Alohilani Napalapalai and No. 2 Waianae will take on fellow sophomore Jacelyn "Lovey" Kepaa and No. 5 Leilehua Saturday morning. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Aside from first-place and top-ranked Campbell, the two hottest softball teams in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I West will cross paths this weekend.

Waianae, No. 2 in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings, will bring a four-game win streak into Saturday's road game against defending state champion and fifth-ranked Leilehua, which has won four of five games, including its last three.

The Seariders (6-1) and Mules (5-2) are in second and third place in the D1 West standings, respectively. 

Waianae's only loss this season came in a one-run game against the Sabers back on March 9. Since then, they have outscored their last four opponents by a combined margin of 32 to 11.

Seariders coach Robert Kalaola said that despite the result, the Campbell game has served his team well.

"We told the girls, ‘You know, sometimes you take the loss, but it's about how you take it and how you bounce back; You either get stronger or you get weaker,' but as you can see, the girls got stronger, so that's the positive thing we took out of that loss," Kalaola said.

Pitching has been a strength for the Seariders. Their 1.79 team earned run average is second behind only Roosevelt (1.56) in all of Division I. Through seven games, they have surrendered only 10 earned runs.

Freshman Mya Keliiwaiwaiole (2-0, 1.65 ERA) and sophomore Alohilani Napalapalai (3-1, 1.91) have been a formidable duo in the circle. Napalapalai also has two saves on the year. She has struck out 24 batters in 22 innings, including a 10-strikeout game in a rout of Pearl City on March 15.

"They both help each other out with their pitches and it boosts the girls' confidence and morale. They work very well together," Kalaola said.

Napalapalai was the team's primary pitcher as a freshman last season, when she earned All-OIA D1 West first team all-star honors. Kalaola said Keliiwaiwaiole had a solid junior varsity season in the fall prior to being called up to the varsity squad.

"The girl is doing really, really awesome. She's only a freshman, so it boosts her confidence even more and for the whole team's morale and then we have our sophomore closer, which is Alohi. We're changing up things, making different looks, just trying new different things," Kalaola said.

Mules coach Wendell Au, who led his alma mater to their first state championship last year, said he sees a lot of similarities in his program and Waianae's.

"At both schools you get athletes, but you just have to keep them tuned in and it looks like coach (Kalaola) and his crew got the girls to buy in. They're doing a great job, they're a great coaching staff and they got it all together. They're not flying below the radar, so everybody will go out there and play their best," Au said.

Leilehua has been finding its stride after a string of three losses in four games, including a 6-4 defeat at Waianae on March 5. It managed 10 hits in the game but saw the Seariders score early and often.

The Mules' only lopsided loss came early in the season, at the hands of Mililani on March 2. After taking an early lead, they allowed the Trojans to post 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth to pull away. However, the Mules avenged that loss with a 6-4 win over fourth-ranked Mililani Thursday afternoon.

"Each game that we play in this second round is big because it rights the wrongs, meaning against Mililani (the first time) we had a bad inning. One bad inning and the next thing you know it changes the whole game," Au said.

Junior catcher Gianna "Gigi" Araki, last year's All-Hawaii Position Player of the Year, has gone from batting in the heart of the lineup earlier this season to the top of the order. Also, sophomore shortstop Jacelyn "Lovey" Kepaa has had to re-adjust to the adjustments that opposing pitchers have made after she was on a tear at the plate for much of the year.

"Now she's not seeing any strikes," Au said of Kepaa, who has five home runs, 18 RBI and 13 runs scored in 28 at-bats. "So we just gotta move it around and the main thing is my team, my player, they understand that it's — just like in any team sport — you cannot just expect to do things on your own. I, as a coach, have to do things to go you out of the slump and I hate to call it a slump because it's part of the game."

In the pitching circle, Leilehua has mostly leaned on senior Alyssa Abe (5-3, 3.53), who has allowed 23 earned runs on 58 hits in 45 2/3 innings pitched.

"It's always tough in the West. Now it's just a matter of finishing up what we need to do as far as performance-wise, not so much the loss column, because it always comes down to the very last pitch in this division, so for us the key is bring healthy and being where we need to be going into states and all of that," Au said.

First pitch between the Seariders and Mules Saturday is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Kaala Elementary School.