No. 6 Punahou offset its slow start to the ILH softball season by getting off to a flying start Thursday on the way to a 9-3 victory over No. 8 ‘Iolani at Ala Wai Community Park.
With the win, the Buffanblu climbed to .500 at 2-2 after opening with an 0-2 league mark. They’re now one game behind the second-place Raiders (3-1) in the standings.
Five runs in the top of the first inning and another in the second set the tone for Punahou, and those six runs wound up becoming the final difference behind the complete-game pitching of Ashanti Martinez, who scattered seven hits and walked just one.
“Not only did the pitchers on both sides throw strikes, the defense was good all around,” Buffanblu coach Boy Eldredge said. “I think overall our kids ran the bases well and we had timely hits. We’re proud of them. They came ready to play.”
‘Iolani got as close as 7-3 in the third on Kapili Lopes’ RBI triple and a two-run homer to left field by freshman Lexie Tilton, who was playing in her first varsity game after being brought up from the intermediate team.
But Punahou finished strong. In the sixth, after Tiani Wayton’s sacrifice fly drove in a run, D’Asha Saiki closed the scoring for the Buffanblu by smacking a triple that came within a few feet of an inside-the-park home run. Seeing a perfect throw home, she put the brakes on and sprinted back to third while being chased by Raiders catcher Kalena Markham, whose throw to the bag was wide of the mark, allowing Saiki to score.
“Punahou jumped ahead and they deserved to win,” ‘Iolani coach Benny Agbayani, the former major leaguer, said. “Our girls have gotta come out and play seven innings, gotta play every pitch, every out, every at-bat. Win or lose, they still gotta come out there and compete. I think it’s a matter of them just needing to be themselves.”
Liana Heshiki powered the Punahou offense, going 4-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs. Saiki went 3-for-3, and Asia Lee stole three bases to go along with an RBI single.
“We played good today,” Heshiki said. “We came in with the mind-set that ‘Iolani is a good team and we can’t take them lightly. We were hungry and we were ready and wanting it as much as they wanted it.”
Tilton finished 3-for-3 in her debut.
Raiders pitcher Aleia Agbayani, one of the coach’s two daughters on the team, pitched a complete game in the loss. She allowed 13 hits, and her only two walks came in the Buffanblu’s five-run opening frame.
