‘Iolani took a while to adjust to the slow pitches being tossed to the plate by Kaiser pitchers on Tuesday.

Once the Raiders figured things out, they turned on the afterburners and cruised to a convincing victory.

Mia Carbonell doubled, homered and drove in five runs as ‘Iolani beat Kaiser 14-3 in five innings in the first round of the DataHouse/HHSAA Division I Softball Championships at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

Carbonell’s three-run homer to left-center in the fourth put ‘Iolani ahead 5-3.

“I knew I had to sit on the ball because it was coming in a little slower,” Carbonell said.

Things didn’t start out well for the Raiders, who trailed 3-0 after the top of the first inning.

‘Iolani, ranked No. 4 in the state, then scored two in the third, three in the fourth and nine in the fifth.

“They didn’t get down. You could tell they were a little bit shocked at how slow their pitching really was,” ‘Iolani coach Chad Cordero said. “But at the same time, they stuck to the game plan and the balls they were hitting hard were going to eventually find holes, and they finally did.”

‘Iolani (14-5) will play No. 4 seed Waiakea in a quarterfinal game today at 2 p.m. at RWSS.

“It’s a good start for us and we just have to keep working hard like we have been. Just keep grinding it out,” said ‘Iolani shortstop Kennadie Tsue, who scored three runs.

‘Iolani, the ILH runner-up, broke it open with the nine-run fifth to take a 14-3 advantage. Hunter Salausa-Galletes, Harley Acosta, Natalie Ching and Lehua Acoba had run-scoring singles, Milla Fukuda had an RBI double, Carbonell hit a two-run double, Fukuda was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Julia Mizo scored on a wild pitch. The Raiders sent 15 batters to the plate in the inning.

Kaiser, ranked No. 8, took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Rylee Yamasaki hit an RBI double to center off Kiara Baba, and Kylie Ifuku followed with a two-run homer well over the left-field wall.

The Raiders cut the deficit to 3-2 in the third on Acosta’s two-out RBI double to right and Ching’s run-scoring single to right.

‘Iolani drew seven walks, but stranded seven runners over the first three innings. Kaiser pitchers finished with 11 walks. The Raiders did not strike out against four Cougar pitchers.

Tsue drew three walks and came around to score each time.

“I’m just trying to do my job and find a way on,” she said. “I know my teammates will be able to drive me in, and just trusting they can get the hits and drive me home.”

The key to the Raiders’ offensive outburst was keeping the ball out of the air, according to Cordero. The first nine outs by ‘Iolani hitters were either flyouts or popouts.

“That’s what we were working on, hard ground ball or hard line drives. If you do that and keep the ball out of the air, good things are going to happen,” Cordero said.

Baba, ‘Iolani’s starter, settled down and finished with five strikeouts over four innings. Molly Dyer worked the fifth.

Kaiser, the OIA’s fourth-place team, dropped to 12-4. The Cougars will play Maui in a consolation semifinal today at 9:15 a.m. at RWSS.