KEAAU — With her team holding a 3-2 lead against Keaau, Waiakea senior Skyler Agrigado stepped out of the batter’s box after fouling off a pitch and looked into the stands at her father, Baba Lancaster. KEAAU — With her
KEAAU — With her team holding a 3-2 lead against Keaau, Waiakea senior Skyler Agrigado stepped out of the batter’s box after fouling off a pitch and looked into the stands at her father, Baba Lancaster.
“He told me I had two more chances to hit it out,” Agrigado said.
The Waiakea slugger then crushed a towering 220-foot three-run homer over the left-field fence off Cougars starter Chelsey Pacatang-Hirai to give the Warriors a 6-2 advantage on their way to an 8-3 win in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I softball game between title contenders.
Agrigado, a third baseman with a potent bat, went 3-for-4 and drove in six runs to spark the victory. Besides the impressive home run, she also had a run-scoring single and picked up two more RBIs on a sacrifice fly.
But it was the home run that had Agrigado smiling.
“It’s the first time I’ve hit a home run over the fence,” she said. “It feels good. It was a flat ball right over the plate, and I hit it as hard as I could. As soon as I hit it, I had a good feeling it was going over.”
Agrigado said the Warriors (8-2) came into the game knowing it could be a battle all the way. After all, the Cougars beat Waiakea 5-1 on March 28 to snap the Warriors’ 59-game BIIF winning streak.
“We tried to come in focused and play as a team,” she said. “We know if we stick together, we can do it.”
Both teams were tight to start Saturday’s contest, which took place under overcast skies, with a slight breeze and an occasional light rain.
Pacatang-Hirai, a gritty southpaw, gave up infield singles to Brandi Maximo and Kawehi Granito-Wallace to open the first inning. But the Keaau pitcher bore down. Except for a wild pitch and an error, the Cougars hung tough while Waiakea plated two runs in what could have been a much bigger inning.
In the second inning, Maximo doubled off the left-field fence and sprinted home on Agrigado’s single to center to make it 3-0.
Keaau (8-3) responded in the bottom of the second inning. Pakalana Kaneta-Nobriga hit an RBI ground ball to score Mahina Homalon and cut the deficit to 3-1.
In the third inning, the Cougars struck again for a run. Senior Jacy Pagala reached on an error and scooted to second base on Homalon’s bloop single to short left. Aiyanna Silva then singled to left off Waiakea ace Chelsea Camello to pull the hosts within 3-2.
That set the stage for Agrigado’s home-run heroics in the fourth — the game-changer that boosted Waiakea’s confidence and stung the Cougars’ quest for another big upset.
Camello picked up the victory, striking out one and walking two while going the distance. The Warriors’ defense also committed three errors — not a favorite subject of Waiakea coach Bo Saiki.
Pacatang-Hirai also had her bright moments. She showed her pitbull approach by going right at the Waiakea hitters. Except for Agrigado and Maximo, who went 4-for-4, the Cougars’ ace kept the hosts in the game.
Pacatang-Hirai hurled five innings and took the loss. She struck out five and walked two. Senior Momilani Cariaga came on to pitch the final two innings, allowing two runs on Agrigado’s sacrifice fly.
The Warriors outhit the Cougars 11-9.
Cassie Ramos-Fujimoto and Homalon each went 2-for-4 to lead Keaau. Ramos-Fujimoto, Silva and Rylann Hacoba each added an RBI.
Keaau coach Boy Wong was not available for comment after the game.
Waiakea 210 302 0 — 8 11 3
Keaau 011 010 0 — 3 9 1
c Hilo 10, Ka‘u 6: The Vikings surged ahead in the bottom of the sixth inning, rallying for five runs at Walter Victor Complex to take sole possession of first place in the East Hawaii Division I standings.
Fantacie Keahilihau-Kuamoo was 3-for-4 with a triple, and Caitlyn Price went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Hilo (9-2). Reisha Hoopii-Haslam also drove in two runs.
Ashlyn Kaneshiro allowed 13 Trojans hits but picked up the victory, striking out six and walking four in a complete game.
Casey Koi was 3-for-4, and Shylee Tamura was 2-for-4 for Ka‘u (1-9), which led 6-1 after scoring four runs in the third.
Losing pitcher Shaylin Navarro walked one and struck out a batter in six innings of work.
Ka‘u 024 000 0 — 6 13 5
Hilo 100 135 x — 10 10 3
