[ HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL ]
Scoring early never hurts, especially when you've got a feared pitcher on the mound. Robinson’s gem
lifts Warriors
By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comWith three first-inning runs and Kate Robinson's masterful pitching performance, Kamehameha stopped Iolani 4-0 in the second-round Interscholastic League of Honolulu softball opener for both teams.
Robinson breezed through the first four hitless inning and finished with a complete-game two-hitter.
"She pitched good and she's gonna get better," Kamehameha coach Ty Sing Chow said of Robinson. "She bailed us out with some key strikeouts."
Robinson fanned four batters, but the most important one came with the bases loaded and the Warriors leading 3-0. She got the Raiders' fifth-place hitter, Monique Obra, to go lunging for an outside pitch for the second out before getting pinch hitter Kelly Asato on an inning-ending grounder.
"I was thinking that if I didn't get that out (against Obra), Iolani was going to make it closer," Robinson said. "I was just trying to avoid letting her get a big hit."
Kamehameha improved to 8-1, while Iolani dropped to 7-2.
Robinson also came through in the clutch at the plate, driving home Liane Horiuchi with a first-inning single up the middle. The ball got past the Iolani outfielders, allowing Brandi Peiler and Robinson to race home on the error for the 3-0 lead.
"The last time we played them (a 3-1 loss to the Raiders), they scored three runs in the first inning," Sing Chow said. "We were fortunate to get the breaks and it was really good to get three runs in the first inning this time."
Nicole Kalakau added Kamehameha's final run with a sixth-inning home run, a line shot through the right side of the infield that bounded all the way to the fence.
Jocelyn Tamayo wrecked Robinson's no-hit bid with a sharp line-drive single to left in the fifth.
"No, I wasn't disappointed because it's part of the game," Robinson said about losing the no-hitter.
Tara Yanagihasi reached on an error to start Iolani's biggest threat in the sixth. Amy Fujimoto followed with a bloop infield hit and Blair Agena reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases before Robinson doused the would-be rally.
"Kamehameha took control with three runs off the bat and then relied on Kate Robinson and the defense," Raiders coach Chris Shimabukuro said. "She kept our hitters off balance, except for the sixth. We needed a clutch hit for one or two runs or to get some kind of rally going."
Despite beating Kamehameha in the first round, Shimabukuro sees the defending state champion Warriors as the team to beat in the ILH.
"We've got some tough games coming up, and we'll try our best to keep on winning," he said.
Sheryl Fukuda, Iolani's starting pitcher, and Obra combined to give up seven hits. Only one of the four runs was earned.
Robinson thinks Kamehameha is on the right track after what she called "a rough start" to the season.
"We're starting to pull it together," she said. "We're all playing with the same team goal in mind, and that's to win the states again."
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