By MATT GERHART
By MATT GERHART
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Ashlyn Kaneshiro didn’t have to think long when asked Thursday if the Hilo softball program had grown tired of losing to Waiakea.
“Hell yeah,” the senior pitcher exclaimed.
A quick and final response on the subject. The Vikings won’t have to deal with that question anymore.
Kaneshiro threw a three-hit shutout and Hilo emphatically ended a six-year drought against their rivals with a 10-0 TKO victory in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation game at Walter Victor Complex.
The Vikings (8-2) moved into a first place tie atop the Division I East standings with Keaau, while the suddenly vulnerable Warriors (7-2), who had a 59-game BIIF winning streak end March 28 against the Cougars, fell a half-game behind.
That Hilo was able to make short work of its nemesis made the mercy-rule victory that much sweeter, Kaneshiro said
“We wanted to be the first to TKO them,” she said. “Winning would have been good enough, but a TKO was better.”
Juniors Raven Hall and Seni Nau each had two-run singles as Hilo rallied for seven runs in the second inning after senior Chelsea Camello retired the first two batters. The next eight hitters reached base with the help of three Waiakea errors, giving Hall good reason to note that there’s a new landscape, not to mention a tight race, in Division I.
“Feels good because we accomplished our goals,” said the junior, who finished 2 for 3. “First was to beat them, and then to TKO them.
“Since I know everyone is out to get us now, I want to beat Waiakea again … and Keaau.”
Waiakea, Keaau and Hilo are all 1-1 against each other with one to play. The five-time defending champion Warriors visit Keaau on Saturday. Hilo hosts the Cougars on April 13 and finishes the season April 21 at Waiakea.
The East Nos. 1 and 3 seeds will play each other April 27 in the BIIF tournament semifinals, while the No. 2 team visits Kealakehe. The BIIF champion gets the league’s lone automatic state berth. The BIIF runner-up will host a state play-in game.
Already leading 3-0, sophomore second baseman Shyanne Higa-Gonsalves started the second-inning rally off with a single and scored on Kaneshiro’s double to right. Then the Warriors unraveled in the field, committing three of their five errors. Six of the 10 runs that Waiakea allowed were unearned.
“We’re not playing good ball defensively,” Warriors coach Bo Saiki said.
Junior Fantacie Keahilihau-Kuamoo was 2 for 2 with an RBI double in the first and two runs scored. Kaneshiro drove in two runs, catcher Aliesa Kaneshiro singled and scored in the second and executed a safety squeeze bunt to bring home a run in the first. Batting leadoff, Higa-Gonsalves manufactured a run in the first when she walked, moved to third on a steal and a wild pitch, then raced home on a groundout.
Add it all up, and it’s the biggest win of third-year coach Leo Sing Chow’s career — a least for now, she said.
“We just played Viking softball: Make things happen, play the small game and swing the bat,” she said. “We always play close games against Waiakea, so to accomplish one of our goals, it’s very rewarding. Especially with the amount of work they put in. I’m extremely proud.”
Ashlyn Kaneshiro located her pitches on the corners, striking out three and allowing a walk and three harmless singles. She consistently got the Warriors to hit the ball on the ground to Nau at third and Keahilihau-Kuamoo at short.
“She was hitting her spots and focused,” Sing Chow said. “She did what was asked and let her defense work.”
Camello struck out three and allowed four earned runs on eight hits and two walks, recovering a bit in the third and fourth to retire seven of the final eight batters she faced.
Pinch hitter Jayla Costa singled to lead off the fifth as Waiakea tried to extend the game, but she was quickly erased when Kaneshiro fielded Elizabeth Sakamoto’s comebacker and combined with Keahilihau-Kuamoo and first baseman Caitlyn Price to turn a 1-6-3 double play.
Kaneshiro didn’t notice anything extra special about her pitching Thursday, but she did see something different in the Vikings’ attitude.
“The vibe was good for everybody,” Kaneshiro said. “We wanted it.”
Waiakea 000 00— 0 3 5
Hilo 370 0x —10 8 2