Pauline dominates again

Kapolei pitcher Winona Pauline is slipping.

Pauline shut out Aiea 3-0 in an OIA softball game at home on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out 14 batters. But her stellar performance was nothing compared to her previous start.

“She is a senior, she is amazing,” Kapolei coach Tony Saffery said. “She was mentally tough and she didn’t try to do too much. That’s what I am happiest about — a lot of times she wants to do too much and starts to overthrow. She stayed within herself and she definitely got the job done.”

Pauline held Waianae hitless on Tuesday with 17 strikeouts, giving her 31 Ks in 14 shutout innings. Her attempt to become softball’s version of Johnny Vander Meer, who threw successive no-hitters for the Cincinnati Reds in 1938, was spoiled in the second inning against Na Alii when Vanessa Lopez-Aho belted a clean single to center field. It was the only hit she allowed, but she did surrender five walks because a strong wind behind her kept pushing her off balance.

“We struggled with the wind all day,” Saffery said. “It is our home field, you know, we should be used to it. But she overcame it.”

Of Pauline’s 14 strikeouts, four of them were on three pitches. She threw the ball 117 times in all, 77 of them for strikes. Pauline struck out Kendra Chong on four pitches to end her display of dominance.

Mikela Maneula provided the offense for Kapolei, ignoring the stiff wind to blast a triple into the gap in left-center field to drive in Stacia Mahoe. It was the only extra-base hit of the game.

“That was a good hit,” Aiea coach Kevin Enomoto said. “In this wind you never know if it will stay up. But that ball kept going.”

Maneula trotted home on a wild pitch, and Ashalyn Umiamaka added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly later in the inning.

It was Aiea freshman pitcher Raisa Strom-Okimoto’s only rough inning, as she allowed the Hurricanes only three hits.

Strom-Okimoto beat Kapolei 3-1 for Aiea’s only win of the season earlier this year, but Pauline was not pitching for the Hurricanes that day.

After her performance this week, having Pauline anywhere but in the circle will be a rarity.

“I told her from the beginning of the season that we are going to go with her; that’s what she wants,” Saffery said.

“She expressed that she wants the ball and I am going to run with that as long as she is healthy and her spirits are up.”

Jaci Young and Shar Manu-Olevao combined on a two-hitter as the Buffanblu beat the Spartans.

Isaac Ramboyon went 2-for-3 with a triple, homer and five RBIs as the Crusaders rallied to beat the Saints in five innings.

Ka‘imi Umebayashi went 3-for-3 with four runs, and Marcus Ornelles and Kamana Pimental each drove in three runs for Saint Louis, which trailed 8-1 in the second inning.

The Crusaders scored nine in the third to take a 10-8 lead. They tacked on four more in the fourth and five in the fifth.