The last time Kamehameha ace Rayla Jacobs-Kea was on the mound, she gritted through a sore shoulder for a complete-game win over Punahou.
In the three weeks since, the Warriors tied ‘Iolani and lost to Maryknoll in TKO fashion before reeling off a three-game win streak. Diagnosed with a strained shoulder, Jacobs-Kea recovered gradually and finally returned to game action on Wednesday, permitting just three hits and one unearned run in six innings of relief as Kamehameha stymied ‘Iolani 9-1 at the Raiders’ field.
Coming into the game, the teams were tied atop the Interscholastic League of Honolulu softball standings, and were also locked in a tie at No. 3 in the Star-Advertiser Softball Top 10.
Now, Kamehameha is 6-1-1 with four games left in the regular season, gaining an edge in the chase for an automatic state-tournament berth.
“I’m happy for our girls. We played against a great all-around team,” Kamehameha coach James Millwood said.
The Warriors planned on bringing Jacobs-Kea back in time for the biggest game of the season to date, and once starting pitcher Reese Mokuau walked three batters, including one to start the bottom of the second inning, Millwood moved Jacobs-Kea from right field to the mound.
“The last time we played (‘Iolani), we walked 11 batters,” Millwood recalled.
“I was kind of nervous. I beaned the very first batter,” Jacobs-Kea said.
Still, the senior had a pregame warm-up of about 50 pitches, and didn’t take very long to start competing at the level that made her one of the state’s top hurlers. Getting tuned in quickly was a must.
“My change-ups weren’t working, but I’m proud (that) my defense backed me up. They were really sharp today,” she said.
The Raiders, now 5-2-1, are one game behind.
“She throws those drops, and we were hoping to make plays,” coach Dean Yonamine said. “That’s why they’re the defending ILH champions. We hit a lot of balls at people, and (Jacobs-Kea) gets a lot of ground balls.”
The Raiders alternated pitchers Aleia Agbayani and Marcie Nakamura between the mound and first base.
Kamehameha broke the ice in the top of the second inning with three runs against the southpaw, Agbayani. Alyssa Mahoe socked a double to right and scored on a ground-rule double to right by Jacobs-Kea. Tausani Tavale followed with a single to right, scoring Jacobs-Kea for a 2-0 Warriors lead.
With two outs, Kyler Stephens singled to left, plating Tavale.
The Raiders got a leadoff walk in the bottom of the second, then faced Jacobs-Kea. After she hit Ashlyn Okamoto, Marcie Nakamura advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt, but Jacobs-Kea retired the next two Raiders with ground balls to escape harm.
In the top of the third, Mahoe singled with two outs, Jacobs-Kea was hit by a pitch and Tavale walked to load the bases. Alana Cobb-Adams then walked to force Mahoe in with Kamehameha’s fourth run.
The Warriors tacked on a run in the top of the fourth. Stephens doubled to right and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Maiah Motta for a 5-1 lead.
The home team got their lone run in the fourth inning. Kenedi Lopes singled to right with one out and kept churning to second base on a fielding error. After Okamoto singled, Nakamura reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases. Marley Dyer grounded out, scoring Lopes.
Jacobs-Kea then retired Hailee Ueyama on a grounder to end the inning.
In the sixth, Dallas Millwood doubled to left-center and Marley Dyer moved from left field to the mound. Millwood scored on a one-out double to deep center — it bounced off the fence 262 feet away — by Motta. That made it 6-1.
In the seventh, Tavale and Cobb-Adams singled before Millwood launched a towering blast to deep right. The ball caromed off the fence lined along Manoa-Palolo Stream, 282 feet from home plate.
Jacobs-Kea retired the Raiders in order to close out the victory.
ILH SOFTBALL
No. 3 Kamehameha 9,
No. 3 ‘Iolani 1
At ‘Iolani
KSK (6-1-1) 031 101 3 — 9 13 1
‘Iolani (5-2-1) 000 100 0 — 1 3 1
Reese Mokuau, Rayla Jacobs-Kea (2) and Kyler Stephens. Aleia Agbayani, Marcie Nakamura (3), Agbayani (4), Nakamura (5), Marley Dyer (6) and Kai Barrett.
W—Jacobs-Kea. L—Agbayani.
Leading hitters—Kamehameha: Tausani Tavale 3-4, RBI, 2 runs; Alana Cobb-Adams; Dallas Millwood 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 runs, 3 RBIs; Maiah Motta 2B, 2 RBIs; Alyssa Mahoe 2-4, 2B, 2 runs; Jacobs-Kea 2-2, 2B, run, RBI. ‘Iolani: Agbayani 1-2; Kenedi Lopes 1-2, run.
Pac-Five 10, Mid-Pacific 4
At Mid-Pacific
Pac-Five (2-6) 004 400 2 — 10 12 0
Mid-Pacific (0-7) 103 000 0 — 4 13 3
Megan Yoshioka and Hii Apo, Mikalya Chun (3). Ka‘a‘le‘a Hanawahine and Lia Nakamoto.
W—Yoshioka. L—Hanawahine.
Leading hitters—Pac-Five: Noelle Nakamura 2-4, 2 runs; Alisha Candalero 2-5, run, 3 RBIs; Kiara Peterson 2-4, HR, run, 3 RBIs; K. Lee 2b, 3 runs, RBI. Mid-Pacific: Beyli Correa 3-4, run; Hanawahine 2-4, 2b, run; Skylar Tanaka 3-3, 2b, 2 RBIs; Michaela Fonoti 2b, run.
OIA EAST BASEBALL
No. 6 Kailua 7, Castle 1
At Kailua
Castle (2-8) 001 000 0 — 1 5 3
Kailua (8-2) 240 001 x — 7 9 0
Jabe Kahawaii, Aiden Christiansen (6) and Brylan Kaneshiro. Joey Cantillo, Ryan Inouye (5), Jalen Ah Yat (5) and Kalua Neves.
W—Cantillo. L—Kahawaii.
Leading hitters—Castle: Kahawaii 2-2, RBI. Kailua: Matthew Kaleiohi 2-3, 2b, 3 runs, RBI; Cantillo 3-4, 2b, 3 RBIs.
No. 8 Kalani 7, Kalaheo 5
At Kailua Recreation Field
Kalaheo (1-8) 010 220 0 — 5 6 4
Kalani (7-2) 301 300 x — 7 10 2
Curtis Chung, Gabriel Guebara (4), Evan Goad (6) and Lono Hussey. Devin Omura, Jarod Kaneshiro (2), Noah Ching (3), Ian Higa (4), Edward Lee (4), Pablo Ruelas (6), Micah Kawano (7) and Chad Kagawa.
W—Omura. L—Chung.
Leading hitters—Kalaheo: Chung 2-4, run. Kalani: Kawano 2-2, 3b, run; Marquis Morgan 2-3; Kohl Suehiro 3b, 2 runs, RBI.
Moanalua 7, Kaiser 4, 8 inn.
At Moanalua
Kaiser (5-5) 000 400 00 — 4 8 5
Moanalua (6-3) 200 011 03 — 7 7 0
Steven Miyata, Tyler Dyball (6) and Kainoa Torres. Randy Tabura, Tyler Nakata (5) and Andrew Oasay.
W—Nakata. L—Dyball.
Leading hitters—Kaiser: Lincoln Lima 2-4; Keoni Pangan 2-4, run; Antonio Omphroy 2b; Kainoa Torres 2b, 2 RBIs; Landon Shigeta 3b, run, RBI. Moanalua: Kamuela Labasan 2-2, 2 runs; Oasay 2-3, HR, run, RBI; Tabura HR, 2 runs, 3 RBIs.
OIA WEST BASEBALL
Leilehua 5, Pearl City 4
At Pearl City
Leilehua (4-5) 001 004 0 — 5 10 2
Pearl City (4-5) 000 130 0 — 4 6 0
Christian Ontai, Raven Demmert (5), Kawai Phifer (5), Jansen Dangaran (7) and Jaxon Hotta. Marcus Boyles, Brannon Liu (6), Caleb Young (6), Carson Okada (7) and Kaleb Nishijo.
W—Phifer. L—Boyles. S—Dangaran.
Leading hitters—Leilehua: Ontai 3-4, 2 3bs; Dangaran 2-3, 3b, run; Phifer 2-3, run. Pearl City: Davin Kapuras 2-3, RBI; Christian Onomura 2-4, run; Cade Halemanu 2b.
Mililani 2, Waipahu 0
At Mililani
Waipahu (4-6) 000 000 0 — 0 4 1
Mililani (5-5) 000 020 x — 2 4 1
Gabriel Ballesteros, Khaine Viliamu (5) and Kobie Russell, Cole Phillips (4). Shane Griffin, Cole Miyashiro (6) and T. Nakatsuka.
W—Griffin. L—Ballesteros. S—Miyashiro.
Leading hitters—Waipahu: Russell 2-3, 2b; Rayson Carriaga 2b. Mililani: Korrey Siracusa 2b, 2 RBIs.
OIA DIVISION II BASEBALL
Farrington 7, Kahuku 5
At Kahuku
Farrington (6-2) 003 004 0 — 7 8 3
Kahuku (2-6) 100 000 4 — 5 3 2
Chasen Castilliano, Trey Kaawa (7) and Treven Isobe. Elvis Vakapuna, Pua Falemalu (5), Mckenna Cameron (6), Andrew Kohlert (7) and Keola Baily.
W—Castilliano. L—Vakapuna. S—Kaawa.
Leading hitters—Farrington: Reese Shioji 2-4, 2 runs, RBI; Isobe 2-2, run; Jon Arevalo 2-4, run, 2 RBIs; Castilliano 3b, run. Kahuku: Stokes Botelho 2-3, 2 runs.
Kaimuki 11, McKinley 2
At McKinley
Kaimuki (3-5) 121 340 0 — 11 7 4
McKinley (0-8) 000 200 0 — 2 5 8
Raymundo Gomez Jr., Jamon Young (5) and Bailey Uehara. Dennis Pearson, Cameron Fernandez (3), Noah Diaz (5) and Elijah Vincent.
W—Gomez Jr.. L—Pearson.
Leading hitters—Kaimuki: Simon Odo-Federle 3-4, 2b, 2 runs, 2 RBIs. McKinley: Noah Omori 1-4, 2 RBIs.
Radford 10, Nanakuli 4
At Nanakuli
Radford (7-1) 100 412 2 — 10 3 2
Nanakuli (3-5) 003 010 0 — 4 8 4
Jack Dillon, Richard Akana (6) and Cole Courtney. Chysob Hoopai, Clyde Enos (4) and Shaydon-Aaron Arindain-Pojas.
W—Dillon. L—Hoopai.
Leading hitters—Radford: Bradley Benito 1-3, run, RBI; Shane Vogt 1-2, run, RBI. Nanakuli: Arindain-Pojas 2-4, 2 RBIs; Hoopai 2b, run.
ILH JUNIOR VARSITY BASEBALL
‘Iolani 5, Pac-Five 2
Mid-Pacific 10, Kamehameha 9
Correction: Dean Yonamine is ‘Iolani’s softball coach, not Corey Okamura as a previous version the story in Thursday’s Star-Advertiser indicated.
