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Maybe Maryknoll just needed that little extra urgency.
When the Spartans fell behind Kamehameha 7-0 and 11-4 early in Thursday’s ILH softball tournament semifinal at Sand Island, the possibility of a second chance following the tournament still existed.
But Maryknoll’s safety net was yanked away when ‘Iolani completed an upset of top-seeded Punahou across town. Kamehameha was still up six runs at that point, and although Maryknoll coach John Uekawa didn’t discuss the development with the team, word of ‘Iolani’s win leaked into the Spartans dugout.
“I heard that (‘Iolani was) up, so that motivated us a little bit more because we knew if we lost to Kamehameha we were officially out,” Maryknoll senior Kahilu McNicoll said.
Seemingly on cue, the Spartans scratched out five runs in the bottom of the sixth — four scoring on bases-loaded walks — and went into the seventh down a run.
Maryknoll loaded the bases with two out when senior Kiana Arcayena’s looper down the right-field line touched the grass just beyond the glove of Kamehameha first baseman Dallas Millwood. Logan Carlos scored the tying run and Kanoe Tanigawa beat the throw to the plate to give the Spartans a stunning 12-11 win, sending them to the tournament title game.
“Being down seven runs didn’t scare us,” Arcayena said. “We came back before, and we knew if we just worked as a team we could get it.”
Having staved off elimination on Thursday, Maryknoll and ‘Iolani meet Tuesday at Sand Island for the tournament championship and a spot in the Division I state tournament. The winner then faces Punahou for the overall ILH title and league’s seeded berth in the state bracket.
“This is a special group. Kamehameha, hats off to them, they hit the heck out of the ball today,” Uekawa said. “We just kept telling the girls, ‘Just one small hit at a time’ and we crawled back in it.”
Maryknoll finished second behind Punahou in the first round of the ILH season. If Punahou had won the tournament as well, the Spartans would have had at least a shot at a playoff for the second state tournament berth.
It appeared they’d need help from the Buffanblu when Gabby Tyrell’s grand slam highlighted Kamehameha’s seven-run first inning outburst. After Maryknoll struck for four runs in the second, Warriors catcher Kyler Stephens — who contributed a two-run double in the first inning — launched another grand slam in the third to push the lead back to seven.
McNicoll relieved starter Aloha Akaka in the fourth and strung together four zeros to keep the Spartans within reach of the Warriors.
Maryknoll had runners on first and second in the bottom of the sixth when the Spartans drew four consecutive walks to push two runs across. Mahalo Akaka drilled a single into left to score another and McNicoll walked to bring the Spartans within a run.
With one out in the seventh, Carlos reached on an infield single and Tanigawa doubled off the fence in right field. Millwood snagged a line drive for the second out and Liliana Thomas fell behind two strikes before working a walk to load the bases. Arcayena was also behind in the count when she flared the game-winner down the line to give the Spartans another life while ending Kamehameha’s season.
“I told them it’s a great learning experience for them as a team,” Kamehameha coach James Millwood said. “We’re pretty young. I feel bad for the seniors. But all the games we lost we were ahead. We just didn’t hold the lead, and give Maryknoll credit. They came back and battled.”
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