Waimea, Kapa‘a play for D2 softball crown
MAUI — Two Kaua‘i teams, second-seeded Kapa‘a High School, and unseeded Waimea High School will face each other for the Datahouse Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Division II state softball title at the Patsy Mink field on Maui, Saturday starting at 7 p.m.
The No. 2 seeded Kapa‘a Warriors edged Waipahu, 16-13, Friday afternoon in the semifinals of the state tournament to set the stage for the title game.
As of near-midnight, Waimea High School, unseeded in the tournament, was holding an 8-7 lead over PAC-5 in the seventh inning. No other details were available.
Kapa‘a, taking an 11-1 win over Aiea in six innings, during the quarterfinals, Thursday, came back to edge the Marauders by three runs in the semifinals, Friday.
Trailing 10-8 following five innings of play, Kapa‘a churned up eight runs on seven hits in the sixth and seventh innings to overtake the Marauders, 16-13.
Lady Warriors Seijia Makanani and Savannah Simons led the Kapa‘a batting with each batter getting homeruns.
Makanani, batting in the No. 2 spot, finished by scoring four times, nailing four hits, including a 2-run homer in the sixth, and a triple in the seventh, with four runners driven in.
Simons, nailing her solo homerun in the fourth, scored twice on three hits with four RBI. Kailee Gorospe added to the firepower with three RBI on one hit and scored once.
Waimea, having to win a play-in game to participate in the D2 state tournament, opened strong by shutting down Nanakuli High School, 11-0 to face the top-seeded Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy during the tournament quarterfinals.
The Menehune outscored HPA, 4-1 in the first inning, and never looked back, upsetting the top seed, 11-1 in five innings to face PAC-5 in the semifinals.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.