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Michael Lasquero | ScoringLiveMay 1, 2022, 2:29am
Sat, Apr 30, 2022 @ [ 5:00 pm ]
W: Taylor Fukunaga L: Tiare Miura
WAIP: Kendalyn Cordeiro-Felise 4-5 3 runs 8 rbi 2 dbl HR; Taylor Fukunaga 7.0 IP 6 ER 5 KNANA: Hailey Flint 3-3 3 runs 3 rbi dbl 2 HR; Melody Makanaole-Baligad 3.0 IP 3 ER 2 K
MANOA — Perseverance has been the theme of the Waipahu softball team all season long.
Saturday's OIA Division II title game against Nanakuli was no different.
Freshman Kendalyn Cordeiro-Felipe totaled eight RBIs — including a three-run homer to give the Marauders the lead for good — and senior Taylor Fukunaga pitched a complete game to help Waipahu rally from a 14-6 deficit for a 21-14 championship win over the Golden Hawks at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
It was the second time in school history that the Marauders took home the league title. They last won the D2 crown in 2005.
Waipahu (14-1) also extended its winning streak to 12 with the victory as it outlasted the Golden Hawks (13-2) in a 3-hour-and-50-minute contest in what turned out to be highest-scoring championship game in OIA history.
"I feel just so much adrenaline coursing through my veins right now," Fukunaga said after the win. "I'm really glad we accomplished our big goal."
Waipahu co-coach Devin Fukunaga attributes the Marauders' comeback win to all of the injuries that they've had to overcome throughout the year.
"I'm so happy for the girls, it shows their resiliency," he said. "It's just the story of our season. We faced so much injuries throughout the season. We're always switching our lineup, but they keep coming back, just like today. When (Nanakuli) came up with a big inning and we were down eight, we came right back. Hats off to the girls. It just shows their resiliency and I'm super proud of them."
One of the key players for the Marauders who has battled through an injury is Cordeiro-Felise, who is dealing with a shoulder issue in her throwing arm that has kept her from playing her primary position at catcher. Against Nanakuli she started at first base before a defensive shuffle in the fourth inning moved her to right field.
While her fielding may be limited, Cordeiro-Felise's skills with a bat shone bright on a misty night that saw two rain delays halt gameplay. The Waipahu freshman finished the night going 4-for-5 at the plate with three runs scored and nearly hit for the cycle after recording her second double of the night in the bottom of the fifth inning.
"Once she gets into her proper swing plane, she's tough," coach Fukunaga said of Cordeiro-Felise. "For a freshman, she's mature beyond her years."
The Marauders were able to break out the bats late in the game to the tune of 15 unanswered runs, but it was the Golden Hawks who brought the heat early.
Nanakuli three-hole hitter Hailey Flint got the scoring started with a solo home run over the left-center wall for a quick 1-0 lead. The Marauders took advantage of five walks to score five runs in the bottom of the first, but the Golden Hawks tied things up with four hits and four runs in the second frame with Lexus Kotrys delivering the equalizer with a long ball of her own.
The two teams traded a run apiece in the next two half-innings to keep things tied at 6 after three innings before the Golden Hawks threw an eight-run haymaker against the Marauders in the top of the fourth.
Flint's two-run homer after a rain delay capped the half-inning as the Golden Hawks totaled 14 hits and 14 runs heading into the bottom of the stanza.
The Marauders, who lost their first meeting with Nanakuli during the season, were not fazed by the Golden Hawks' offensive outburst.
"We knew from the beginning of the season and the first time we played them that they were going to hit," said Taylor Fukunaga. "Sometimes we have no control over the bombs that are hit over the fence, but if they score, we just have to score one more. That was our mentality we had throughout the game."
The Marauders did just that in the bottom of the fourth when they sent 14 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs and chased two different Nanakuli pitchers.
"We just knew that we had each others' backs," said Cordeiro-Felise. "We just kept staying loose and knew that we can battle back in this."
Nanakuli designated player Melody Makanaole-Baligad, who entered the pitching circle in place of starter Charyne Callahan-Koko early in the first inning, started the bottom of the fourth with a strikeout, but ran into trouble after back-to-back singles by Ryanne Yoshimura and Cordeiro-Felise. A throwing error on Fukunaga's sac bunt attempt loaded the bases to set up Logan Chun's walk to score Waipahu's first run of the fourth. After another hit and bases-loaded walk scored the next two runs, the Golden Hawks turned to freshman Tiare Miura to take over at pitcher.
Miura struck out the next batter looking for the second out, but Waipahu came right back with a two-RBI double by Syan Yamamoto. Miura walked the next batter and allowed another to score on a wild pitch before Yoshimura's RBI single made it a 14-13 game with Cordeiro-Felise due up. After seeing many long balls go out of play beyond the left foul line, Cordeiro-Felise finally connected on a bomb of her own, her first homer of the season, to give Waipahu the lead for good, 16-14.
"I felt really good after that hit," said Cordeiro-Felise. "I was really happy that I could help the team take the lead, especially with that kind of hit with that home run. I just thought I had to hit it and be that person for us."
Callahan-Koko reentered the game after the Cordeiro-Felise's homer and got the third out needed to finish the inning. Waipahu did not allow a hit the rest of the way and the Marauders were able to add five more insurance runs in the fifth to put this game out of reach for the Golden Hawks.
Yoshimura, who started at right field before moving to catcher, joined Cordeiro-Felise as the two Waipahu players to finish with four hits. She also led the team in scoring with four runs scored.
Yamamoto, Kendrea Cordeiro-Felipe and Avhenlee Contado were the other players to record multiple hits for Waipahu, who finished with 16 total.
Fukunaga was tagged for a season-high 14 runs, but eight of them were unearned as she improved her pitching record to 11-1 on the year. She walked just three batters and struck out five, with two coming in the final half-inning of play.
Flint was the top batter for the Golden Hawks with a 3-for-3 performance that included two home runs and a double.
The Marauders will likely get a first round bye in the DataHouse Division II Softball Championships, which starts on Wednesday, May 11 in a four-day tournament at Maui High.
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