Campbell's Nadia Delzer and Leilehua's Reilyenne Nahulu share a moment at third base in a regular season meeting between the two teams in 2017. Michael Lasquero | SL

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UPDATE (03/24/18): Due to inclement weather, the game was postponed and is scheduled for Tuesday, March 27 at 3 p.m. at Campbell High School.

UPDATE (03/26/18): Game rescheduled for April 3 at 3 p.m.

UPDATE (04/03/18): Due to more inclement weather, the game is again postponed until a date TBD.

Three different teams from the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I West have taken turns as the No. 1 team in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Softball Power Rankings through the first five weeks of the season.

Two of them — fourth-ranked Leilehua and current-No. 1 Campbell — will face off in central Oahu Saturday morning in a rematch of the season opener for both teams at the end of February.

The Mules (4-2) won that game by a margin of 11 runs after six innings but have dropped two of their last three games. They opened the season 3-0, but their lone victory since then was by forfeit over Nanakuli last Saturday.

"A win Saturday definitely would not just put us back on track, but give us a good measurement of what we're doing doing into our second round of the season," Leilehua first-year coach Wendell Au said. "It's a good measurement to see where we're at, what we need to do and where we need to be going into the second half and the playoffs."

Au said while the win over the three-time defending state champion Sabers (5-1) was a nice confidence boost to start the season, he is taking nothing for granted in the arduous OIA D1 West.

"I think being in the West, every team is like facing the number one team. As you can see, everybody kind of jockeys around (for the top spot) and in the rankings there are at least four West teams in the top five," Au said.

"It is a thing being that Campbell is number one and the three-time state champions, but we take each game the same. It wouldn't matter if it was Campbell or any other West team (coming up) because everybody is tough in their own way. Everybody brings their own style, but everybody is gonna be there."

With Nanakuli's forfeit last weekend followed by a bye in their schedule Tuesday, Saturday's game will mark the Mules' first in 11 days.

"It allowed us to focus in on the one opponent, the task-at-hand type of deal and get ready for Campbell, but eleven days is kind of worrying, but that's just how it unfolded," Au said. "It's unfortunate that Nanakuli had to forfeit and that's what led to us having eleven days off, but it's going to come up in the second round again at the tail end of our season, so that's why this game is going to be a measurement of what our second half is going to be like. No matter what the outcome, it's what I'll see out of my team (that will be most important)."

Leilehua enters the weekend in a three-way tie for second place in the D1 West standings with No. 2-ranked Kapolei and No. 5 Pearl City. It will be shorthanded when it faces one of the state's hottest teams in the Sabers, winners of five straight.

The Mules will be without seniors Gwen Maeha and Pomai Nahulu, who are on a school trip to Japan dancing hula, and sophomore Gianni Araki, who is expected to miss the next few weeks due to injury.

"We've always been saying from the start that everybody gotta be ready and I would always say to the girls that it's 'next man up,' because we don't know what the season is going to bring. It could be anything from injuries to grades, so everybody gotta be ready and whoever is behind (a starter), don't take it for granted because at any time, anybody could start," Au said.

Au said he expects senior Kaena Nistal to slot into Maeha's designated player spot in the lineup and sophomore Kylee Ancheta-Maeda to fill Nahulu's role at first base. As for Araki's stand-in at third base, Au said he will determinate a starter by game time Saturday.

"We'll see how this week unfolds and how close the match ups are of seeing who is gonna be up for the task," Au said.

Au was also noncommittal on naming a starting pitcher. One thing he does have there is options. Nistal, along with fellow senior Kamryn Kamakaiwi and junior Alyssa Abe, have all recorded significant time in the pitching circle this season.

Nistal has logged the most innings (16.0) of the trio. She is 2-1 of the season with an earned run average of 4.40. Kamakaiwi (1-1, 2.78) is recorded 14 strikeouts to just five walks in 12 1/3 innings of work, while Abe (0-0, 1.32) has allowed just one run in 5 1/3 innings.

Au said he expects to use at least two pitchers Saturday to help keep the Sabers' red-hot bats at bay, but added that the Mules will have to keep pace offensively to stay in it.

"I know Campbell is gonna bring the sticks, so you have to meet them or beat them," Au said. "It's definitely important to cash in rush when you can, but I think that's the same for any opponent in the West. Our first matchup against them, it was as if we came out with the formidable bats, but me personally, I look at Campbell being in at least the top-four hitting teams in the state. Campbell just has great talent; That area, they just breed great softball players."

For the Sabers, their 16-5 loss to Leilehua to start the season was ironically the only lopsided game all year. Since then, they have won their last four games — Tuesday's forfeit win over Nanakuli notwithstanding — by a combined margin of 23-16 — including a pair of one-run victories.

Campbell coach Shag Hermosura has referred to the Leilehua loss as a "wake-up call."

"The first time we played them we weren't focused and you can't take any team for granted because they're all good and you've just gotta come out and play our game every game and lately we've been doing that," said Hermosura, whose team sits in first place.

"We've been executing more and finding ourselves with a lot of confidence. We've been coming out the Ws, but it's been a battle the whole game and we'll have to do that the whole year, just battle and focus and do the fundamental things that are important right."

Hermosura said the players have put the accomplishment of season's past behind them.

"I think what we did was we refocused everything," he said. "We've been working hard mentally and fundamentally, but we're also playing with no pressure right now. It's just about going out, having out and executing and taking it one game at a time."

Part of the reason for the Sabers' current success can be traced to their depth and balance.

"I really can't pick out any individuals right now as they've all been stepping up to the plate at different times, so it's the whole team itself," Hermosura said. "We hit from the top, middle and the bottom (of the lineup) and we just try to execute and get the runners across the plate and play great defense."

As far as pitching, Campbell has also used multiple arms this season. Sophomore Chloe Sales (3-0, 5.47) has thrown complete games in each of her three victories and has recorded one save in 25 2/3 innings, while junior Nadia Delzer (1-1, 7.67) is logged 7 1/3 innings of work.

Neither pitcher fared well against the Mules the first time around. Delzer lasted just one inning, allowing six runs on seven hits and being tagged the loss, while Sales was roughed up for 10 runs on 16 hits in four innings of relief.

Hermosura said he has not yet decided on a starter for Saturday.

"For me, it's a matter of who has the better practices in the week and before the game, how focused all my pitchers are and if I've got to go committee pitching, I will," he said.

Regardless of which pitcher Hermosura gives the ball to, a strict adherence to the game plan will be required against the Mules, who come in with a .429 team batting average — tops in the OIA D1 West.

"Leilehua is a good hitting team with good coaches and (last time out) they pretty much figured out our game plan and our pitching plan, so hopefully we can overcome that in this next game and not make it that easy as it was in the past and hopefully we can come up with the W, but like anything else, everybody else in this league and in the state is tough, so we just gotta come out and play and bring our A-game every time we come out on the field," Hermosura said.

First pitch between the Mules and host Sabers is scheduled for 10 a.m.