The Kapaa softball team and its “hammahs” pounded out another impressive victory to end the season.
Rhea Furtado batted 3-for-4 with a double, a homer, three runs and five RBIs, and Karlee-Rose Keale pitched a two-hitter as No. 1 Kapaa beat No. 2 Pac-Five 13-1 in five innings in the final of the DataHouse/HHSAA Division II Championship on Friday at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
“I’m just super happy and super blessed because these girls are super special to me,” Furtado said. “They’re my sisters, and to win it with them is such a blessing and I’m super happy.”
Kapaa, the Kauai Interscholastic Federation champion, won its second D-II title, with the other coming in 2022. Pac-Five won last year’s state championship.
“We’re glad to be bringing the hardware back to Kauai, and to the East side of Kauai,” Kapaa coach Blair Yamashita said. “It’s just the beginning. We’re not stopping here, hopefully. Hopefully this is the beginning of something special.”
Sienna Yamashita, the daughter of the coach, and Nahe Marshall each scored three times for the Warriors, who had seven extra-base hits among their total of 12.
“We’ve been practicing hard and hitting all year,” Furtado said. “Rainy days, whatever, we’ve always been working super hard. These girls are ‘hammahs’ and they just see the ball super well.”
The Warriors (15-0) finished off an impressive season in which they averaged 15.6 runs per game. Nine of the victories were by mercy rule.
“Our mentality is anybody in that lineup can be the hero,” Blair Yamashita said. “Play for each other and we did that tonight.”
Keale walked two and struck out two against Pac-Five. She was aided by a pair of double plays.
“Karlee-Rose, she was dealing it tonight,” Blair Yamashita said. “She had good stuff, she’s got great command, great spin.”
Kapaa and Pac-Five, the ILH champion, won semifinal contests at separate sites earlier in the day after rain forced the cancellation of all tournament games Thursday.
Kapaa beat Aiea 11-4 at Pearl City, and Pac-Five edged Waimea 9-8 at Moanalua.
In Wednesday’s quarterfinals, the Warriors beat Kohala 23-4 in five innings.
Kapaa scored two runs in the top of the first inning against Pac-Five on Charlize Kenney’s double just inside the third-base line off Miya Yoshioka, which scored Yamashita and Furtado.
The Warriors went up 6-0 in the second on Furtado’s RBI double, Hailey Gibson’s two-run double and Bulla Kuhaulua-Leong’s run-scoring single.
There was a four-minute rain delay in the bottom of the second inning, but it didn’t cool off Kapaa’s bats.
The Warriors went up 10-0 in the third on Furtado’s grand slam off Mauliola Zuttermeister, which went over the scoreboard in right. The ball just cleared the screen, which had her name, number and photo on it.
“Miss Consistency. She really is a team leader,” Blair Yamashita said. “She’s one of our seniors. We’re going to miss her dearly. She spends hours, endless time, honing her craft and it pays off in the biggest moments.”
Kapaa made it 13-0 in the fourth on Makena Kupihea’s RBI triple, Marshall’s fielder’s choice grounder to second and Yamashita’s run-scoring double.
“Those guys are hitters, man,” Pac-Five coach Blake Lau said. “That’s why they’re No. 1. They hit the ball hard. They’re a great hitting team.”
Kylie Oshita’s single back to the mound with no outs in the fourth was the first hit for the Wolfpack (11-3-1). She was caught stealing on the next pitch, but Zuttermeister homered to left on the next offering from Keale to make it 13-1.
Pac-Five had a roster comprised of players from University, Hawaii Baptist, Christian Academy and Island Pacific. There were no seniors on the Wolfpack’s roster of 12.
“This team is very young and we got a lot of years to come,” Lau said.