MIL SOFTBALL: LAHAINALUNA 10, Baldwin 1 – March 31, 2012

So talented - Jessica Wallace

 

Heading into this pivotal game against Baldwin at Patsy Mink Field, I anticipated a nail-biter. Fortunately, the Lady Lunas brought out the big sticks early and Hope Morikawa continued to hold the Baldwin hitters down, cruising to a 10-1 win and running their record to 8-0.

Morikawa led off the game with a triple. Kekuu Haake followed with a 3-run home run (Yay! I finally was able to catch one of her homers with my camera! Joy joy!) Morikawa then came up again and hit a 2-run double to make the score 6-0 before Baldwin got a chance to bat. The Bears could not answer as Morikawa pitched a 2-hitter.  Morikawa came up a home run short of hitting for the cycle.

Hope Morikawa leads off with a triple

Kekuu Haake slams a 2-run homer

Haley Nakamura comes in to score

Kauanoe Arcangel

Mea Chang

Lithe Pokipala-Waiohu

Between inning sprints



Second baseman Brenna Nakamura with the dive stop and throws out  the runner at first from her knees!

Slide too early = caught stealing

Being a teammate means having each other's back

The Lunas added insurance runs in the 6^thinning when Jessica Wallace slammed a towering home run to left field. I kicked myself for this one because I didn’t get it on camera. I had been moving around, experimenting with different angles and vantage points, including up in the left field bleachers, where Hope’s dad was kind enough to set aside a spot for me which he said was the best seat in the house. As I was moving to the fence behind left field, trying to find a hole in the tarp to shoot through, I heard a loud ping of the bat and the roar of the crowd. I looked through the hole just in time to see the ball sailing deep and high directly above me, over the fence and land in the grass next to me. Unfortunately, the camera was nowhere near my eyeball so I totally missed the shot. Darn it.

The Lady Lunas move one win away from clinching the MIL regular season title. There is still the tournament to decide the overall MIL champs and anything can happen in sports, but the Lady Lunas are focused on their first-ever back-to-back MIL championships  in softball.

For Maui News article, click here.

For more photos, click here.

Addendum:  The Lunas played Kamehameha Schools Maui on Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at Eddie Tam. The Lunas won that game handily, 11-2, to clinch their second straight MIL regular season title and run their record to 9-0. Unfortunately, the Lunas’ tennis teams were playing Maui Prep at Royal Lahaina so I did not get any shots of the softball game.

For Maui News article, click here.