Kaiser punches ticket to states with walk off win over Leilehua

Brien Ing | SL

The cardiac Cougars are heading to states.

Kaiser turned a triple play in the top of the seventh to keep the deficit at three and set up a storybook rally in the bottom half of the inning, capped off by a walk-off three RBI triple by Kalie Otani to give the home team a 9-8 victory over Leilehua in the OIA Division I quarterfinals.

"I just went up there, knew I had great teammates on the bases who had trust me and went up there and did my best," said Otani of the at bat. "I just wanted to move the runners up and it just so happened I found a hole."

That dramatic ending was just the icing on the cake as far as big plays went for Kaiser, who also got a triple play at the most opportune time possible.

Summer Buck snatched a hard line shot out of the air at third base for out number one, then stepped on the bag to get the force on the runner for out number two. Buck then threw to second and a tag was applied but was initially ruled safe. That call was overtturned after a brief discusssion, ending the inning and more importantly, the scoring threat.

"I made some errors earlier in the game so I wanted to bounce back and help my team out," said Buck of the play. "And that was the perfect opportunity."

"That triple play turned our mometum," said Otani. "We knew we could get it from there and it was the work of our defense."

For the record, the triple play was the second of the year for the Cougars, who also turned one on March 14 against Moanalua.

Otani, who started the game as the designated player but came on to pitch in the fifth in relief of Keira Uegawachi in the fifth inning and allowed no runs in three innings pitched, also helped her own cause in a big way at the plate, connecting on a 2-1 pitch for a line shot triple that cleared the bases.

"It was a peak moment for her, I think for anybody its the best you can do, she won us the game," laughed Buck.

The game-ending triple was one of three base hits in the inning, which was sparked by Buck, who laced a single to right for her third base hit of the day, and Uegawachi, who gutted out a single despite an apparent leg injury that forced the change at pitcher. Two wild pitches allowed Sadie Tanabe to come in for the sixth run.

The Mules scored in each of the first three innings to go up 4-0 before the Cougars put five runs on the board in the bottom of the third to take a 5-4 advantage, which was capped off by Kylie Ifuku's two RBI double.

Leilehua took back the lead in the top of the fifth, as five singles and an error were cashed in to the tune of four runs. Kanani Kekahuna-Fernandez had a solid afternoon for the Mules, batting 3 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs in the loss.

The win assured Kaiser a berth in the HHSAA Division I tournament and a spot in the OIA Division I semifinals against Waianae, a 17-0 winner over Pearl City. Leilehua can still punch its own ticket to states with a win over Pearl City in the fifth place semi.

"It was huge, to get our foot in the door and begin our journey (to states)," said Otani of the win. "And I couldn't be prouder of my team for the work we've put in."