It’s a can of sardines in Interscholastic League of Honolulu softball. Four teams have at least four wins, and the one team with five happens to be the only school classified as a Division II team.
D-II St. Francis knocked off Maryknoll 7-6 on Friday at the Sand Island field to improve to 5-2 and push the rival Spartans down to a 4-3 mark. The two others with an eerily similar standing near the top of the pile are Kamehameha and ‘Iolani, both at 4-1-1. Punahou is close behind at 3-3.
“It means a lot for the program to have the (five) wins, but we’re just trying to stay disciplined and trying to be as competitive as possible,” Saints coach Randy Langsi said. “We’re not looking too far ahead. We’re trying to focus on what’s at hand in front of us.”
The Spartans nearly came back in the seventh. Trailing 7-5, Kamalei Labasan hit a two-out RBI triple and it brought Sydney Kamakaiwi to the plate with reliever Sierrah Kupihea in the circle. Kamakaiwi looked at a third strike on the outside corner to end the threat and the game.
“That last batter, there was a lot of pressure on both teams,” said Kupihea, the winning pitcher. “I knew I had my team to back me up. That’s the job of the pitcher. Hitters have to hit the ball and I have to pitch the ball and my defense has got me no matter what. The pitch veered out and dropped. That’s why she didn’t swing. The umpire called it a strike, so it’s good for us.”
St. Francis took a 3-0 lead in the first, thanks in part to Sammie Ofoia’s two-run double. The Saints built the lead to 4-2 and 6-3 by the top of the fourth. That sixth run — in the fourth — came home on Kolbee Kealoha’s sacrifice bunt.
Nohea Hee’s RBI single and an outfield error pushed two runs across for Maryknoll in the fifth to make it a one-run game — 6-5.
But St. Francis wasn’t done. Hailey Matsumura’s bases-loaded walk in the sixth upped the lead to 7-5, leading to Maryknoll’s dramatic comeback bid that fell short in the seventh.
“They’re a great team, no doubt,” Spartans coach John Uekawa said about St. Francis. “We just didn’t make the plays when we had to. We have a young group and they tried their hardest and they (the Saints) were just a better team today.”
Kupihea went four innings in relief of Tiare Guerrero and she gave up just four hits.
Losing pitcher Maia McNicoll struck out eight but also walked six. Only three of the seven runs she gave up were earned. The Spartans made six errors.
St. Francis 7, Maryknoll 6
| St. Francis (5-2) |
311 |
100 |
0 |
— |
7 |
7 |
1 |
| Maryknoll (4-3) |
201 |
200 |
1 |
— |
6 |
8 |
5 |
Tiare Guererro, Sierrah Kupuhea (6) and Kalyn Higa. Maia McNicoll and Caylie Kahele. W—Guererro. L—McMicoll.
Leading hitters—STF: Skye Ah Yat 2-4, Sammie Ofoia 1-4 2b, 2 RBIs. MS: Logan Carlos, 2-3, 2b, McNicoll 2-4, 2b, 2 RBIs.
