KAILUA-KONA — There were no elaborate celebrations, dog piles or gloves thrown high in the air after the final out for Waiakea. It was just business as usual for the Warriors, who only needed one hand with four fingers held up to commemorate another BIIF title.
Waiakea swept Kealakehe in a Division I championship doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, completing a second consecutive undefeated season and capturing a fourth BIIF title in a row.
“We worked so hard for this,” Waiakea senior Brandee Chinen said. “Coming into the season, we set our goals high and I’m so glad we got to do this together. I love this team.”
While the Warriors weren’t outwardly emotional post-victory, once the accomplishment started to sink in, the emotions started to kick in, especially for the team’s four seniors.
“Oh my, I’m going to cry,” said senior Gracie Patao when asked about what she will remember from her time in a Waiakea uniform. “We are all so goofy and weird. We just love each other so much. This is a family.”
Both Waiakea and Kealakehe advance to the HHSAA tournament, which runs from May 8-11 on Oahu.
It’s been more than two years since the Warriors suffered a loss to a Big Island foe. Kealakehe was the last to do it, but the Waveriders didn’t have the same luck this time around, settling for a third consecutive runner-up finish.
To get the opening win, the Warriors blew open a tie game in the fifth inning, scoring a whopping ten runs in the bottom half of the frame to end the game via mercy rule, 14-4.
The offensive onslaught in the inning was ignited by singles from Shaily Moses, Kelsie Imai, and Johnacy Mackwelung, a walk by Jolene Hirata, as well as a triple by Alize Ka’apana.
Ka’apana led the way with three RBIs, while Mackwelung, Imai and Chinen each knocked in a pair.
Imai started the game in the circle, allowing four hits and four runs — three earned — while striking out two. She exited in the fourth inning with the game tied. Halee Sweat pitched one inning of relief, not allowing a hit and striking out two to earn the win.
Sweat kept up her stellar play for the backend of the doubleheader, striking out seven, allowing six hits and just one earned run in an 11-5 victory. She pitched 6 2/3, with Jolene Hirata recording the final out of the BIIF season.
Like its been for most of the year, it wasn’t a matter of if the Waiakea offense would show up, but when. Waiakea scored double-digit runs in all but one game this season, averaging just less than 16 per game.
Leading just 3-1 after five innings, Waiakea broke out their bats for some insurance, notching back-to-back four-run innings in the sixth and seventh.
Chinen and Sweat each had a trio of hits and scored twice, while Hirata knocked in a pair of runs.
“I talked to them and said if they let the game stay close, there’s a chance we were going to get burned. They responded pretty quick,” Waiakea skipper Bo Saiki said. “We have a strong group. They don’t give up.”
“We have each other’s back,” Chinen added. “Even though we don’t start out well, we stick together and will come out on top at the end.”
Unfortunately for the rest of the BIIF, Waiakea’s future looks bright. The Warriors will graduate just four seniors and bring back their top two pitchers in Sweat and Imai, who are both sophomores.
“We have been fortunate to have the athletes that we have had,” Saiki said. “We never fall too far or have to rebuild.”
The same could be said for Kealakehe, however. The youthful Waveriders played with just a pair of seniors this season, and their ace, Telsea Taketa, is just a freshman.
Taketa took the losses in both contests, but showed heart, pitching all but one out in the doubleheader.
Kealakehe managed 10 hits in the two games. Senior Waverider Jamiana Tan found her fair share of success, going 2-of-5 with an RBI and a double — Kealakehe’s only extra base hit in the series.
While dominance has been the theme for Waiakea on the Big Island, it’s been elusive at the state tourney. The previous three seasons, the Warriors have lost in the first round.
“To do better at states, we have to stick together,” Patao said. “We can’t put our heads down. We just have to believe and keep persevering.”
