against (winner of Mililani/Kapolei).
Mililani 6, Kapolei 3
Kristi Oshiro's sacrifice fly to center field in the eighth inning brought home Tierra-Lyn Cuba and Jaimee Aiwohi, who scored on an errant throw, to put the Trojans ahead 5-3. Top-seeded Mililani added an insurance run to hold on for the victory and move on to the final four.
The Trojans play Iolani in tonight's semifinal.