The good news: Five Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) softball teams are competing on Oahu this week in the HHSAA tournament.
The bad news: Three of those teams fell in the opening rounds on Tuesday, officially moving to the consolation brackets.
Waiakea fell 10-3 to Kaiser in the Division I first round at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, moving to 8-5 overall on the season. The Lady Cougars improved to 12-2.
Kaiser logged 13 hits to the Lady Warriors’ four. Waiakea got off to a hot start early, scoring three quick runs at the top of the first inning. The Lady Cougars responded by scoring 10 runs over the proceeding six innings, which was too much for Waiakea to overcome.
Kaiser’s Paisley Kuba finished with a game-high four hits, including a three-run home run to take the 5-3 lead in the third. Teammate Audrey Higa logged three hits, while Sadie Tanabe and Makenzie Yokoyama. The rest of the Lady Cougars’ hits were logged by Elyse Yoshioka and Madeline Nelson with one apiece.
Yoshioka and Yokoyama each shared time in the circle for Kaiser, combining for four allowed hits and three runs while striking out five.
Waiakea was led by first baseman Tehani Chinen with two base hits and an RBI. Teammates Kaelyn Sewake and Kaitlyn Miura each had one hit.
Chinen was the Lady Warriors’ sole pitcher in the circle, allowing 13 hits and 10 runs while striking out two.
Waiakea will play Moanalua in the consolation bracket at 9:15 a.m. this morning at RWSS. From here on out, the Lady Warriors will be playing for ninth place in the state.
The Lady Cougars moved on to play second-seeded Maryknoll in the DI quarterfinals late Wednesday afternoon.
Over in the HHSAA Division II bracket, BIIF DII runner-up Kohala fell 7-0 to Kailua in the opening round at McKinley High School. The Cowgirls logged just seven hits to the Lady Surfriders’ seven.
Leading Kailua were Mahealani Alayon and Caydence Kauhi with two hits each, followed by teammates Amythest Thomas-Sare, Miyah Galdeira and Harmony Kamalani with one apiece. Kauhi additionally smacked a home run.
Kamalani was the Lady Surfriders’ sole pitcher in the circle — getting the win after allowing just two hits and no runs while striking out 11 batters. She is posting an 8-2 record with a 1.74 ERA in 2025.
Mahealani Pang and Maile Karratti logged all of Kohala’s hits with one each. Kalia Marquez was the sole pitcher for the Cowgirls in the circle, allowing seven hits and five runs while striking out three.
Moving to 10-3 on the season, Kailua played No. 1 seed Kapa‘a in the DII quarterfinals late Wednesday night. The Cowgirls moved to 9-3, and will play Aiea at 10 a.m. this morning at McKinley High School in the consolation bracket. Kohala will be playing for ninth in the state.
Pahoa was also part of the DII bracket, falling to Radford 12-2 in the opening round at McKinley. The Lady Rams posted six hits to the Lady Daggers’ two.
Kyralee-Marie Cordeiro led Radford with a game-high two hits, while teammates Aubryanna Benjamin, Emma Hoolulu, Brandie Pahia-Obra and Jesley Arakawa each had one.
Pahia-Obra was the Lady Rams’ sole pitcher, earning the win after allowing just two hits and two runs while striking out eight. She has a 5-2 record this season.
Isabel Tokelau and Kawena Alatini each logged one hit for Pahoa. Alatini was the only one in the circle for the Lady Daggers, allowing six hits and 12 runs while striking out three.
Radford, now 9-3, played second-seeded Pearl City in Wednesday’s quarterfinals, while the 4-7 Lady Daggers moved on to face Waialua in Wednesday’s late-afternoon consolation matchup.
