Hawaiian Electric Game of the Week
No. 1 Sabers take first OIA D1 title in 5 years


Stacy Kaneshiro | ScoringLive
April 29, 2018, 1:29am

  


Sat, Apr 28, 2018 @ [ 7:00 pm ]

Roosevelt

3

Campbell

6

FINAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Roosevelt 0 000120382
Campbell 2 0 1030X682

W: Chloe Sales    L: Jaeda Cabunoc

CAMP: Alesia Ranches 1-3 2 runs rbi HR; Chloe Sales 7.0 IP 1 ER
ROOS: Kylie Kawamura 1-4 rbi dbl; Jaeda Cabunoc 6.0 IP 4 ER 2 K


KAKAAKO — Alesia Ranches continued her hot hitting and Liana Nagamine provided a clutch 2-run pinch-hit single to support another strong pitching performance by Chloe Sales and No. 1 Campbell held off Roosevelt, 6-3, Saturday night for the Sabers' first Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I championship in five years.

The Sabers (12-3) earned a seeded berth into the Division I state softball tournament May 8-11 at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Ironically, when they won OIA titles from 2011 to 2013, the Sabers failed to win the state championship. Yet, the Sabers managed to win the last three state crowns as an unseeded team. This was Campbell's sixth overall OIA crown.

The title game was the only OIA tournament game Campbell had to play all seven innings after mercy-rule wins in the quarterfinals against Mililani and semifinals agianst Kapolei.

"A little shaky tonight, but they played their hearts out," Campbell coach Shag Hermosura said. "They knew what was at stake. I'm happy for them that they pulled it out."

Ranches, the No. 2 hitter in the Sabers lineup, ignited the offense by scoring twice, stealing two bases and homering. Ranches, who wears No. 5, was big on sixes in the OIA tournament. In three games, she was 6 for 11 with six runs, six RBIs and six steals. Ranches felt compelled to contribute offensively because the way Sales was in control — 17 of the 21 outs she recorded were infield grounders — the center fielder did not get any action on defense.

"It was really great," Ranches said of her line shot homer to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning. "I wasn't getting any action on the defense and I wasn't really doing good at first, so I had to find a way to help the team, at least. So after hitting that home run and scoring one, it felt really great to help out the team."

The homer ignited a three-run inning that came after Roosevelt pulled to 3-1 in the top of the fifth.

Alesia Ranches was big on sixes in the OIA tournament. In three games, she was 6 for 11 with six runs, six RBIs and six steals. CJ Caraang | SL    Purchase image

The other clutch hit in Sabers' fifth came from reserve Liana Nagamine, who entered the same 2 for 8. She pinch hit for Jaelyn Myers and delivered a bases-loaded two-run single to cushion Campbell's lead to 6-1. That proved critical as the Rough Riders (13-2) cut their deficit in half with two runs in the sixth.

"It was a really great feeling, knowing I was able to go in and just perform for my team and to be able to bring a run in," Nagamine said.

The right-handed hitting Nagamine fell behind 0-2 to Roosevelt pitcher Jaeda Cabunoc before lining a single to right-center field.

"I was just thinking I had to slow my heart beat down, focus on making contact with the ball and getting it somewhere in the outfield so I can get the run in," Nagamine said.

Hermosura felt the situation was right when he let Nagamine pinch hit.

"She's always a person that during practice, she could go middle right (field) with this type of speed (from the pitcher). Played my hunch and it paid off. I know at practice, she does it all the time."

Meanwhile, the left-handed Sales was able to keep the Rough Riders at bay. She was charged with three runs, but only one was earned, scattered eight hits and walked one with one strikeout. But keeping the ball on the ground saved her when she got into a jam in the second when Roosevelt had runners at second and third with one out. Sales got Cabunoc to ground out to first baseman Zoie Recolan that froze the runners and got Jadalee Takara to ground out to shortstop Caisha Nunes to escape the threat.

Sales escaped further harm in the fifth when Maya Nakamura reached first on shortstop Nunes' fielding error and scored on Kylie Kawamura's ground double just inside the third-base foul line. Tiani Sniffen ripped a single to left, where left fielder Myers fired a strike to catcher Dyllan Sanay-Shiraishi to get Kawamura at the plate for the third out.

Sales faced danger again in the sixth. Mari Foster reached safely on Nunes' fielding error and reached third after back-to-back single to right by Mika Emoto and Kanilehua Pitoy, as they adjusted to Sales' outside pitches by going opposite field. With no outs and the based loaded, Cabunoc hit a grounder back to Sales, who threw home for the force. But Takara singled home a run to reload the bases. Hoku Ching hit a grounder to third baseman Chloe Domingo, who got the runner going to second on a force, but the relay to first was too late, scoring a run. With runners at the corners, Nakamura hit a grounder near second that Nunes initially fumbled, but was close enough to second base to get the force to end the inning.

"We just couldn't get the timely hits," Roosevelt interim coach Kris Fujii-Dias said. "We had a few innings where we had those opportunities. We just couldn't capitalize on them."

The Sabers jumped on Cabunoc in the bottom of the first. With one out, Ranches walked and stole second before Anastatia Iosia walked. The aggressive Sabers pulled off a double steal that proved crucial, as Ranches scored on Domngo's sacrifice fly to right that also moved Iosia to third. Iosia then scored on third baseman Pitoy's fielding error. After a single by Recolan, Myers grounded to short for a force out at second, but Campbell took a 2-0 lead.

Campbell got an unearned run in the third. Sanay, who was 2 for 3, singled to left with one out and took second when Recolan reached on second baseman Kawamura's fielding error. After the runners advanced on a passed ball, courtesy runner Searra Fuentes-Arellano scored when Myers grounded out to second, but the inning ended when Recolan was thrown out trying to advance to third to end the inning.

It was rough night for the Rough Riders, who were looking for their first title since 2009, which also was the last time they reached the OIA championship.

"This is the first time they've played in a title game," Fujii-Dias said, "so maybe the pressure got to them. That may be the difference."

As three-time defending state champion, Campbell is likely to be the No. 1 seed, which means Roosevelt will be opposite from the Sabers' bracket.


Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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