JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Mililani's Chasity Senas dove for second while avoiding the tag from Kailua's Sydney Kaneshiro.

Defending champ Mililani out of OIAs

Alisha Vegas provided all the offense Kailua needed yesterday as the Surfriders upset defending state champion Mililani to advance to the final of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I softball playoffs.

Vegas hit a two-out, bases-loaded triple in the top of the first inning and helped score another run in the fourth as Kailua defeated the Trojans 4-2 at Kailua.

Kailua (12-2) advances to tomorrow's championship game. The Surfriders play the winner of today's 3:30 p.m. semifinal between Leilehua and the winner of today's Moanalua-Pearl City contest at noon.

"I knew that it was 3-and-1 and she was going to come down the chute," Vegas said. "I knew I had to hit this ball and get the hit and get the runners in. I knew I had to do something."

Vegas struck again in the top of the fourth with a single. Mikala Scott was then brought in to run for Vegas and later scored on Ashley Hopfe's hit, giving Kailua all it needed to hold off Mililani, the top seed from the OIA West.

"This was a big win for us. Nobody expected us to be here after we lost Courtney (Kessell)," Kailua coach Bernard Victor said of the four-year pitching ace who graduated. "That was a big loss. And those two (current) pitchers (Hopfe and Krista Dumandan) hardly pitched last year .

"They're not super pitchers, but they're doing their job. They're playing excellent and we're having our hits here and there and we're in the championship game."

Chasity Senas' two-run double in the bottom of the fourth helped Mililani cut into the deficit, but the Surfriders' defense and the wind helped them pull through.

In the final two innings, the Trojans hit balls deep into the outfield, only to have them held back by strong winds. With one out, Skye Virtudes hit one deep into left field in the sixth before it was caught. Senas then tripled to right field, but Kailua ended the inning when second baseman Vegas went to her knees to snag a hard-hit grounder by Celina Garces and threw to first for the third out.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Jaimee Aiwohi nearly had a hit, but Kailua shortstop Sydney Kaneshiro jumped up for the catch. After Casey Sugihara singled to center, Kimberley Goo's drive was caught by Daneen Williams in deep center to end the game.

If it wasn't for the wind blowing against them, Mililani coach Rose Antonio felt some of her team's long shots would have left the field.

"That was a base hit," Antonio said of Aiwohi's rip that was caught by Kaneshiro. "It was one of those days where the ball bounced their way."

"Out of the whole game, that was the key play right there," Victor said of Kaneshiro's catch.

The game was scheduled to be played at Central Oahu Regional Park at 5:30 p.m. yesterday, but was moved up 2 hours and to Kailua due to unplayable field conditions. The team got word of the change in the morning and Antonio felt the lack of preparation time might have hurt her team.

"We had to come out here and this is their home field," Antonio said. "We're the higher seed, but this was the only field that was available."

Mililani also had its quarterfinal game moved to the scheduled visiting team's site on Wednesday due to the weather and ended up beating Campbell 6-0.