Stormy weather across Oahu on Thursday meant two of four OIA softball quarterfinals were no-gos. But across the street from Roosevelt High, the gray skies parted and the only thunder came from the bats.
Roosevelt and Leilehua combined for 33 hits, split nearly evenly. No lead was safe. In the end it was the host Rough Riders who had the more timely blasts in a 12-8 victory at Stevenson Middle School.
“It was all at the right moment that we were all just hitting this game,” said Roosevelt third baseman Danika Stewart, who had a double and triple among her three hits to knock in three runs. She was one of six players in the Riders’ order to submit a multi-hit game, matching six for the Mules.
Roosevelt, the OIA East’s top seed, must wait to find out its semifinal opponent. Barring any further weather delays, today’s winner between Mililani and Moanalua gets the Rough Riders on Saturday.
Roosevelt starter Jaeda Cabunoc somehow weathered the Mules’ 16 hits to register a complete game. The Riders chased Leilehua’s starter, Kaena Nistal, in the second inning after compiling six straight hits, and kept the damage going against reliever Alyssa Abe once Leilehua cut a five-run gap to 8-7 in the fifth.
The OIA West was considered the stronger half of the league during the regular season, so the outcome was a minor upset going by the Star- Advertiser Top 10 — Leilehua was ranked No. 6 this week and Roosevelt No. 10.
“They’re tough. They hit the (stuffing) out of the ball,” Roosevelt coach Clay Okamura said afterward.
Leilehua, the West’s fourth-place team, routed Farrington 21-2 in the first round Wednesday. It got things started Thursday with a second-pitch home run by leadoff hitter Brandi Leong.
Roosevelt proved there was resilience to be found in the East.
“Shock,” Roosevelt left fielder Hoku Ching said of the mood on the field. “But we have to keep our head in the game, shake it off and we had more innings. We brought it back.”
Added Stewart, “That first home run was a really nice hit, I give her that. But we knew what we had to do.”
The Riders rapped out three straight singles to tie it up in the bottom of the inning, then went ahead 3-2 in the second on Ching’s solo homer to left. They scored three more times in the inning and went up 8-3 on Maya Nakamura’s two-run double in the third.
Leilehua loaded the bases in the fifth, scoring two on Abe’s single plus a fielding error, and another two on Kawena Kahana-Travis’ double to left.
Mika Emoto kept her team ahead with the game’s biggest at-bat. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Emoto battled Abe until the ninth pitch — matching her jersey number — and ripped a two-run double. Stewart added an RBI triple in the inning.
Leilehua loaded the bases in the sixth but plated just one. Ching matched it with a two-out RBI triple in the bottom of the frame and Cabunoc yielded just a single in the seventh to cap the win.
Leilehua faces the loser of Moanalua-Mililani for one of the OIA’s two remaining state berths.
“I think (our players) feel this loss hard, so they’re going to come back,” Leilehua coach Stacy Araki said. “I know they’re going to come back.”
By reaching the league semifinals, Roosevelt clinched its first state berth since 2010, and third appearance in 18 years.
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At Stevenson Middle School
>> Leilehua (8-5) 201 041 0 — 8 16 2
>> Roosevelt (11-2) 242 031 X — 12 17 2
Kaena Nistal, Alyssa Abe (2) and Staisa Micky. Jaeda Cabunoc and Haylie Uetake. W—Cabunoc. L—Nistal. Leading hitters—Lei: Brandi Leong 2-5, HR; Mikayla Pinera 2-5, 2 runs; Pomai Nahulu 2-4; Ashley Salausa 3-4; Gigi Araki 2-3, 2b; Mahea Calizo 2 RBIs; Kawena Kahana-Travis 2-3, 2 2b, 2 RBIs. Roos: Maya Nakamura 2-4, 2 2b, 3 runs, 2 RBIs; Kylie Kawamura 2-3, 2 runs; Mika Emoto 3-4, 2b, 2 runs, 3 RBIs; Danica Stewart 3-4, 3b, 2b, 3 RBIs; Megan Taguchi 3-4, 2 runs; Hoku Ching 2-4, HR, 3b, 2 RBIs.
OIA DIVISION I SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS
Campbell 8, Kailua 0
At Kailua
Danielle Cervantes pitched a two-hitter with 13 strikeouts and Jocelyn Alo doubled and homered as the Sabers beat the Surfriders in six innings.
>> Campbell (11-3) 000 521 — 8 8 0
>> Kailua (9-4) 000 000 — 0 2 0
Danielle Cervantes and Jocelyn Alo. Dyani Cummings-Lani and G. Yamashita. W— Cervantes. L—Cummings-Lani. Leading hitters—Camp: Alo 2-2, 2b, HR, 2 RBIs; Zoie Recolan 2b, 2 runs; Chloe Domingo HR, 2 runs, 3 RBIs.
