Punahou came out swinging for the knockout.
Mid-Pacific took every blow, then overpowered the Buffanblu for a 17-6 win on Tuesday to capture the Interscholastic League of Honolulu softball championship.
Keiki Carlos was one of the triggers at the plate with a grand slam in an eight-run fourth inning for the Owls. She pitched all five innings, permitting four hits and three walks without a strikeout. Two of the six Punahou runs were earned as the visiting Owls battled back from three errors on a windy day.
Lindsey Matoi went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, and slugger Ali‘itasi Docktor smacked a two-run homer in the first inning for MPI, which amassed 16 hits and took advantage of six Punahou errors.
“I just tried to hit the ball hard and it’s a good team win,” said Matoi, a sophomore shortstop. “It was trying to go where the ball was pitched.”
The Owls, ranked No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10, closed regular-season play at 14-2, clinching the league title.
“We wanted to play our game. The ILH title was at stake. We had to take care of business,” said Carlos, who has signed to play for UH. “Defensively, we’ve been working hard. Our defense was solid.”
A Punahou win would have created a three-way tie for first place between MPI, Punahou and Kamehameha. Instead, MPI sealed a first-round bye at the state tourney in two weeks. Kamehameha’s win over St. Francis, plus a tiebreaker over fourth-ranked Punahou, means the Warriors get the second state berth.
Punahou will enter the ILH’s playoff tournament for the third and final state berth.
“I feel a little relieved, but I feel like we’ve got to keep on working hard,” said Docktor, who has signed to play for Toledo. “We had to get used to this field again. The ball skids when it’s hit. You’ve got to watch for bad bounces.”
MPI coach William Quinn breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s been nerve-racking. It was totally different from the first time we played them, when it was five runs total,” he said. “They answered on our three runs and we knew they could score more. The girls came out to hit today. All our bunts found a hole. Normally bunts in the air are caught, so we got lucky.”
Carlos made sure not to give Mysha Sataraka anything in her power zone. The UCLA-bound power hitter finished with three walks in three plate appearances.
“They’re a good team. They came out banging. Now we move on and come back tomorrow to practice and keep working hard,” Sataraka said. “That’s all you can do.”
For a while, it seemed the home team had that plan in action. The Buffanblu rallied to take a 4-3 lead after a wild first inning that included two errors by the visiting Owls and one by Punahou.
“Every time Mysha came up, first base was open,” Punahou coach Bob Makahilahila said. “If it was the other way around, we probably would’ve done the same thing (with Docktor and Carlos). They got a lot of those little hits into the hole and right under the glove. They’re the defending ILH and state champs, and you have to give them that respect.”
As Punahou starting pitcher Jaci Young seemed to gain momentum going into the third frame, MPI’s bats got smoking hot.
Matoi socked an opposite-field single and Docktor walked with the bases loaded as Mid-Pacific regained the lead, 7-4.
After Punahou scored to make it 7-5, the Owls then sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth. Jordan Joy’s bunt single brought one run in, and sophomore Kiley Oeda added a single to right, scoring Nicole Lopez.
Karis Kochi then followed with a bunt single that brought Matoi home for a 10-5 lead.
Carlos, who led off the inning off with a walk, later powered a first-pitch fastball over the fence in left-center for a grand slam, and the Owls led 15-5.
Thalen Masada’s single scored Demi Coolen in the bottom of the fourth as the Buffanblu tried to chip away.
However, Matoi socked a double to right and scored on a single up the middle by Joy, who later scored to give MPI a 17-6 lead.
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