When Waiakea is in the field, coach Bo Saiki appears to sit annoyed in the dugout, bemoaning an error or even an overthrow.
When Waiakea is in the field, coach Bo Saiki appears to sit annoyed in the dugout, bemoaning an error or even an overthrow.
When the Warriors are at-bat, Saiki stands on the third-base line and shouts in disgust at even the slightest hint of a base-running mistake.
But seniors Taylor Ogawa and Taylor Nishimura say Saiki only looks like the BIIF’s biggest curmudgeon, and on Saturday they accomplished an impressive feat. They made Saiki smile and made him proud with a 9-3 victory against Kealakehe that gave Waiakea a sweep in the finals and a repeat as BIIF Division I softball champions.
“No, he’s not always grumpy,” Ogawa said. “He just wants us to do our best.”
Under Saiki, Waiakea (15-2) has specialized in that endeavor, bagging seven of the past 10 league crowns.
“They worked hard all the way through,” Saiki said. “They deserved it.”
In contrast to the first three meetings between the teams, all TKOs, Saturday’s game was close for a while until the Warriors, sparked by the bottom of their order, pulled away as Alyssa Hara tossed four innings of scoreless relief.
Annabelle Dela Cruz hit a two-run home run to give the Waveriders (14-5) a 3-1 lead, and ace Kiara Cantiberos cruised until the fifth.
But while Kealakehe stranded 11 runners on base, Waiakea got clutch hitting from its Nos. 8-9 hitters, Ogawa (two hits) and freshman Phoebe Furuli (three hits, three RBIs).
“Phoebe had been struggling in the eighth spot, so we moved her down to see if maybe she could relax,” Saiki said.
Furuli started the tying rally in the fifth, doubling and scoring on Tierra Teves’ triple, and Nishimura’s sacrifice fly evened the score at 3-3.
In the sixth with two outs, Hara and Ogawa kept the inning alive with hits, and Furuli and Nishimura followed with two-run singles.
Ogawa hit in the middle of the order last season before being moved down this year.
“It made me want to push myself up, but where I’m at now really helps the team,” said Ogawa, who hit an RBI triple in the seventh. “Our heart was bigger this season. It had to be because we faced bigger expectations.”
A breakthough season for Kealakehe hit a frustrating road bump. Tavian Taketa’s would-be home run in the sixth was ruled a double, and Furuli’s go-ahead hit to right field in the sixth could have been caught.
Both teams are headed to the HHSAA tournament (May 10-13 on Oahu), but the Warriors earned a seeded berth.
Taketa (2 for 3) singled and scored on an error in the first, Brittney Keaunui was 3 for 4 and Dezarae Garcia had two hits. Cantiberos went the distance, striking out one and walking four.
In a strange twist, Jourdan Perreira and Shaily Moses each hit triples for Waiakea but were thrown out trying for inside-the-park home runs.
Even Saiki didn’t seem to mind afterward.
“He always makes us laugh with his jokes that are hard to get the concept of,” Nishimura said.
Asked whether it was a bigger accomplishment to make Saiki smile or win a championship, Nishimura paused for a moment, saying, “I think it’s harder to make him smile.”
Those were in no short supply.
Waiakea 000 124 2 – 9 12 1
Kealakehe 102 000 0 – 3 8 3