The individual battle between Kailua pinch hitter Erin Guerrero and Mililani pitching ace Miki Asamura in the top of the seventh inning nearly upstaged the war being waged by both players' respective teams yesterday afternoon in the Oahu Interscholastic Association championship game. Kailua beats
Mililani,
wins OIABy Jack Danilewicz
Special to the Star-Bulletin
Instead, it underlined the slim margin for error that prevailed between two evenly matched softball teams as the Surfriders turned away Mililani's bid for a fifth consecutive OIA title with a 2-0 victory in front of a spirited crowd in Kailua.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mililani shortstop Charity Senas made this catch for an out against Kailua yesterday.
Guerrero fouled off eleven pitches and faced 18 offerings from Asamura in all before finally drawing a walk. Her grit paid dividends as she crossed home plate moments later with the winning run on a base hit by Asamura's counterpart, Courtney Kessell, who was also the game's winning pitcher.
"You have to give her (Guerrero) credit," said Mililani coach Michael Okimoto, whose team lost to an OIA opponent for the first time in 63 outings, a string dating back to 1998. "She came in and did the job. She battled and got on base, and that was a key."
Added Kailua coach Bernard Victor: "I don't know how many (pitches) it was, but I know she was up there for a long time."
The win gave Kailua (13-0) its first OIA title since 1996 and its fifth overall under Victor. The Surfriders also earned a first-round bye in next week's state softball tournament.
"We did what we had to at the right times," Victor said. "The hits came at the right time. Everything just fell into place. I made the right choices for a change."
One was to insert Guerrero to begin the seventh.
"I was really nervous up there," she said of her at-bat. "I didn't want to let the team down."
After Guerrero moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kainoa Hughes, it appeared for a moment that the Surfriders might strand her when Asamura struck out Alisha Vegas for the second out of the inning.
But Kessell, who gave up four hits with five strikeouts and no walks en route to earning the win, took matters into her own hands.
"When I went up to bat, I told myself, 'Right now is the time to do it,' " said Kessell, who had struck out in her previous at-bat in the fifth. "I was thinking that the first pitch was going to be a strike, and I went for it. It was a good idea because I finally got a hit."
Kessell, who had moved to second on a late attempt to catch Guerrero at the plate, advanced to third on a Mililani error and added an insurance run for the Surfriders when she scored on a base hit to left field by Loke Lastimosa moments later.
Asamura got out of the inning when Danielle Young was caught between second and third at the end of a sequence that had begun with a single by Tanisha Milca.
Asamura gave up only five hits and struck out five with three walks.
Kessell, meanwhile, conceded a base hit to Samantha Calaustro with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but kept the Trojans off of the board to preserve the victory.
Mililani stranded four runners in the game, although none advanced past second base.
"I stayed more focused as the game went on," said Kessell. "Today my riser worked best. They were swinging at it, and I was happy about that. My drop (ball) was not working really good, but it was working good enough."
"She was very up for the game," said Victor of Kessell. "The majority of her pitches -- especially the rise ball -- were good today."
Mililani, which dropped to 12-1, will now regroup for an appearance in next week's state tournament.
"It's hard for them to have it come down to the seventh inning and lose," Okimoto said. "When you come close, there's always the 'What if?' Hopefully they'll bounce back."
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