Home-plate umpire Ben Doss provided a light-hearted moment Thursday when he checked the bat of Moana Pinner to see if it was legal as the Hilo slugger walked to the plate for her first at-bat.
Home-plate umpire Ben Doss provided a light-hearted moment Thursday when he checked the bat of Moana Pinner to see if it was legal as the Hilo slugger walked to the plate for her first at-bat.
Pinner has a habit which is almost equally as funny in that she squares to bunt before pitches — opponents should only be so lucky.
Keaau kept Pinner in the park, but the Vikings manufactured a big inning and then they started belting the ball around Walter Victor Stadium for an 18-6 TKO victory and a small measure of BIIF Division I softball revenge.
“(Ben) always checks my bat because of the Waiakea game,” said Pinner, who slammed two home runs last Wednesday against the Warriors in a 19-13 loss.
Since hitting a grand slam in her second at-bat of that game, Pinner has drawn three walks in six plate appearances. She fakes the bunt to strive for patience rather than deception.
“My key at the plate is to slash, which is just holding the bunt and waiting for the ball because I always get overaggressive,” Pinner said. “I do that so I can wait for the ball when it comes. When I bring the bat back I can hit the ball, and I’m not just waiting there.”
Thanks to four walks and two errors, Hilo (2-2) needed just two hits — Shalyn Guthier (2 for 4) ripped a double and Gaylynn Ha singled — to score six runs as the Vikings batted around in the second inning.
In the fourth, the first seven Vikings hitters reached base and scored. Pinner (2 for 2) hit an opposite-field two-run double and scored on a wild pitch for an eight-run inning.
Ha finished with three hits, including a run-scoring single in the fourth, and Patricia Marcus collected four RBIs, driving in two with a single in the third.
“I like our girls’ spirit,” Hilo coach Kelly Galdones said. “They remember last year.
“Basically, we’re trying to score runs early so that our pitcher is not under pressure.”
Galdones would have liked to have pulled sophomore Zoe Cabarloc from the circle to rest her for a game Saturday at Kealakehe, but those plans were put on hold when the Cougars (1-3) put up a four-spot in the third inning.
In five innings, Cabarloc struck out five and yielded six hits, a walk and two earned runs.
With just three seniors, Keaau is a much different team than the one that beat Hilo in the 2015 BIIF semifinals behind then-senior ace Lohi Kamakea-Wong, the Division I Player of the Year. The Vikings haven’t forgotten getting swept on their home field.
“We were talking about that at practice,” Pinner said. “We can’t take them lightly. You can’t ever underestimate a team because you get knocked on your butt.”
Caitlyn Calhoun struck out four for Keaau but she issued nine walks and was hurt by five Cougars errors before exiting with one out in the fourth.
Coach Peter Ngirngotel was encouraged by his team’s hitting in the third inning.
Julia Mason hit an RBI double and Stacilynn Ng doubled and scored. Ng also singled and scored in the second.
“That’s a big improvement,” Ngirngotel said. “This is a challenging but interesting season.”
No matter how bumpy the regular season gets, Keaau already owns a spot in the BIIF playoffs.
“I’m looking for the girls to learn the game, and hopefully by the end of the season we’ll be ready,” Ngirngotel said.
Keaau 014 01 –6 6 6
Hilo 163 8x –18 11 2
Kohala 14, Hawaii Prep 0: Symphony Kauanoe allowed one hit in a TKO victory in Kapaau, and Setsuko Kimura tripled twice and drove in four runs as the Cowgirls improved to 3-2.
Deysha Yamasaki also had a triple for Kohala, and Briana Harrison and Keiko Yamura added doubles.
Kauanoe struck out four and walked one.
Kia‘i Lindsey took the loss for Ka Makani (0-6), allowing eight walks and seven hits with a strikeout.
Kamehameha 16, Ka‘u 1: Taylor Sullivan struck out eight and didn’t allow a hit for the host Warriors (4-0), and Sullivan and Kiarra Lincoln each finished with two hits.
Sheri Freitas took the loss for the Trojans (0-5).
Waiakea 30, Pahoa 0: Kristi Hirata belted five hits with six RBIs and the Warriors rode a 22-run second inning to a TKO victory in Pahoa.
Waiakea (4-0) finished with 24 hits. Skylar Thomas collected three hits and four RBIs, and Taylor Ogawa and Jourdan Perreira each had three hits and three RBIs.
Perreira got the victory and Raynah Berinobis took the loss.
Faith Manuel-Kamakeeaina had two hits for the Daggers (2-4).
For Waiakea, Shaily Moses tallied three hits, Taylor Nishimura added two hits and two RBIs, and Tiera Teves and Brandee Chinen had two hits apiece.
Waiakea 6(22) 2 – 30 24 0
Pahoa 000 — 2 5 2