Thursday, January 10, 2002

Sing Chow throws no-no
as Warriors blank Raiders

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By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.com

Leo Sing Chow gave Kamehameha a commanding lead in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu softball race by throwing a no-hitter in the Warriors' 3-0 win over Iolani yesterday in Kapalama Heights.

Sing Chow, a senior left-hander, overpowered the Raiders as she struck out seven batters and walked two.

"I didn't really realize it until after the game was over," Sing Chow said of the no-hitter. "But it's a big thing. It feels really good."

Kamehameha improved to 10-0 in the ILH, while Iolani fell to 8-2.

After Iolani's Kelly Asato reached base on a Kamehameha error to lead off the game, Sing Chow retired the next 10 hitters and didn't allow a ball to leave the infield for the rest of the game. Walks in the fourth and seventh innings were her only blemishes.

"The team played really well," Sing Chow said. "They really helped me gain my confidence to throw everything that I had. It was a good team win."

Of Iolani's 21 outs, all but one were groundouts or strikeouts. The exception was a line drive by Iolani's Ianeta Lei that was snagged by Kamehameha second baseman Samantha Sardinha in the seventh inning.

"The story of this game was Leo Sing Chow," Iolani coach Chris Shimabukuro said. "Her defense didn't even have to make spectacular plays. She totally dominated this game."

The win was Sing Chow's second of the season over Iolani. She beat the Raiders 4-2 on Dec. 12 in their first meeting of the season.

"She was much stronger today than the first time we played her," Shimabukuro said. "It looked like her ball was quicker, but also had a lot more movement. Her drop-ball looked like it was really working."

Sing Chow got all the offensive support she needed in the bottom of the first inning. Ashley Ruff was hit by a Lei offering to lead off the inning and stole second. After Lei retired the next two batters, Kate Robinson singled down the first base line to score Ruff.

"It was a big thing to get out (in front) first," Sing Chow said. "It helps our team relax and play our game. After scoring the run, all you have to do is play good defense."

Sing Chow put her infield to work by using drop-curves, fastballs and change-ups to induce 13 groundouts.

"Against a team like Iolani you have to be able to hit spots on them and keep the ball down," Kamehameha coach Ty Sing Chow said.

Lei surrendered eight hits, but kept Iolani in the game by working out of several jams. Kamehameha broke through for two insurance runs in the seventh inning when Sardinha slapped a two-out single up the middle to score Liane Horiuchi and Gina Cummings.

"(Lei) pitched a really good game," Shimabukuro said. "Kamehameha is a strong offensive team and to hold them to three runs is pretty good.

"I was very proud of the way (we) played," he said. "I thought our pitching and our defense was good. Offensively, we couldn't get much going, but that's just a credit to Leo. It's hard to be upset, Leo just beat us today."

Kamehameha is in control of the ILH race with four games left. Iolani and Punahou are battling for second place in the league and a state tournament berth.

"I like where we stand, but we still have three big games left, and if we let up against teams like that they'll take us down," Ty Sing Chow said. "So we just have to keep our girls focused."