A near-perfect afternoon for the No. 2-ranked Kamehameha Warriors took on a different color before a 12-1 win over No. 6 Punahou was over.
The 10-run mercy rule ended the ILH softball contest in the fifth inning. By then, Warriors ace Rayla Jacobs-Kea was out of the game. The senior right-hander permitted one unearned run on just one hit over four innings with three strikeouts and two walks. She left after experiencing discomfort in her right shoulder.
“I was locating my pitches as best I could,” she said.
Jacobs-Kea, their every-game hurler, had never suffered a pitching injury before, but coach James Millwood was immediately concerned.
“She’s going to get it looked at,” he said. “We’ve got a few pitchers, but one of them is our left fielder (Shaylee Alani), so it would have an effect.”
“She pitched a terrific game, hitting corners and keeping us off balance,” Punahou coach Bobby Makahilahila said. “Usually, we do a good job of hitting.”
Punahou, which beat Maryknoll 11-4 in a league opener on Saturday, dropped to 1-1.
Kamehameha, which opened with an 8-2 win over St. Francis, is 2-0.
The Warriors were at their small-ball, big-hit best, using the bunt to set the table for slugger Dallas Millwood. The left-hander was 2-for-2 with a double and six RBIs, and also walked twice. In two ILH games, she is 5-for-7 with three walks, no strikeouts, 10 RBIs and two runs scored.
Jacobs-Kea showed no signs of injury in the first three frames, striking out three and facing just one batter above the minimum. Meanwhile, Kamehameha scored once in the first inning and never stopped against Punahou starter Bailey Akimseu and two relievers. Millwood drew a two-out walk, advanced to second base on a wild pitch, and after Kyler Stephens walked, Tausani Tavale doubled to center, bringing Millwood home.
The home team scored three times in the second inning. Alani reached base on an infield single and went all the way to third when Maiah Motto’s sacrifice bunt turned into a throwing error. Gabby Tyrell’s sac bunt advanced Motto to second base, and Jacobs-Kea singled to load the bases.
Alana Cobb-Adams worked the count full before walking with the bases loaded, forcing in Alani for a 2-0 lead. Millwood then stroked a 2-2 pitch to left, a tailing, opposite-field blast that caromed off the fence. Maiah Motto and Jacobs-Kea hustled home to open the margin to four runs for Kamehameha.
The Warriors sent nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the third, tacking on four more runs. Millwood had a battle with Akimseu, working an 0-2 count full before drilling a bases-loaded double to left, bringing all three baserunners home for an 8-0 lead.
Kamehameha brought in four runs in the bottom of the fourth against Kara Tsuruda, who moved from left field to the mound.
Freshman Reece Mokuau pitched the final inning for Kamehameha, retiring the side in order.
Kamehameha will host ‘Iolani on Friday and play Maryknoll on Saturday at Sand Island. Punahou will entertain Mid-Pacific on Friday and host Pac-Five on Saturday. The Buffanblu will then take an 11-day hiatus from league play and travel to Arizona to play in the Desert Mountain Invitational.
