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KAKAAKO — Following in the lead of Makayla Pagampao, Mililani used the long ball to take home title No. 12.

Pagampao belted three towering home runs and drove in six runs to power No. 1 Mililani to a 13-2 drubbing of No. 7 Kapolei in the title game of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I softball tournament Saturday night. 

A crowd of about 600 fans at McKinley Tiger Softball Stadium saw the Trojans (14-1) lay claim to their 12th league championship and first since 2017. The game was called with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning after Pagampao pumped her third home run of the night — a two-run shot — over the fence in left field. 

It is Mililani's 10th straight win since its lone loss, an 11-9 defeat to Campbell back on March 16.

As they have all season, the Trojans did their share of hitting Saturday night. They have recorded all but three of their wins via 10-run differential mercy rule, including all three of their victories over the Hurricanes (9-7) this season. 

Pagampao's first dinger erased a 2-0 Kapolei lead and gave her team a 3-2 cushion in the third inning. After Kolbi Kochi and Ori Mailo drew back-to-back two-out walks, Pagampao worked the count to 2-2 before she drilled an offering from Kapolei starter Kandi Malama-Ahlo over the fence in right-center. 

"I try not to overthink about everything, so I just try to stay relaxed and do what I need to do to get ahead," Pagampao said. 

Pagampao said that the veteran squad — she is one of eight seniors on the team — remained even keel after Malama-Ahlo held them scoreless through the first two innings. Mililani stranded four runners on base in the first two frames. 

"Honestly, we all try not to freak out. We try to stay calm and do what we need to do and try to get the runs up. I think we all know that we can get back ahead and just do what we need to do. We know how to hit the ball and we know how to stay calm and do our jobs," Pagampao said. 

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Mililani coach Rose Antonio lauded her players for their patience while working from behind. 

"After those two home runs we started playing defense. Throughout the game we made the plays and the first couple innings we left runners on base and we didn't press. We just had to be patient and disciplined and look for our pitch to hit and then manufacture runs and they saw the ball good tonight, a bunch of them," Antonio said.

The Trojans tallied five home runs in all, Pagampao's second and third homers were part of an eight-run bottom of the fifth inning for her team. She led off the frame with a solo shot that carried over the scoreboard well beyond left center and stretched it to a 6-1 lead.

Pagampao popped out to shortstop in her first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning. She made sure the ball left the yard in her next three at-bats. 

"I don't think I was a little anxious in my first at-bat, but I tried to just relax and I knew (Malama-Ahlo) pitched three games previous — so props to her for coming back and doing it tonight — but I just tried to focus more and stay calm," Pagampao said. 

After Pagampao hit her second homer, Sunni Kahanu followed with a solo shot to left to make it a 7-1 cushion. The next three batters got on base via walks before Kaui Garcia pulled an inside pitch over the fence in left field for a grand slam.

Defensively, the Trojans turned three inning-ending double plays to back-up freshman pitcher Hinano Bautista, who went the distance to run her record to 7-0 on the year with a 1.30 earned run average. She scattered five hits and did not walk a batter. 

"She did good," Antonio said. "She came back and started throwing strikes and let the batters hit and that's what you ask of them, just to come and pitch and our defense is gonna back you up."

Bautista's one strikeout came at a critical juncture in the ball game. With Mililani having just took the lead in the previous half-inning, Bautista was set to face Kapolei's third and fourth batters in Kayara Tuiloma and Malama-Ahlo, respectively. In their first go-around, the duo smashed solo home runs off of Bautista, each with two outs in the top of the first inning. 

Tuiloma singled through the left side of the infield to open the Kapolei fourth. However, Bautista responded with a swinging strikeout of Malama-Ahlo for the first out. 

"It was very big because (Tuiloma's) first at-bat she hit a home run and actually before that inning I talked to (Bautista) in the (circle) and was telling her that she needs to build her confidence in herself," Garcia said. 

In addition to Garcia's dialogue, Bautista had her own monologue between batters. 

"I just had to talk to myself after those two home runs — which were really, really good, I'll give respect to that — but I just had to talk to myself through the innings and I got those three double plays from my defense," Bautista said. 

In the Kapolei half of the third inning, a one-out single by Kendalyn Cordeiro-Felise was negated by a 4-6-3 double play. An inning later it was another twin-killing to finish the frame when, with one out, second baseman Kamryn Aoki fielded a ground ball hit her way, tagged a passing Tuiloma in the base path and then threw to first in time to get the batter. 

In the fifth, it was a less conventional 1-5-3 double play that left the ‘Canes empty handed despite two runners in scoring position with no outs. 

After third baseman Mailo's fielder's choice registered the first out, Bautista induced a comebacker off the bat of River Hawn. She then fired to Mailo at third to get the lead runner before Mailo threw back across the diamond to Kochi at first just in time for the inning-ending double play. 

"They are really good," Bautista said of her defense, "and I think that's the only reason why we're winning these games because I'm pitching and they're making the best plays that I've seen in my life."

Antonio echoed the sentiment of her freshman lefty. 

"Defense plays a key. Like they say, offense wins games, but defense wins championships and to (make) the defensive plays at the right time is huge," Antonio said. 

Aided by her defense, Bautista faced just three more batters than the minimum and got ahead of most of them. She registered first-pitch strikes to 14 of the 18 batters she faced. 

"I knew that Hinano could do her job," Pagampao said. "She's a really good pitcher as a freshman and I trusted her to do her thing."

Pagampao started the season as the Trojans' ace, but took a step back in that role since Bautista's emergence. 

"Last year I didn't really have that much (help) on the pitching staff, so I was really glad to have that this year, just to have some help on the pitching staff," Pagampao expressed. 

No one was more joyful for Pagampao after her prolific game than Bautista. 

"I'm so happy for her. I'm just happy I got to have this opportunity, but just for her, hitting all of these home runs, that's what made us pumped up to score those extra runs we got," Bautista said. 

Pagampao has gotten it done both in the circle — where she owns a 7-1 record and a 3.13 ERA — and in the batter's box. She carries a .419 batting average and has hit a team-best 11 home runs this year. 

"I'm very happy for her just to experience that. I'm really, really proud of her and happy for her," Antonio added. 

Antonio said it is the first time in her coaching career that she had a player hit three home runs in a game. 

"Not to my recollection," she reflected. "When you get that type of game, you're on fire — the ball is big — and she just went up there and did what she does: swing."

Pagampao, who will play for Hawaii Pacific University next year, affirmed Antonio's suspicions. 

"I'm pretty confident in my hitting and I know I work hard at it and go to all the lessons I can and just practice as much as I can, so I just saw the ball really well tonight — extra well," she said. 

Mililani has outscored Kapolei by a combined score of 46-4 in their three meetings this season. 

The Trojans won the first game, 18-1 in four innings, back on March 19 and ran away with the rematch by a score of 15-1 in five innings on Apr. 13. 

Kapolei had won five of its last six games prior to Saturday, including a 12-8 win over reigning league and state champion Campbell in Friday's semifinal round. 

The Hurricanes, who were the fourth seed out of the Western Division, had scored 43 runs in their first three OIA tournament games earlier this week. 

Kapolei was seeking its second league title in three years and fifth overall. 

While the ‘Canes were playing their fourth game in as many days, Mililani had a first-round bye Wednesday as the No. 1 seed out of the West. 

The Trojans will also enjoy a bye in the first round of the DataHouse/HHSAA Division I State Championships, which runs from May 14-17 at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium on the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus. 

Kapolei, along with Leilehua, Campbell, Kalani and Waianae will also represent the OIA in the 12-team state tournament.