No. 3 Mililani crashes No. 1 Campbell, 5-4


Mililani's Mama Rivera celebrates after driving in the Trojans' final run of the afternoon. CJ Caraang | SL

MILILANI — Mama, there goes that woman.

Merilis "Mama" Rivera drove in four runs — including a three-run homer in the bottom of the third inning — to power third-ranked Mililani over No. 1 Campbell, 5-4, in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I West contest Thursday afternoon at Mililani High School.

The Trojans (9-2) overcame four errors to hand the defending D1 state champion Campbell Sabers (8-3) their second-straight loss. It was the first time that Campbell has suffered consecutive losses since March 2013.

Rivera, a senior third baseman, batted 2-for-3 in the Trojans' sixth straight win. Her three-run homer in the bottom of the third inning gave Mililani a 4-0 lead, and her single to right in the fifth plated Tarah Aniya to make the score 5-2.

The Sabers had an opening in the sixth inning, scoring two runs to cut the deficit to just one. With Nikki Corla representing the tying run on third base, Mililani pitcher Misha Carreira walked Jocelyn Alo for the fourth time of the game to put the go-ahead run on first. Trinity Favela flied out to right fielder Tracie Okumura who doubled down Corla by gunning her out on-the-fly at home to end the inning.

An inning later, Campbell again got two runners on base, but another double play ended the threat and put the game to rest.

Carreira picked up the win in the circle for Mililani, scattering six hits with four strikeouts and seven walks in a complete game effort.

Other players with runs for the Trojans include Kamie Matsukawa and Maya Saneishi. Maya Yoshiura's no-out groundout plated Matsukawa for the first run of the game.

Cieana Curran batted 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Sabers in the loss. University of Oklahoma-bound catcher Alo did not record an at bat due to reaching on base on balls four times, but she did score a run.

Reigning Division I Player of the Year Danielle Cervantes, a senior pitcher, was tagged for six hits while striking out four and walking three in the loss.

Mililani's victory sets up a battle for first place in the OIA West when it travels to Pearl City (8-2) Saturday at 10 a.m.

The Chargers were scheduled to play Waianae (1-10) Thursday afternoon, but it was postponed after the fourth inning with Pearl City leading 9-1. However, due to league rules, the game will be restarted to a clean slate and is penciled in for 3 p.m. on Monday at Waianae High School.

Still, either team can seal their own fate with a win on Saturday to earn the OIA West's No. 1 seed for the conference playoffs. A Mililani-win would give them first place outright. A Chargers' win would also give them the top spot regardless of the outcome of their game against Waianae on Monday.

As for the Sabers, they could finish with either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed for the league's 12-team playoffs, but the only way they end up in second is they win their game against Nanakuli and if Pearl City loses both of its remaining games.That would mean Mililani finishes 10-2 and Pearl City at 8-4, slotting Campbell right in between at 9-3.

A potential three-way tie with Mililani, Campbell and Pearl City each finishing 9-3 is possible. The tiebreaker would go to combined head-to-head records against one another. In that case, Pearl City (3-1) would be No. 1, Mililani would be No. 2 (2-2) and Campbell (1-3) would be No. 3.

Campbell could also finish tied for second with just Mililani at 9-3. Since the two teams split their regular season games, the tiebreaker would go to the Trojans since they would have one win over top-seeded Pearl City while the Sabers would have none.

Additionally, if the Sabers were to lose their Saturday matchup against Nanakuli (2-8), they could end up tied with Leilehua (currently 7-4) but the tiebreaker would still go to Campbell since they beat the Mules both times in the regular season.