Undefeated defending champion Nanakuli got off to a powerful start at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association softball tournament.
Alexis Paulo-Meyers, Precious Paulo-Meyers and Charallen Mahoe each ripped home runs Wednesday as the Golden Hawks knocked off Konawaena 9-0 in the quarterfinals at Central Oahu Regional Park.
One day after the Wildcats (9-6-1) played their first errorless game of the season in a first-round victory, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation runner-up made five, leading to five unearned runs off Teizha Kaluna.
Kaluna went the distance, allowing 12 hits and two walks in six innings.
Chyanne Koko worked five innings to pick up the win for Nanakuli (16-0), the top-seeded champion of the Oahu Interscholastic Association. Koko struck out seven, yielding three hits and two walks.
Dorian Anu Binney finished 2 for 4 for Konawaena, which will play Molokai in a 5 p.m. consolation game today.
Of the Golden Hawks’ 12 hits, five went for extra bases.
Alexis Paulo-Meyers went 3 for 4, including a two-run home run to give her team the lead in the second inning.
At 1 p.m. today in the semifinals, Nanakuli plays St. Francis.
In a consolation game, Lanai shut out Kohala 11-0. The Cowgirls, the BIIF’s third-place team, end the season 5-10.
Konawaena 000 000 0 — 0 5 5
Nanakuli 023 022 x — 9 12 3
Leilehua 12, Hilo 3
The Mules connected for 18 hits, including 17 singles in the quarterfinals at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium in Honolulu, dealing the Vikings their first loss this year.
Three-time BIIF champion Hilo (14-1) lost its state opener for the third consecutive year, despite 12 hits. Freshman Moana Pinner was 3 for 4 with two runs scored.
A BIIF champion hasn’t won in the state quarterfinals since Waiakea in 2008. Leilehua (10-9), the sixth-place team from the Oahu Interscholastic Association, reached the state tournament by defeating Waiakea 7-2 on April 29 in Hilo in a play-in game.
The Vikings stranded 11 runners, leaving the bases loaded in the second and third innings, when the game was still in doubt. The Mules had a hit in each inning but the seventh against Hilo ace Aliesa Kaneshiro, the two-time BIIF Division I Player of the Year. In a complete game, the senior allowed eight earned runs and a walk with no strikeouts. Leilehua’s Taezha Ann Cordero also went the distance, walking one and striking out two.
Trailing 5-0, Caitlyn Price (2 for 3) and Jordyn Breitbarth (2 for 4) produced run-scoring singles in the third for Hilo. Kaneshiro also finished with two hits. Hilo will face Kamehameha-Kapalama at 9 a.m. today in a consolation game.
The Mules, who will play Campbell in a 5 p.m. semifinal today, broke the game open with a six-run sixth inning. Tiana Cantero-Kawelo brought in two runs with a single and finished with three RBIs. Leadoff batter Chenoa Au posted four hits and scored three runs, and Cordero was 3 for 4 with a run and an RBI.
Leilehua 121 206 0 — 12 18 1
Hilo 002 010 0— 3 12 2
Aiea 10, Kamehameha-Hawaii 5
Raisa Strom-Okimoto pitched a complete game and finished with two hits and an RBI for Na Alii, who erupted for seven runs in the sixth inning to down the BIIF champion Warriors.
Kekai Wong-Yuen and Gayla Ha-Cabebe compiled two hits each for Kamehameha (12-3), which will play McKinley at 5 p.m. today in a consolation game.
The Warriors had as many errors (five) as hits. Mykala Tokunaga took the loss in a complete game.
Kamehameha 102 100 1 — 5 5 5
Aiea 120 007 x — 10 12 0