Moana Pinner was driven to help Hilo tie the game. Only after she thought she had come through did the freshman learn the truth: She’d just given the Vikings’ softball team the lead. ADVERTISING Moana Pinner was driven to help
Moana Pinner was driven to help Hilo tie the game. Only after she thought she had come through did the freshman learn the truth: She’d just given the Vikings’ softball team the lead.
Pinner accidentally drove in the go-ahead run Friday with a single to center, capping a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning as Hilo clipped Keaau 5-4 at Walter Victor Stadium.
“Honestly, when I got to first I thought we had just tied it up. I didn’t know I brought in the winning run,” Pinner said.
“When I was batting I thought we were down 4-3. I think it kind of helped me to push more to even out the score.”
Actually, Hilo (5-0) tied the battle of Big Island Interscholastic Federation unbeatens when Reisha Hoopi-Haslam scooted home on Shalyn Guthier’s groundout, Guthier’s third RBI of the game.
Hilo coach Leo Sing Chow has been working with Pinner to make sure her cleanup hitter stays with pitches. Pinner finished 2 for 4.
“She has a lot of power, but we’re trying to get her to use more,” Sing Chow said. “She’s only using half of it.”
Guthier showed off her power in the third, clubbing a two-run home run over the fence in center field to tie the game.
“A fastball right in my sweet spot,” Guthier said. “And my sweet spot usually isn’t that big.”
The Vikings collected 11 hits against Keaau ace Lohi Kamakea-Wong. Hoopi-Haslam finished 3 for 4, including a run-scoring single in the sixth, and Sharlei Graham-Bernisto ignited the rally with a single and finished 2 for 3 with a walk.
Two-time defending BIIF champion Hilo has the talent to overwhelm many teams, but Guthier said the Vikings displayed character in twice coming from behind.
“It made us push harder,” she said.
Hilo ace Aliesa Kaneshiro outdueled Kamakea-Wong, working around six walks and seven hits by striking out 12. The Cougars put runners on second and third in the seventh, but Kaneshiro got Ilima Kepano to pop out to end the game.
“She struggled a little bit but Aliesa showed what she was made of,” Sing Chow said. “This was a test of what we were made of. We told them it will probably get harder.”
The Cougars (4-1), who have lost to Hilo in each of the past two BIIF title games, used three walks and a pair of singles to score twice to break a 2-2 tie in the top of the sixth inning.
Keaau was crisp in the field until Guthier reached on an error in the sixth and eventually scored the go-ahead run.
“If we can execute our plays we should be good to go,” first-year coach Peter Ngirngotel said.
The Cougars got production from the bottom of their lineup. Leshey Makuakane was 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the second and Kiana Akana was 2 for 3 with a walk.
“We’ll learn from our mistakes and move on,” Ngirngotel said. “We had some issues. We’ll get them next time.”
Kamakea-Wong walked two and struck out one in six innings.
Keaau 020 002 0 — 4 7 2
Hilo 002 003 x — 5 11 2
Kamehameha 14, Waiakea 4
Mykala Tokunaga pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts as visiting Kamehameha improved to 3-1.
Tokunaga, who walked nine in the circle, and Makena Wagner each drove in runs.
Alyssa Hara took the loss for Waiakea. In 5 2/3 innings, she allowed eight runs on seven walks and six hits.
Kristi Hirata finished with a double and single for Waiakea (2-1).
Kamehameha 022 313 3 — 14 8 0
Waiakea 000 103 0 — 4 5 1
Ka‘u at Pahoa
The game was rained out and rescheduled for March 28.
