Aleia Agbayani and the Raiders will put their six-game win streak on the line when they host Logan Carlos and the Spartans in an ILH Division I showdown Saturday morning. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Two of the state's hottest softball teams are set for a crash course this weekend in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu

Tenth-ranked Maryknoll, fresh off a win over previously-unbeaten Kamehameha, will visit No. 9 Iolani — winner of its last six games — in pivotal late-season meeting Saturday morning.

First pitch between the Spartans (7-4) and the Raiders (9-2) is set for 10 a.m.

If the first time the teams played are any indication — Iolani broke a 2-all tie with three runs in the sixth inning — the second time should be another tightly-contested affair.

"We haven't beaten Maryknoll for a number of years, so that win was very fulfilling that the hard work has paid off for us," said Raiders coach Dean Yonamine. "We've been pretty successful so far but we haven't won anything yet. We haven't qualified for states or anything so we've got to keep plugging away at it."

Yonamine is in his first season as softball coach at his alma mater after previously serving as baseball coach for 13 years from 1997 to 2009 and led Iolani to consecutive state crowns in 1997 and 1998. He's found the transition from hardball to be gratifying so far.

"I really enjoy our kids; they work hard," Yonamine said. "Our philosophy from back when I got the job in July of last year, I told them that no one is going to work harder than us and we've kept that philosophy throughout the year."

A spring break trip to Arizona — where it placed sixth out of 20 teams — paid dividends on and off the field for the squad, Yonamine said.

"Going to Arizona was kind of huge," Yonamine said. "We played well, picked up some confidence that we do well and I think it was a good bonding experience for them as well. It was a good experience and it's paid off for us so far. We just need to keep doing the things that we have to do."

Freshman pitcher Aleia Agbayani has been at the forefront of the Raiders' emergence this season. The daughter of former Big Leaguer Benny Agbayani — who is the third-base coach for Iolani — has put together a 7-0 record and 2.32 ERA in just over 30 innings pitched this season.

"As the season has progressed she's obviously gotten more confidence that she can throw all her pitches no matter what the count is and she can throw them for strikes," Yonamine said. "She's very smart and after one time through the lineup she normally gets better."

Along with the youth of Agbayani, Yonamine praised a trio of seniors in catcher Cassie Ho, third baseman Kealaulaikalani Gier and left fielder Spencer Oda.

"They've made my job way easier just organizing the girls and even when we were on the mainland they were planning things and really brought the whole team together nicely, so that's made it way easier for us as coaches," Yonamine said.

The Spartans, meanwhile, are hoping to parlay their momentum from Wednesday's big win over the league-leading Warriors.

"We had nothing to lose because we already had four losses," said Maryknoll coach John Uekawa, whose team avenged an 8-4 loss to Kamehameha earlier in the year. "It's not like we were relaxed — we were still motivated — and the first time around we felt like we had an opportunity to win. The other end of it is we dominated that game with the exception of the one inning when they scored all seven runs. A lot of credit goes to our girls that we allowed those seven runs and in the end we came up with the three runs. It was a big, big, big morale-booster for us."

Clean-up hitter Mylee Enos batted 3 for 4 with a pair of RBI and three runs scored and was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. However, her .394 batting average is just the fourth best on her team.

Leadoff hitter Bree Soma is the best of the bunch with a league-leading .636 batting average. Nohea Hee is second in the ILH at .528 and Logan Carlos is tied for 12th at .417.

"I'm a creature of habit so at the beginning of the season I normally like to have the lineup set, but this year all the girls are so good so it's a mix and match," said Uekawa. "The last two games the lineup hasn't changed and that's the first time we've had back-to-back same lineups in our 11 games this season."

While there has been no shortage of offense for Maryknoll, pitching has been an area of vast improvement as of late. A pair of sophomores in Kamryn Kamakaiwi (3-1, 3.98 ERA) and Kahilu McNicoll (4-3, 3.79 ERA) have shouldered the load in the circle after the departure of reigning All-Hawaii Player of the Year Shearyna Labasan to graduation last year.

"When we had Labasan she would strikeout between eight and 10 (batters), so it only gave us 11 putouts in the field, but now (Kamakaiwi and McNicoll) might get three or four strikeouts, so it almost doubles the amount of putouts we've got to do," Uekawa said. "It comes down to defense and our pitcher throwing strikes."

Uekawa expects a well-played contest Saturday.

"I'm looking forward to having a good, competitive game," he said. "I think Iolani is very disciplined and it should be a really tight game. It could come down to who gets that special hit or that defensive gem."

The ILH regular season wraps up next week. Iolani enters the weekend one-half game behind Kamehameha, which hosts Pac-Five Saturday.

The Warriors will visit the Raiders Tuesday.