LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i High School girls softball team earned the No. 1 seed in the DataHouse Softball State Championships – Division II that will unfold Tuesday through Friday on O‘ahu. Joining the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation champion team on O‘ahu
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i High School girls softball team earned the No. 1 seed in the DataHouse Softball State Championships – Division II that will unfold Tuesday through Friday on O‘ahu.
Joining the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation champion team on O‘ahu will be the only Kaua‘i team to earn a HHSAA title back in 1990 with coach Albert Soto at the helm.
“The Menehune have the distinction of winning the only state softball championship for the Garden Island back in 1990,” said Michael Koerte, the father of Waimea pitcher Shelly Koerte and an avid softball supporter. “Talk about a ‘David and Goliath’ story, back then, there was no Division I or Division II.”
Koerte said Waimea was able to enter the state tournament this year as the KIF runner-up team by way of the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association’s formula used to determine the number of teams that are eligible for the state tournament.
Last year, Kapa‘a High School advanced to the state finals and finished third following a 3-2 win over Lanai. In its berth, Kapa‘a also placed Jocelyn Enrique, now listed on the roster of the University of Hawai‘i softball team, on the all-tournament team.
“We almost ended up playing Kaua‘i for the championship,” said Eric Fujimoto, one of the coaches for the Kapa‘a team, speaking at the Kaua‘i Soccer Association championships, Saturday. A loss at the hands of Pac-Five put the Warriors up for the third place battle against Lanai in the semifinals of the state matchups.
Kaua‘i finished second in last year’s tournament, dropping to Pac-Five, 4-2 in the championship game, but placing Jessica Iwata, Krystal Ijima, Jaezelle Balilea and Wailana Borrero on the all-tournament team, Iwata getting the nod as the Most Outstanding Player in Division II.
Pac-Five is gone from the lineup of this year’s tournament and the top seeded Red Raiders will play the winner of the Pahoa/Kalaheo high school game on Wednesday starting at 5 p.m. at the Central O‘ahu Regional Park.
Waimea High School, entering the tournament unseeded, opens its bid for the state title Tuesday evening when it meets the Kalani Falcons starting at 7 p.m. at the CORP.
A win over the Falcons will put the Menehune up against No. 3 Kamehameha School-Big Island, Wednesday night starting at 7 p.m.
Second seed in the Division II field is Waialua and No. 4 seed goes to Molokai. Other schools in the Division II tournament include Kaiser, Konawaena, Hana and Aiea high schools.
Iolani High School, also known as the Red Raiders, draw the No. 1 seed for the Division I tournament with Roosevelt seeded second. Baldwin High School out of the Maui Interscholastic League is the third seed with Waiakea of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation getting the No. 4 seed.
“Waimea, having the lowest enrollment of the three high schools on the island, looks like it’s going to face another ‘David and Goliath’ tournament,” Koerte said. “But the team is excited and looking forward to the opportunity to bring home another championship to the island of Kaua‘i.”
The championship game for Division II will be played Friday evening starting at 5 p.m. at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium at the University of Hawai‘i.
