The No. 6-ranked Campbell Sabers are in the state softball championships.

Taryn Irimata made sure of that with a 10-strikeout, two-hit shutout as the visiting Sabers beat Kaiser 5-0 on a breezy Thursday afternoon.

Kaiser (13-7 overall) was 5-5 in OIA West play. The five losses were by a combined margin of seven runs, but the Sabers got timely hits against Kaiser sophomore Kera Uegawachi.

“I’m excited and I’m thankful that my girls always have my back and make plays,” Irimata said, referring to an error-free defense. “And hit when it really counts.”

Paige Nakashima was clutch for Campbell with an RBI single in the first inning and a two-run single in the fourth. She was 2-for-4.

“She’s a pure hitter. She doesn’t chase the bad pitches,” Sabers coach Shag Hermosura said.

Leadoff hitter Cairah Curran was a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs and two stolen bases, with a sacrifice bunt.

“I think the team itself working hard at hitting got us to where we are today, the ‘W’ today. With Taryn pitching, and now she’s healthy, it’s going to be a fun ride,” said Hermosura, who guided the Sabers to OIA titles in 2018 and ’19, the last time the league held championship playoffs.

Campbell has won four OIA crowns under Hermosura. The Sabers will play Kapolei, which defeated Waianae in another quarterfinal, in the semifinal round today at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

The Sabers have been in 15 straight tournaments, more than any other school. Kohala, St. Francis and Kamehameha-Hawaii have the next longest active streaks at eight.

“We always couldn’t get over that notch, but hopefully we can. Kapolei beat us twice and hopefully we can beat them,” Hermosura said. “It’s a team effort and the girls, the coaches, myself and the administration are together. Hopefully, we can win and get the title on Saturday.”

Irimata has been the Sabers’ ace since her freshman year. Her fastball was popping catcher Leia Duropan’s mitt often, but Irimata said it took a while to settle in.

“It was a little rocky in the beginning. I feel like I made more of an adjustment toward the end. My fastball was a little softer today,” she said. “We were throwing mainly fastballs and trying to hit corners.”

With six state-tournament berths allotted to the OIA, Kaiser (13-5-1 overall, 9-1 OIA East) is still in the hunt. The Cougars will host Waianae on Friday afternoon for a chance to qualify.

“We know Taryn’s a good pitcher. We spent the whole week preparing for her,” Kaiser coach Mitch Matsumoto said. “We had the fastballs faster on the (pitching) machine. We didn’t prepare to lose like that, but we’ve already flushed this game.”

Curran led the game off with a single to center, stole second base and scored on a single to center by Nakashima.

In the top of the fourth inning, Teiah Keliiholokai and Curran singled with two outs before Nakashima singled to center, bringing both baserunners home for a 3-0 Campbell lead.

In the fifth, Duropan singled with one out and courtesy runner Pualani Correa stole second base. Correa advanced to third on a fly ball by Aleiah Kupihea, then raced home on a wild pitch to open Campbell’s lead to 4-0.

In the sixth, Keliiholokai walked and Curran’s sacrifice bunt was bobbled by the pitcher, Uegawachi. After a groundout by Nakashima advanced the runners, Rain Alo singled to right, scoring Keliiholokai for a five-run Sabers cushion.

Trendee Kahunahana and Shea Higa were the only Cougars to get base hits against Irimata. In the bottom of the sixth, Kahunahana walked, stole second base, and advanced to third base on a groundout by Lexi Oshiro. With two outs, Summer Buck walked and stole second base, but Irimata struck out the pinch hitter, Kalie Otani, to end the threat.