With the fresh start that softball’s postseason brings, Waianae was not deterred by Roosevelt’s previously unblemished mark heading into the OIA quarterfinals at Stevenson Middle School.

All that mattered to the Seariders was the work their own team put in heading into the matchup. And after some extra hitting on Wednesday night, a 7-4 win over Roosevelt was the reward on Thursday afternoon.

Behind Tyra Pai’s four hits and Alohilani Napalapalai’s four scoreless innings of relief, the Seariders (9-5) are two wins away from an OIA title even as the No. 4 seed in the OIA West. For the OIA East’s top seed in Roosevelt (12-1), another loss to Moanalua in today’s consolation semifinals would end its season.

“I just saw the pitches and I knew I had to jump on it. As the first batter, I had to prove my point and make a statement that we’re here to win,” Pai said. “We didn’t come all the way from Waianae to lose. We’re here to win. As a first batter, I lead off so everyone can catch my drift and feel my energy so they can move me and we can score.”

Waianae wasn’t satisfied with its 6-5 first-round victory in eight innings over Kailua on Wednesday, said Napalapalai.

“We really stepped up and started hitting. We were struggling on our hitting, so yesterday after our game against Kailua, we went into the cages and we hit off the machine,” she said. “I think that worked for us today.”

“We work hard, we practice hard, and they gave it all they got on the field,” added Waianae coach Robert Kalaola. “It kind of shows how hard they worked.”

Roosevelt ace Jaeda Cabunoc loaded the bases in her first six pitches after giving up a leadoff single to Pai then hitting Lei Kapihe and Xailey Kamealoha. Waianae then took a 2-0 lead after a sacrifice fly by Daelyn Stephens and a single by Paiaala Wilcox-Molina.

The Rough Riders, who are tied at No. 2 with Punahou in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Top 10, took their only lead of the game when they scored three runs in the bottom of the second, highlighted by Maya Nakamura’s two-run double. A slight delay occurred when problems arose with the pitchers’ circle.

“The mound had turf on it and it was snagging my pitcher’s leg when she was pushing off,” Kalaola explained. “Those guys got it fixed, thanks to Roosevelt. I appreciate what they did to resume the game.”

Napalapalai’s two-run home run in the top of the third gave the Seariders a 4-3 lead, then Kenna Higa’s solo blast for Roosevelt squared things at 4 in the bottom of the frame.

After both teams went scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings, Pai’s RBI double gave Waianae the lead for good in the sixth.

“That felt really good. But for me, my mind-set was just to get a base hit,” she said. “One base hit at a time to score or move everybody. We had to win the game.”

Kailah Gates-Coyaso’s dribbler that went past both Kylie Kawamura at second and Jadalee Takara in right field brought in two insurance runs for the Seariders in the top of the seventh.

Napalapalai took the mound in relief of starter Mya Keliiwaiwaiole to start the bottom of the fourth and tossed four shutout innings to get the win for Waianae, striking out four while giving up four hits. Cabunoc took the loss for Roosevelt after allowing three walks, nine hits and five earned runs in seven innings.

The Seariders were also aided by Kamealoha’s clutch defense at third, which included two assists on relays from the outfield to nail two Roosevelt runners at home.

“I was feeling really under pressure, but my team really backed me up catching those pop flies out there and getting the girls at home,” Napalapalai said. “We really played as a team today.”

Up next for the Seariders is a matchup against Leilehua in the semifinals today at 5 p.m. at McKinley.

For Roosevelt, a win over Na Menehune would clinch one of the OIA’s six allotted slots in the Division I state tournament. A loss would end a promising campaign that was once 12-0.

“We just told them that the season is not over,” Rough Riders coach Kristin Fujii-Dias said. “We just gotta shake it off because we still got one more chance. They just gotta come back and play like there’s no tomorrow.”