Junior Dani Cervantes fired a one-hitter as No. 1 Campbell outlasted No. 2 Mililani 5-0 on a sunny, voggy afternoon at the Sabers’ field.
Cervantes had a no-hitter going into the top of the seventh inning. She retired Kristen Ishii on an infield pop fly and struck out Shannon Pascua-Stanton. Tristan Cozo had an 0-2 count when Cervantes hung a change-up over the middle of the plate. Cozo slapped a soft single to center, ending the no-hit bid.
“I went a little bit down the middle. It was supposed to be outside,” Cervantes said.
Cervantes, a right-hander, struck out eight and walked two — both in the fourth inning. She got out of that jam and allowed a runner into scoring position only one other time, when the Sabers committed a throwing error in the sixth inning. She mixed her curves — the inside curve works like a screwball — and high heat.
“Dani works hard. She runs at least two, three miles every day at practice. Elise (Favela), too,” Sabers coach Shag Hermosura said of his two aces. “Dani wants the ball just like Elisa. She’s earned it. She showed she can be just as good, if not at least close.”
The OIA West showdown drew a polite gathering of about 60 fans, many seated in the shade of Campbell’s covered bleachers. The Sabers, defending state champions, improved to 5-0 in league play. The Lady Trojans, who won the state title in 2014, dropped to 4-1.
“This means so much to me. I worked so hard for all of this and all of our girls worked so hard. We just have to stay humble and keep working.
Campbell junior catcher Jocelyn Alo, who started receiving scholarship offers as a 12-year-old (BYU) and is a commit to Cal, downplayed the near no-hit aspect of another superb effort by the Sabers.
“We were just trying to finish the game. The win doesn’t mean anything. It just means we have to come back to practice and get ready for our next game,” she said.
It was a scoreless pitchers’ duel for four innings between Cervantes and Mililani’s Aubree Kim. Then Campbell exploded with five runs in the bottom of the fifth. Trinity Favela led off with an infield single and Cieana Curran followed with a single to left. With one out, Cydney Curran went after a 3-2 pitch and doubled down the left-field line, scoring Favela for the game’s first run.
After Jocelyn Alo walked, Elisa Favela stepped into the box. The count was 1-1 when Hermosura signaled for a squeeze bunt by his clean-up hitter. She laid down a roller down the line toward first base. Kim was able to scoop the ball up, but had no chance at getting an out at any base, and Cieana Curran scored from third base.
“Everyone’s expecting her to hit. The game was so tight, I wanted to shake things up,” Hermosura said. “It was a great bunt. We practice bunting every day. Everybody.”
Favela couldn’t remember the last time she bunted for an RBI.
“I never did it in high school. I was, ‘OK, just lay it down. Do anything to lay it down.’ I put it down,” she said. “I thought I was going to hit the ball with my feet. At practice, it usually goes back to the pitcher.”
That lifted Campbell’s lead to 2-0. Caragh Morris then followed with a bloop single over first base. As the ball spun like a jumping-jack firecracker into foul territory, Cydney Curran and Alo raced home to open the Sabers’ lead to four runs.
With two outs and Elisa Favela at third base and Trinity Favela at the plate again, Kim uncorked a wild pitch on a 1-2 pitch. Elisa Favela motored home and the Sabers had a 5-0 lead.
Kim finished with six strikeouts and three walks issued, keeping her team in the game despite permitting a baserunner in each of the first three innings.
“We’re playing as a team now. We’re all jelling together,” Elisa Favela said. “We’re talking to each other and picking each other up, so I’m not too sure what team can beat us if we stay as a team.”
PREP SUMMARIES
ILH Division I Baseball
Maryknoll 8,
No. 3 Punahou 7
Maryknoll’s Kaliko Thomas doubled home Matthew Dunaway in the bottom of the seventh as the Spartans beat the Buffanblu.
Dunaway led the way for Maryknoll offensively, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
At Ala Wai Field |
Punahou (4-3) |
000 |
005 |
2 |
— |
7 |
9 |
3 |
Maryknoll (1-7) |
000 |
400 |
4 |
— |
8 |
8 |
2 |
Geoffrey Moore, Kekoa Vieira (4), Riley Guieb (5) and Codey Kitagawa. Peyton Grant, Dylan Takara (7) and Chayson Dulatre.
W— Takara. L— Guieb.
Leading hitters—Pun: Kai Terada-Herzer 2-4, 2 runs; Kitagawa 2-4; Kyson Donahue 1-1, 2 RBI, 3B. Mar: Matthew Dunaway 2-4, 2 runs.
_____
No. 4 Mid-Pacific 3,
No. 7 Kamehameha 1
The Owls plated three runs in the sixth to take the lead late, as Mid-Pacific defeated the Warriors.
Chase Wago earned the win for Mid-Pacific, and also went 3-for-3 with a run scored.
At Central Oahu Regional Park |
MPI (5-3) |
000 |
003 |
0 |
— |
3 |
8 |
1 |
KSK (5-3) |
010 |
000 |
X |
— |
1 |
4 |
0 |
Ethan Fujikami, Chase Wago (6) and Kyle Layugan. Li’i Pontes and Revan Wong.
W— Wago. L— Pontes.
Leading hitters—MPI: Wago 3-3, run, RBI, 3B. KSK: Logan Salcedo 2-3; Kawai Takemura 2-3, run.
_____
No. 1 Saint Louis 1, ‘Iolani 0
Dawson Yamaguchi pitched a shutout as the Crusaders defeated the Raiders.
Yamaguchi gave up just four hits to ‘Iolani, while striking out three.
At ‘Iolani |
Saint Louis (6-1) |
000 |
100 |
0 |
— |
1 |
5 |
0 |
‘Iolani (2-6) |
000 |
000 |
X |
— |
0 |
4 |
0 |
Dawson Yamaguchi and Taylor Meilleur. Logan Yee, Brandon Yamane (4) and Devin Ide.
W— Yamaguchi. L— Yee.
Leading hitters—StL: Charles Lopez 2-3. Iol: Matt Campos 1-3; Landen Moran 1-3.
OIA Division I West Softball
No. 1 Campbell 5, No. 2 Mililani 0
At Campbell |
Mililani (4-1) |
000 |
000 |
0 |
— |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Campbell (5-0) |
000 |
050 |
x |
— |
5 |
8 |
1 |
Aubree Kim and Markie Okamoto. Dani Cervantes and Jocelyn Alo.
W—Cervantes. L—Kim.
Leading hitters—Mil: Tristan Cozo 1-3. Camp: Cydney Curran 2-3, 2B, RBI, run; Alo 1-3, run; Elisa Favela 1-3, RBI, run; Caraugh Morris 1-3, 2 RBIs; Sierra Mariano 1-3, 3B; Trinity Favela 1-3, run.
_____
No. 5 Kapolei 10, Waipahu 0, 5 inn.
Laugatausala Pedebone and Dallas Pollard-Brownell each had three RBIs as the Hurricanes defeated the Marauders.
Sadie Kapaku-You spun a one-hit shutout over five innings, striking out four.
At Kapolei |
Waipahu (0-5) |
000 |
00 |
— |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Kapolei (4-1) |
201 |
07 |
— |
10 |
11 |
4 |
M. Whitley and U. Soa. Sadie Kapaku-You and Lili Kaimi.
W— Kapaku-You. L— Whitley.
Leading hitters—Waip: J. Paredes 1-2. Kap: Laugatausala Pedebone 2-2, run, 3 RBI; Dallas Pollard-Brownell 2-3, run, 3 RBI; Kapaku-You 2-2, RBI; Raina McKean 2-3, run.
_____
Pearl City 7, Leilehua 2
Tyanna Kaaialii struck out eight, while allowing just three hits to earn the win as the Chargers beat the Mules.
Ana Cabato went 4-for-4 with a run scored to lead the Pearl City offense.
At Leilehua |
Pearl City (3-3) |
200 |
102 |
2 |
— |
7 |
8 |
0 |
Leilehua (2-3) |
000 |
000 |
2 |
— |
2 |
3 |
2 |
Tyanna Kaaialii and catcher not reported. Chasity Stalcup and catcher not reported
W— Kaaialii. L— Stalcup.
Leading hitters—PC: Ana Cabato 4-4, 2B; Darian Obara 2-5, run.
RBI. Lei: Pomai Nahulu 1-3, run, RBI; Mahea Calizo 1-3, run, RBI.