Cherise Mori and the Mililani Trojans host Gianna Araki and the Leilehua Mules Saturday morning. Michael Lasquero | SL

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After escaping with a 14-13 win at Pearl City in its season-opener Tuesday, things won't get any easier for the Mililani softball team this weekend.

The Trojans (1-0) will welcome defending Division I state champion — and rival — Leilehua (1-0) Saturday in a rematch of a state semifinal from last year.

Such are the rigors of the arduous D1 West of the Oahu Interscholastic Association.

"The West is tough again," Mililani coach Rose Antonio said. "It's always tough."

Antonio's counterpart, Leilehua's Wendell Au, agreed.

"The OIA West is one of the toughest places to be," said Au, whose team routed Mililani by a score of 13-0 last May en route to its first state championship in program history.

"They're a tough bunch," Au said of the Trojans. "They're definitely a top-tier team, so it's going to be played out until the very last inning, the very last out, the very last pitch. Plus, our last meeting in states, I'm pretty sure they want to turn that table, so I'm not looking at it like because we beat them the last time we met up or that type of deal, because day in and day out in the West, every single team is out to get that W."

The Mules, who are coming off a 10-4 win over Kapolei Tuesday, are taking a game-by-game approach to the season.

"I wouldn't say we turned the page (on last year's state title), but we're trying to keep the focus on keeping the same mindset. I always tell the girls that any given day a team can be beaten, but if you take each game day-by-day and play the game how it's supposed to be played, I think the results will follow."

Au saw his top two pitchers from last season graduate in lefty Kamryn Kamakaiwi — who earned All-Hawaii Pitcher of the Year honors — and right-hander Kaena Nistal, a First Team All-Hawaii utility selection. Taking over as the staff ace will be senior Alyssa Abe.

"(Abe) was kind of like a closer for us last year, but we'll also lean a lot on my second and third pitchers," Au said, referring to junior lefty Kylee Ancheta-Maeda and freshman Xaniah Toaiva-Talo.

"Xaniah was our JV ace so I'm bringing her along slowly because it's about the tail end and when we peak. Hopefully I can ease her into some games. She did make an appearance against Punahou (in the preseason) and she didn't do too bad, but it's a big jump from JV to varsity; it's a completely different speed," Au said.

Regardless of who is in the pitching circle for the Mules, she will benefit from a ton of experience behind her.

"We may not be as star-studded as last year, when we had Nistal and Kamakaiwi and (All-Hawaii second team third baseman) Brandi Leong, but it's people that were right behind them and it's always been a theory of ours to be the next man up," Au said. "It's maybe not as much power, but we can make up for it with that heart of a champion. They were a special part of everything regardless if they were a starter or not, but they feel like we can continue that transition."

Junior Gianna "Gigi" Araki, the reigning All-Hawaii Position Player of the Year, has moved from first base to her natural position behind the plate. Alyssa Asuncion, a Second Team All-Hawaii pick last season, along with fellow returnee Mikayla Pinera will also play key roles in the outfield.

"Everybody just gotta do their part, do their role and continue pressing on," Au said.

Araki gave a recent verbal commitment to play at UC Riverside.

"She had a really good preseason," Au said. "As far as our team, we went on a pretty good run in the preseason before we faced Punahou in the semis of the Saint Francis tournament. We went on a good nine-game win streak and then we lost one, so we didn't do too bad. We got to see what our new personnel can do, see what the new dynamics of the team is and it looked pretty good."

While the Mules and Trojans didn't cross paths in the preseason, Antonio is well aware of what the defending champs possess.

"I haven't seen them play this year, maybe half of a game, but they will contend," Antonio said. "They're tough, they've got speed, they've got pitching, they've got power in the lineup, they're really balanced, so they're a good team."

Antonio said the one-sided loss to Leilehua in the state semifinals isn't something she's spent much time contemplating.

"I honestly didn't really think about that game. It hasn't come to my mind, but Mililani and Leilehua is always a rivalry, so I think we think about it that way, as a rivalry between us," Antonio said. "It's always about who's gonna play the best ball and make the least amount of mistakes. We just gotta go out there and play and see what happens."

The Trojans overcame a 4-0 deficit after the first inning against Pearl City Tuesday. They posted a seven-run fifth inning to pull ahead 13-8, before holding off a late rally by the Chargers to come away with the victory — despite committing five errors.

"We didn't take care of the ball. We did hit the ball well, but we're learning," Antonio said. "Basically our team is kind of inexperienced. Even though I've got five or six seniors, I think only three of them really start."

That trio is made up of catcher Katie Carlos, first baseman Kobe Brown and second baseman Cherise Mori, who are signed with Pacific University, Everett Community College and Cal State Stanislaus, respectively.

Carlos will share time with junior Tia Dumlao behind the plate and also play in the DP spot, while Brown moved across the diamond from third base, which will now be manned by sophomore Jordan Okumura.

Taking over at shortstop this season is Iolani-transfer Rylee Nishimoto, who will also bat leadoff.

"She fits in very well," Antonio said of Nishimoto, a junior.

The outfield is made up of sophomore Riana Abeshima in right field, junior Kamie Matsukawa in center and junior Kaena Coleman in left.

"We've got a lot of new faces in the lineup, so in that nature we're kind of young, but we'll see how it goes. It's a very short lineup in height," Antonio said.

With the graduation of Cheyenne Ardona, Mililani will turn to a pair of underclassmen in sophomore Joie Baker and junior Serenity Jackson in the pitching circle.

"Those two probably will be getting the majority of the innings for us," Antonio said. "Joie throws a little harder than Serenity. Serenity can mix the ball well. We started Joie in that Pearl City game and then brought Serenity in to settle things and she did really good for us."

Antonio said she was pleased with her team's growth in the preseason, which included a trip to Kauai for a tournament.

"We still need to get better and work on our game. This year's team is kind of a similar team to years past. We got speed and some power hitters in the lineup, but we'll see. You never know. We just gotta take it game by game."

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Mililani.