One inning from a championship, Aiea’s Poamai Tuli took a moment to find her “happy place.”

Three outs later, Tuli and her Na Alii teammates were the picture of joy after securing the program’s first state title.

Tuli turned in a complete-game performance in the circle and went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and a home run in second-seeded Aiea’s 4-3 win over Saint Francis in the Division II final of the DataHouse/HHSAA Softball Championships on Saturday at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

“Any time you can put a mark on a legacy of the school it’s a big accomplishment,” Aiea coach Alan Higuchi said. “Credit goes to them that they wanted to put in the work.”

Na Alii went into the seventh inning protecting the one-run lead and Saint Francis put the tying run on base with one out. But Tuli induced a grounder that senior shortstop Chantelle Shimabukuro scooped up to start a title-clinching double play.

Going out for the bottom of the seventh, Tuli said she tried to “Just think of my happy place.”

“Usually I just zone out, don’t let people bother me and just focus on what I need to be focused on and relax my mind.

“Once we knew we had the final out, I just had so much stress leave from me.”

Tuli and Shimabukuro were among the underclassmen on the 2015 Aiea team that saw Nanakuli rally late in a 6-5 win in the state final. The memory sweetened the celebration after Na Alii completed a 15-0 season.

“It was heartbreaking,” Tuli said of the final game of her sophomore year. “Knowing we finally made history I’m proud of my team and how far we’ve come and how strong we grew together as a team.”

Saint Francis fell one run short in a bid for its second D-II title and first title since 2005, and coach Randy Langsi hopes the Saints channel the loss in similar fashion.

“It hurts because they put all the work into one game,” Langsi said. “Maturation will take its course, but we’re young and we’ll use this as a steppingstone.”

The Saints went ahead when Shimabukuro dropped a line drive with two out in the bottom of the first inning, allowing Hailey Matsumura to score the game’s first run. But Aiea seized the momentum with solo homers by Trinity Atuatasi in the top of the second and Tuli’s shot to right center in the third.

“Oh man I was just so excited. My first one over this fence,” said Tuli, who raised her hand halfway down the first baseline. “I knew I had to do it for them and do what I can to score.”

The Saints manufactured the tying run in the bottom of the third, but Aiea’s patience pushed Na Alii ahead in the fourth. Jeanah Padasdao reached base on a wide throw to first and Na Alii drew three consecutive walks to force Padasdao across the plate with the go ahead run. An error on Venetia Ueoka’s grounder allowed Atuatasi to score and Aiea took a 4-2 lead.

The Saints closed to within a run in the sixth when Sammie Ofoia doubled to left center, went to third on a bunt and scored on a passed ball.

Tuli walked Kamaile Perreira with one out in the seventh, but Shimabukuro snagged a ground ball up the middle, stepped on second and fired to first to end the game.

“I can’t thank my team enough for this,” Shimbukuro said. “It’s my senior year and they just made the season great for me.”