Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
Manager James Hirayama sat down with his winless Hilo RBI team Thursday morning for what he called a heart-to-heart.
Among his messages: “Life is a series of opportunities, and while one window may be closing, another is always opening.”
Hilo responded by awakening its bats and breathing new life into its RBI Softball World Series experience, beating Cleveland 10-3 and Hoboken, N.J., 5-3 in Minneapolis.
The sweep marked a much-improved effort for Hilo, which entered having only scored four runs in four losses (including once apiece to Cleveland and Hoboken.)
“Same pitching, we just were a lot more relaxed at the plate,” Hirayama said. “The girls said they were relaxed (earlier), but you could tell they weren’t.
“I knew we could do it, but I’m glad we could show the world we could do it.”
Skyler Agrigado homered in each victory, including a three-run blast against Hoboken to back Jordyn Waracka’s complete game.
Stacie Doi hit a three-run home run and Chelsea Camello went the distance to get the victory in the first game against Cleveland (4-2).
The victories helped Hilo avoid unbeaten Dominican Republic in Saturday’s quarterfinals. Seeded third in it pool, Hilo draws Atlanta (4-2).
In addition to the pregame talk Thursday, Hirayama also shifted his lineup, and the ages 13-19 team got an immediate spark from one of its it’s youngest players, Skyler Thomas.
Batting second against Cleveland, the Waiakea intermediate eighth-grader finished 2 for 3 with three RBIs.
“It think having a 13-year-old go out and do that against college players really inspired some of the older girls,” Hirayama said. “It helped them settle in.”
Camille Kiyota drove in two runs against Cleveland.