The Sabers congratulate right fielder Nikki Corla (2) after she made a diving catch to strand two Kapolei runners in the bottom of the first inning. Michael Lasquero | SL

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MANOA — A lot can be said about Campbell's offensive performance in the DataHouse/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Softball State Championships as they scored 40 runs and scattered 45 hits, but the sacrifices everyone made on the defensive end doesn't always show up in the stat sheet.

After blasting Kealakehe in five innings in the opening round, the Sabers had to go through formidable teams such as ILH champion Kamehameha-Kapalama and OIA West rival Mililani in order to reach the title game.

"Coming into the tournament, especially tonight's game, we had to leave everything on the field. You have to dive and do what you have to do to get that out. They did it, catching fly balls just as they were about to drop. Tonight, these bunch of ladies were special," said Campbell coach Shag Hermosura.

One of the best defensive performances for Sabers was in the quarterfinals as they held Kamehameha, the top-hitting team (173 hits) in the state, to one hit and Danielle Cervantes struck out 17 in that game.

"They mean everything to me. I know regardless, they had my back," said Cervantes, on her defense, who also accumulated 30 strike outs in the state tournament.

"I always tell Dani, ‘I got your back, I'll never let her down,' on defense and offense," said catcher Jocelyn Alo, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Kapolei, who is ranked fourth in hitting in the state, Campbell held them to their lowest hit output of the season.

Although Cervantes and Elisa Favela (eight strikeouts in five innings) had a great run in the tournament on the mound, it wouldn't be possible without the other eight girls backing them up.

The Saber fielders laid it out on the line—literally. Lili Kaimi-Montira sent a shot deep to right center field, but Nikki Corla raced and dove to nab it for the third out in the first inning.

"I knew I had to catch and I didn't want to let my team down. I didn't want them to score on us. My coaches told lay out for anything, dive and catch it," said Corla.

What's more impressive about Corla according to Hermosura, is that the junior outfielder has been battling injuries all season. She hyperextended her left knee that still gives her aches, but she battles through it.

"She was out for a good part of the season. She was my starter last year, she had a knee injury. For this tournament, we got her ready and she was productive and doing what she did out there—hitting and making that diving catch. She sacrificed her body for the team," said Hermosura.

Short stop Chardonnay Pantastico made some key grabs as well as first baseman Caragh Morris and third baseman Darien Robinson against the Hurricanes. The outfielders such as centerfielder Cienna Curran, did a great job getting underneath to rob the deep balls.

"They were giving full effort. They did their job and I did mine and I'm glad they did. It gave me a lot of confidence from the get go we were making the outs and things were falling into place," said Cervantes.

"We told each other to hold it down and not to let anything get past us," said Corla.

Alo brought the fireworks on offense as she blasted a two RBI home run and followed up with a two RBI triple to give Campbell those much needed runs. However, it was her willingness to get down and dirty to help her team on defense that stood out the most.

Kapolei was starting to gain momentum in the fifth inning as Holiday Ribac reached on base after getting beaned. Raina McKean's bunt went awry, but Alo laid out in a cloud of dust to catch the ball for the first out. That's not an easy feat, especially wearing bulky catcher's gear.

"I did anything to get that out. It was pretty difficult," said Alo, on grabbing that first out.