Mililani's Mackenzie Kila (11) smiles heading to home plate after hitting a home run against Leilehua in the OIA Division I semifinal at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. CJ Caraang | SL

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MANOA — No. 1 Mililani scored early and often in a convincing 14-4 semifinal win over sixth-ranked Leilehua Friday night. 

Mackenzie Kila and Makayla Pagampao each slugged a two-run home run to lead the Trojans (11-1) past the Mules (8-5) and into Saturday's Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I championship game. 

Mililani will play No. 2 Kapolei at approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium for a shot at its first league title since 2017 and 12th overall. 

It will be the first OIA softball championship won by any team since 2019. The 2020 season was stopped in its tracks due to COVID-19 and the league played exhibition games last spring. 

"This is my first year at OIAs and states because we didn't have that last year, so it's pretty exciting," said Pagampao, a sophomore designated hitter. 

Kila, a senior shortstop signed with East Carolina University, felt much the same way. 

"It feels great. It feels great to make our coach proud and to get back to OIAs and be able to go to states this year," she said. 

The Trojans punched their ticket to the state tournament in rather anticlimactic fashion Thursday. An unexpected forfeiture by Pearl City (due to a lack of player availability) just hours before the first pitch caught Kila and her teammates off-guard, but ultimately ensured their season would be extended by another week. 

"It just threw us off and we knew that we just had to come out, play our game and do what we do best, which is stay calm and do good on defense holding down for our pitcher and just coming back offensively," said Kila, who opened the scoring with her first-inning dinger off the first pitch she saw from Mules' starting pitcher Breeann Leong.

"I think I just saw it early and it was just a good pitch and I just swung," said Kila, who drove Leong's offering over the fence in right-center."

After Amber Aniya's two-RBI single in the bottom of the second made it a 4-0 Mililani lead, Pagampao plated two more runs an inning later with her towering shot just left of center. Pagampao's third homer of the season came off of a full count and just one batter after Dani Monroe got on with a two-out single.

"I think I wasn't swinging for the fences," Pagampao said. "I just tried to relax and just tried to do my job."

The Trojans pushed across three more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Kaui Garcia's RBI-sacrifice fly scored Kila and Monroe and Pagampao recorded back-to-back RBI-singles to extend it to a 9-0 lead after four innings. 

"We just stayed calm, had fun and we knew what we were going into and we just had each other's back," Pagampao said. "It just made it easier for us."

After four innings of two-hit ball, Monroe ran into some difficulties in the top of the fifth. Leilehua sent eight batters and scored all of their runs in the frame. 

Taimane Panganoran got the Mules on the board with her two-out solo shot to straightaway center. Kanani Kekahuna-Fernandez followed a few batters later with an RBI-single to plate Torie Au. The Mules cut it to a five-run game with Teti Suivaala's two-run home run. 

"Dani did a good job adjusting to everyone," Pagampao said. "Even when she was down she came back and got it back, got her rhythm back."

Mililani plated five more runs over the final two innings, capped by Kolby Kochi's RBI-single to plate Raynna White and induce the 10-run differential mercy rule with one out in the bottom of the sixth. 

Kila was 3 for 3 with two walks and three runs scored, Pagampao finished 3 for 3 with a walk and two runs scored and Kochi batted 3 for 4 with a walk and two runs scored. Monroe (2 for 3, walk, RBI, three runs scored), Taryn Hirano (2 for 5, two runs) and Aniya (2 for 3, two RBIs) also paired hits for the Trojans, who won all three meetings against the Mules this season. 

"We weren't really too concerned; We're just here to have fun and play for the players on our team that couldn't be here tonight and to make them proud," Kila said. 

Monroe allowed four runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings of work. She struck out five and walked two before Ashley Ogata got the final four outs. 

Leong was charged with the loss for Leilehua, whose only player to pair hits was Kekahuna-Fernandez (2 for 3, RBI). 

The Mules will play No. 4 Campbell at 1 p.m. Saturday at Kaala Elementary School for third place. 

The championship game between Mililani and Kapolei will follow the OIA D2 final between Waipahu (13-1) and Nanakuli (13-1) at 5 p.m. 

The Trojans have won 11 straight games since a 10-8 loss to the Hurricanes to open the OIA D1 West season.