Sophomore Kanalei McCoy scattered seven hits in a complete game effort to help the Golden Hawks advance to their fourth straight Division II title game. Brien Ing | SL

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MANOA — Kaila Burnett's job as the second hitter in the Nanakuli batting order is to make contact and put the ball in play. She did just that and then some Thursday afternoon.

Burnett batted 4 for 5 with a double and four runs batted in to lead Nanakuli to a dominating 11-2 win over Kamehameha-Hawaii in a semifinal game of the DataHouse/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Softball State Championships at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

The Golden Hawks pounded out 16 hits to improve to 15-1 and will try for their third consecutive state title at 5 p.m. Friday against third-seeded Aiea.

"I'm very excited that we get to play for the state championship and I'm just happy that we all came together with the things we've been going through and we just came as one and made it here," said Burnett, a sophomore catcher.

Nanakuli held leads of 1-0 and 3-1 before breaking it open in the top of the fifth inning, when 12 batters came to the plate and accounted for six runs. It benefitted from four walks and one error by the Warriors in the frame.

Burnett and Emma Kawaiaea had back-to-back two-out, two-run singles in the inning.

"She's been doing that for us the whole year, so that's why she's in the number two spot," Golden Hawks' acting head coach Waldo Meyers said. "She's a good girl, she's been doing that a lot for us, so good job by her."

Cheyenne Lute, Daria Kawaauhau and Kika Mahoe also paired hits for Nanakuli, the Oahu Interscholastic Association runner-up. Kanalei McCoy scattered seven hits in a complete-game effort in the pitching circle.

"The ladies have been working hard all year and after that loss in the OIA championships kind of woke us up," Meyers said. "Some of the girls were kind of too comfortable, some of the coaches were getting too comfortable, so now we're back grounded again and now we're moving on."

Meyers said he didn't know much about the Warriors outside of their 8-4 quarterfinal win over Lanai Wednesday.

That's about it, but we always stay confident," Meyers said. "We always stay grounded and level, but we always stay confident no matter what. No matter who we play we truly believe we're the best team. The only team that can probably beat us is ourselves, so we always go into situations like that, especially if we don't know too much about the other teams from the neighbor islands."

Taylor Sullivan drove in both Kamehameha-Hawaii runs on her two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Mykala Tokunaga went the distance in the loss. She struck out four and walked five.

The fourth-seeded Warriors, champions of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, will play second-seeded Waimea in the 1 p.m. third-place game Friday.

It was the third consecutive game that the Golden Hawks were without head coach Ricky Gusman, who suffered a heart attack on Monday, the day before the start of the state tournament.

"Right now that's kind of on the next level," Meyers said of Gusman's situation. "These girls are hungry, but with coach Ricky not here, it's just another motivation for them to do it."

Burnett said Gusman's well-being was on the mind of many of the Golden Hawks, who will be appearing in their fourth consecutive D2 state final Friday.

"We just remember to play for him," Burnett said. "We love him and miss him and wish he was here with us."