KAPA‘A — The Kapa‘a softball team earned the Central Pacific Bank Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation softball championships on Saturday by sweeping the Kaua‘i Red Raiders 12-2 and 15-2 in 10-run ruling shortened contests at Kapa‘a High School.
Game spectators claimed the pivotal game leading to the softball crown was the first contest that was plagued by a rain delay that pushed the contest into a grueling daylong affair at the event that also coincided with the Lady Warriors’ Senior Day, where four graduating students played their final home contest.
Those seniors, according to a roster posted on ScoringLive.com, were Makena “Wiggy” Kupihea, Rhea Furtado, Kailee Gorospe and Hailey Gibson.
With one final game remaining against Waimea on May 1, the ScoringLive stat section shows Gibson holds the team’s most runs batted in at 34 and home runs with four.
During the initial 12-2 victory, Kapa‘a pushed the game-ending run in the sixth frame in the victory that came on nine hits led by Rhea Furtado conking three hits, including a triple with two RBIs and scoring twice. Ashlynn Souza added a pair of hits, scored once and marked an RBI.
Sienna Yamashita picked up the win on the mound, going the full six innings while giving up two runs on just one hit allowed. She struck out seven Kaua‘i batters and walked none.
The Red Raiders answered a 1-0 Kapa‘a lead in the second inning when they plated a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead before the rains forced a delay until the afternoon when Kapa‘a put away the contest with nine runs in the third inning.
With the CPB KIF title in hand, the Lady Warriors went on to clinch the nightcap 15-2 on 10 hits while allowing the Raiders just three hits.
Kapa‘a pushed four runs in the first inning, added six runs in the third, and closed the affair with five runs in the fourth frame after allowing the Red Raiders two runs in the top of the fifth frame.
Kapa‘a’s hit leader was senior Kailee Gorospe, who conked her season-first home run while scoring once and driving in two RBIs on her sole hit of the outing. Furtado marked two hits, scored three times and had two RBIs.
Karlee-Rose Keale picked up the win on the mound, going five full innings with two Earned Runs on three hits. She struck out five Kaua‘i hitters while walking three. No numbers were available for Kaua‘i High School.
With one more game remaining against Waimea on Wednesday, Kapa‘a is currently undefeated with 11 wins on the season.
Wednesday’s contest is at Waimea Canyon Park with the first pitch going at 6 p.m.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
