Power, clutch pitching propel Punahou softball past No. 1 Maryknoll
Mar. 27—Li 'i Brown parked a two-run home run on the roof of the school library and Tasi Taufahema pitched a flawless seventh inning for a save as No. 7 Punahou stunned No. 1 Maryknoll 5-4 on a windy Tuesday afternoon at Punahou.
Li 'i Brown parked a two-run home run on the roof of the school library and Tasi Taufahema pitched a flawless seventh inning for a save as No. 7 Punahou stunned No. 1 Maryknoll 5-4 on a windy Tuesday afternoon at Punahou.
"We were just fired up. We knew the competition with Maryknoll was going to be hard, especially with the game that we just went through with them that went into extra innings, " said Brown, a junior third baseman. "That definitely fired us up to want it more, to keep the momentum up. If we make a mistake, we've got to get right back at it because the game's not over yet."
Maryknoll edged Punahou 7-6 in eight innings on March 16.
Punahou improved to 3-2 in ILH softball, while Maryknoll dropped to 4-2. It was a crucial victory for the Buffanblu in the chase for an automatic state-tournament berth. The league has a three-round-robin format in the regular season for the berth, one of two allotted by the HHSAA.
"These are the kind of games that make us better, " Buffanblu coach Dave Eldredge said. "It builds us up as a team and allows us to understand that we can win the close ones."
On the same day the Spartans arrived at No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Softball Top 10, they walked across the road to the mauka side of Wilder Avenue for a battle with Punahou. Junior pitcher Paige Brunn gave the home team six outstanding innings before running into trouble in the top of the seventh. She scattered six hits, struck out two, walked three and allowed three earned runs.
"Their pitcher kept us at bay, there's no doubt. One of the better games she's thrown. As the innings went on, she grew more and more confident, which pressed us a little bit more, " Maryknoll coach John Uekawa said.
Brunn has been happy to carry a heavy load.
"I was very proud and I'm glad Tasi came in. She shut them down, " Brunn said. "Nice mix of pitches. It was good."
In the top of the seventh inning, the visitors got an opposite-field leadoff single from Ciana Kamisato. After freshman Reyni Hiraoka walked, Jenna Sniffen stepped into the batter's box with Maryknoll trailing 5-1. The two-time All-State selection belted a three-run home run that, like Brown's blast, landed on the roof of the Punahou library.
After racking up 13 innings in the pitcher's circle in a 24-hour span, Brunn was replaced by Taufahema. The effectiveness of her fastball and changeup was clutch. The senior struck out Kasi Cruz, then retired Palehua Silva on a ground ball and Sheyzhelle Iokia on a pop-up to end the game.
"I'm proud of my team. I was glad I was able to help them out, " said Taufahema, a senior designated player who got her warmups in since she wasn't on the field. "My changeup can throw them off."
Just one day earlier, Punahou outslugged 'Iolani 23-15. On Thursday, the Buffanblu host Kamehameha, and on Saturday it's a rematch with 'Iolani.
Maryknoll had just beaten then-No. 1 Kamehameha 7-3 on Saturday.
"Sometimes it's really tough to win a big, big game against Kamehameha, and come back and have that full force again. I told them, definitely, I'd rather lose now than going into the stretch run, " Uekawa said. "Kudos to Punahou.They played great. They played yesterday and they had four games in eight days."
In the fifth, Shayla Yamashita led off with a double and Brown walloped a 2-1 fastball high over the left field fence, parking it on the library roof for a four-run Buffanblu cushion.
"I'm sure the ball will come down some time soon, " Brown said. "The construction workers will find it."
