Two debuts, two completely different paths into the near future.

Two days after Damien Memorial High School won its first boys basketball state championship, the Monarchs made their debut in varsity softball.

The sight of former New York Mets player Benny Agbayani, in his first regular-season game as ‘Iolani softball coach, was plenty enough to make Monday’s matchup between ‘Iolani and Damien at Ala Wai Park compelling.

‘Iolani’s five-inning, 38-0 pummeling of Damien was far from a surprise. Raiders pitcher Allie Capello hurled a perfect game with nine strikeouts. The closest Damien came to getting a runner on base was in the bottom of the fifth inning, when leadoff hitter Jhasidee Van Gieson had a 3-0 count, but wound up popping out to second.

‘Iolani, a perennial contender for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and state titles, got a pair of two-run homers by Cal signee Aleia Agbayani — her sister, freshman leadoff hitter Ailana Agbayani, scored each time. Kai Barrett socked three home runs, including a grand slam in the third inning. While half the starting lineup was done for the afternoon by the end of the second inning, Capello enjoyed her seven plate appearances. She socked a three-run homer in the fourth frame and finished 3-for-3 with six RBIs, two walks and two HBPs.

The positives for Damien? Starting pitcher Gloriana Sua, a sophomore, struck out four batters in two innings. Van Gieson went three innings in relief before Sua returned.

The top half of the lineup, in particular, got some good cuts against Capello. Freshman leadoff hitter Rylee Gaudia and sophomore Myah Foki-Chung look like potentially solid contributors. The reality is that the team is in need of seasoning, and that will require lots of reps in the batting cage, lots of work on the practice field.

“The thought process is to generate interest among students and families,” said assistant coach Gordon Fernandez. “We come in with realistic expectations. We’ve got great parent support and player attitudes. We couldn’t ask for more.”

Most of the team plays multiple sports. Sua plays basketball and volleyball. She played club softball last summer for the Rebels. Van Gieson plays soccer and volleyball. She hadn’t played softball since the summer before freshman year, with the Titans club.

That’s more experience than most of the roster.

The Monarchs finished with eight errors, all in the moderate range, like a dropped forceout throw, a dropped fly ball, a grounder through the wickets. There weren’t any multiple-error defensive plays.

“Through all the mistakes, I know the girls are trying their best and they’ll finally understand how to play,” Van Gieson said. “We started on Jan. 28 and we got this far.”