SAND ISLAND — The third time was almost the charm for the Kapolei softball team.

Tyanna Kaaialii tossed a complete-game three-hitter and drove in the go-ahead run to lift top-ranked Pearl City to a 2-1 win over upset-minded Kapolei in a quarterfinal game of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I tournament at Sand Island State Recreational Park Saturday morning.

The West top-seeded Chargers (10-2) scored both of their runs with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally past the Hurricanes (4-10), the West's fifth seed.

Pearl City, which locked up a state tournament berth with the win, picked up its fourth consecutive victory to move on in the 12-team tournament to Monday's semifinal round at McKinley, where it will face two-time defending state champion and fourth-ranked Campbell at 7 p.m.

It was the Chargers' third win over the Hurricanes in as many attempts this season.

While both prior meetings resulted in five-run victories for Pearl City, this one was tightly-contested from start to finish.

Kapolei pitcher Sadie Kapaku-You retired a string of 10 batters in a row through five innings and faced just three more than the minimum to that point.

However, the Chargers got the leadoff batter aboard in the sixth on a Kylie Tasaki single. Kapaku-You got Jaeda McFarland to strike out, but Darian Obara reached on an error that moved Tasaki all the way to third. With runners at the corners, clean-up batter Noel Saunders' bunt attempt with two strikes bounced foul resulting in a strikeout for the second out.

"That was one of the big mental mistakes we made offensively today," Pearl City coach Chad Obara said. "That was just a miscommunication and even if it was a miscommunication, it still shouldn't have happened."

While Obara lamented the miscue, it ultimately didn't cost the Chargers.

The next batter, Hailey-Alexis Yamaguchi, came through with a two-out single on a lined shot just past an outstretched Chasity McKean at third base to score the tying run in Tasaki.

"When I looked at the defense, the shortstop was cheating more to second base, so I saw that hole and I was just looking for a strike — it was an inside pitch, like belt-high — and I just hit it and it just went past the third baseman," Yamaguchi said.

McKean, along with shortstop Elora Tonaki, each turned in a couple of heads-up plays earlier in game, including McKean's clean pick of a short-hop for the third out of the bottom of the third that stranded a pair of Chargers in scoring position.

"She made some good plays," said Yamaguchi, who had two of Pearl City's four hits in the game. "All our balls were going straight to them. All we had to do was find a way, make an adjustment to score."

Obara credited his junior catcher for staying in the moment in a high-pressure situation.

"Yama's been clutching up all year," he said. "She's bought into the mental state that we're trying to get across to them, as far as keeping their composure and not trying to do too much and just going up there and taking it as just another at bat. Every at bat has equal weight and she's been doing that and she's been clutching up a lot."

Darian Obara, who moved over to third on Yamaguchi's single, scored the go-ahead run just three pitches later when Kaaialii looped an 0-2 offering from Kapaku-You into short right field.

"A lot of it was thinking ‘something small,' " Kaaialii said of her approach at the plate. "Like our team says in those kinds of situations, you have to think small, nothing too big."

Tiana Au, who was courtesy running for Yamaguchi, was thrown out trying to take third on Kaaialii's hit to end the inning.

The Hurricanes got the tying run on base in the top of the seventh on Lili Kaimi-Montira's two-out walk, but Kaaialii got Ciena Kauhi to ground out to end the game.

"We know they're a tough team," Chad Obara said of the Hurricanes. "They swing the bats, Sadie can throw a shut out any day and today they took care of the ball really well and that's what opened the door for us, the one mistake. One mistake on (defense) and that was momentum for us. That's what it boiled down to: who was going to make the mistake on defense, and fortunately it wasn't us."

Kaaialii overcame six walks — three of them coming with two outs — and struck out three to improve to 10-2 on the year with a 2.20 ERA.

"It was a struggle today. She kept her composure. The zone was tighter than usual, I would think, and she dealt with it," Obara said. "She had her moments where she was tested and I thought she did real well today. She came back and made some good pitches when we needed them."

Kapaku-You walked five — including the first two batters she faced — but none came around to score. Both of her strikeouts came in the sixth inning. The senior fell to 1-9, but lowered her ERA to 3.90.

"She's a competitor, so she's got all kinds of aches and pains that she's dealing with, but when it's time to go she knows how to get the job done," Hurricanes coach Stacie Mahoe said. "She pitched a great game today."

Kiley Ozaki's home run to lead off the top of the second inning was Kapolei's lone run.

The Hurricanes left runners on both second and third to end the fourth and fifth innings and stranded seven runners total for the game.

"It was a great game by both sides," said Mahoe, whose team can still qualify for the state tournament with a win over Kailua in a fifth-place semifinal Monday. "It's a tough loss. I know the girls are disappointed, but it's a good game and we have to come back on Monday and hopefully earn ourselves a spot in states and get another shot at them at another point."

The game was originally scheduled to be played Thursday at Pearl City. However, it was postponed twice in as many days due to weather and consequently moved to Sand Island.