‘Iolani wills itself to win over Mid-Pacific

‘Iolani didn’t panic and confidently came back for an 8-3 ILH softball victory over Mid-Pacific on Saturday night at the McKinley field.

Left-hander Aleia Agbayani led the charge at the plate and in the circle. She spotted the Owls three second-inning runs and then settled down the rest of the way despite allowing 10 hits.

Agbayani also homered and tripled and drove in three runs.

With the victory, the Raiders remained atop the league standings, tied with Punahou at 9-2. Mid-Pacific dropped off a bit to 7-4, still very much in the hunt.

“It was a good win,” ‘Iolani coach Benny Agbayani said. “Real good for our seniors. They showed they wanted it.”

Down 3-0 after two innings, the Raiders showed fortitude in the top of the third, drilling four hits, including Agbayani’s run-scoring triple and RBI hits by Allie Capello and Kai Barrett.

That offensive eruption came an inning after ‘Iolani left the bases loaded, which came as a bit of a disappointment to the coach.

“We had our chance and didn’t cash in,” he said. “Good teams take advantage of that. And then we had that big inning and started to get it going.”

In the fourth, ‘Iolani went ahead for the first time, 4-3, scoring the eventual game-winning run. Anna Arita led off with a bunt hit and eventually scored on a double steal, with Agbayani gaining second on the play.

“I knew Aleia did her job (getting) down to second,” Arita said. “I saw the throw go down and that was my green light, so I went as fast as I could.”

The throw to Mid-Pacific catcher Keao Takemura was a split-second late. She put the tag on and Arita felt it. The umpire lifted his arm as if he was going to signal out, but then called her safe.

“I saw the safe sign and I ran back to the dugout,” Arita added. “I was a little nervous. It was a close call. But I knew I had a foot in there.”

After that, the Raiders made it 6-3 on Kapili Lopes’ two-run single in the fifth and Agbayani’s two-run homer to left in the sixth.

Earlier, the Owls grabbed that 3-0 lead in the second on RBI hits by Samantha Taga and Mahea Perkins and a sacrifice fly by Zoe Oshiro.

Lea Hanawahine, Mid-Pacific’s right-hander, went the distance in the loss. She allowed seven hits and struck out nine.

“Both teams came out with energy,” Hanawahine said. “But they started catching up to my pitches and I had to adjust. They outlasted us.”