FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Amber Waracka pitched Kamehameha to a state title in softball last night.

Kamehameha rules

With a little grit and a lot of heat, Amber Waracka willed the Kamehameha Warriors to a championship.

Waracka fired a four-hitter as Kamehameha blanked the formerly hot-hitting Mililani Trojans 3-0 last night in the final of the DataHouse/HHSAA Division I Girls Softball Championships.

A near-capacity crowd at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium saw Waracka deliver one of the finest performances in tourney history. With her nine-strikeout effort against Mililani, she hurled 24 scoreless innings with 44 strikeouts and only five walks.

Kamehameha, the No. 2 seed, won its first state title since 2002 and closed the year at 29-1 under first-year coach Randy Tamura.

"The girls did a helluva job," said Tamura, completely drenched after a Gatorade shower near the dugout.

Mililani, the top seed, missed a chance to claim its first crown since 2005, when ace Makani Duhaylonsod was a freshman. The Trojans (34-3-1), champions of the Oahu Interscholastic Association, have finished second in the tourney three years in a row.

Waracka's heart was as mighty as her lethal fastball. The senior battled sore knees during the regular season, always icing down after games. She showed no signs of discomfort during the state tourney, however.

"My hands were shaking (before the game), I was so pumped. Everything I could throw at them, I did," said Waracka, who was the winner when Kamehameha beat Mililani in a nonconference game two months ago. "I threw my fastballs, risers, curves, screwballs and changeup."

Duhaylonsod gave Kamehameha props.

"I knew it was gonna be a really tough game because Kamehameha has great pitching," Duhaylonsod said. "Unfortunately, we came up a little short."

The Warriors broke the stalemate in the top of the fourth. Jamie Millwood singled to left and advanced to second on a passed ball. Pomaikai Kalakau singled to right, where Glenelle Nitta lost control of the ball for a second, allowing Millwood to score.

Kamehameha added to its lead in the fifth with a pair of clutch two-out hits. Dara Pagaduan lined a double off the center-field fence and came home on Shaleese Javillo's first-pitch ground single up the middle. Pagaduan barely beat the throw home by center fielder Jaimee Aiwohi, and the Warriors owned a 2-0 lead.

Waracka, meanwhile, sailed along. She struck out seven in the first four innings, but slowed in the fifth. She didn't allow a runner past first, but the lower half of the lineup didn't strike out -- the first time in the game Waracka failed to strike out a Trojan.

In the sixth, Rebecca Lee led off for Mililani with an infield single and Waracka went down to one knee and fixed a broken string on her glove. Kristi Oshiro followed with a single to left, and pitching coach James Millwood paid a visit to Waracka.

"He asked me the same thing he asked me before the season: 'What is your goal?' And my goal is to bring my teammates a championship," Waracka said.

Chanelle Senas' sacrifice bunt attempt turned into a pop out to third, but after Courtney Senas walked, the bases were loaded for Mililani. Waracka bore down and struck out her counterpart, Duhaylonsod, before Nitta fouled out to deep left, ending the threat.

For good measure, the Warriors added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Pagaduan's line drive to right caromed off the heel of Nitta's glove for a two-base error, and Pagaduan came home to score when a tough chopper to second baseman Oshiro was muffed.

Kamehameha almost tacked on another run, but a double-steal try by Javillo was cut down at home plate on a perfect throw by Oshiro from second base.