Aiea’s Chrijon Peneueta once again fed off the pressure of having runners on base.
Peneueta had a pair of two-run singles and Taja Souza pitched a four-hitter as Aiea beat Radford 7-1 in the final of the OIA Division II Tournament on Saturday at McKinley.
“I really like having the adrenaline rush and letting my teammates count on me,” Peneueta said.
Souza walked one and struck out three.
“It was my drop-curve and change-up mostly and fastball inside,” she said when asked which pitches were working for her.
Aiea (15-1) won its third OIA title — all at the D-II level — with the previous crown coming in 2017.
Aiea, Radford, Kailua and Kalaheo will represent the OIA at the DataHouse/HHSAA Division II Championships, which start May 14.
“Very proud. As far as the season goes, we started out pretty slow,” Aiea coach Alan Higuchi said. “About a third of the way through the season, the players started picking up the pace as far as practices are concerned and the work ethic and the intensity of our workouts. I’m really proud the players were able to prosper and get the fruits of their hard work.”
Aiea has won 13 games in a row since losing to Radford on March 5. Na Alii had won by mercy rule in nine of their previous 10 games.
“Our bats just weren’t connecting this time,” Radford coach Filamaua Baughn said.
Aiea went up 3-0 in the bottom of the first, with all the runs scoring with two outs. Kiersten Chong scored on a wild pitch and Peneueta’s single to right scored Kiersten Chong and Nylove Peneueta.
“I was actually really comfortable, looking forward to the pitch being thrown at me and making sure I’m very calm at bat,” Chrijon Peneueta said.
Radford (13-3) got within 3-1 in the third on Olena Umetsu’s two-out single to left, which scored Kyralee-Marie Cordeiro.
Na Alii took a 6-1 lead in the fifth on Chrijon Peneueta’s single to center that scored Nylove Peneueta and Taja Souza, and Madison Misaki’s run-scoring triple to right.
“She’s been pretty consistent the whole year taking the ball the other way, making solid contact,” Higuchi said of Chrijon Peneueta. “Not surprised she did what she did today.”
Aiea went up 7-1 in the sixth on Nylove Peneueta’s triple to right, scoring Chong.
Souza allowed only one runner to reach second base — which came on a throwing error to first base by the catcher — over the final 4 1/3 innings.
“I felt more comfortable. I had more trust in my teammates, my catcher and my own pitches,” Souza said.
Added Higuchi: “Awesome. It was unexpected, to be honest with you. Her pitches were crisp, hitting her spots and making the pitches that we called.”
He added Souza has “really picked up the pace” her last few starts.
The teams split a pair of close games during the regular season. The Rams won 10-8 on March 3 and Na Alii triumphed 9-8 on March 30.
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Division II Tournament
Saturday
Final
At McKinley
Aiea 7, Radford 1
W—Taja Souza.
Leading hitters—Aiea: Sophia Kaneshiro 2-4; Nikki Chong 2-3, 2 runs; Nylove Peneueta 2-4, 3b, 2 runs; Souza 2-2, 2 runs; Chrijon Peneueta 2-3, 4 RBIs; Madison Misaki 3b.
Third Place
At Kailua
Kalaheo vs. Kailua rained out
