At a tournament in which age came into question, Hawaii coach Tracy Miyashiro wasn’t about to question one age-old softball truth: Good teams make you pay for errors.
At a tournament in which age came into question, Hawaii coach Tracy Miyashiro wasn’t about to question one age-old softball truth: Good teams make you pay for errors.
When Hawaii made an error Saturday, Alabama was sure to follow with a timely hit at the RBI World Series
“You make an error and the floodgates open,” Miyashiro said after a 13-3 quarterfinal loss at Grapevine, Texas. “There is enough pressure on the girls as it is. That’s what happens when you have a young team.”
Meanwhile, one team at the 19-and-under tournament wasn’t so young. Miyashiro said Major League Baseball, the host, disqualified the Dominican Republic because of the use of ineligible players.
Hawaii never faced the Dominican Republic, which was to play in the final.
“I feel sorry for the girls,” Miyashiro said. “It’s not their fault what adults did.”
Hawaii was ahead 1-0 and looking to get out of the first inning when a two-out error opened the door for Alabama’s six-run rally. Shaily Moses’ RBI triple in the second inning and Tavian Taketa’s run-scoring single in the third helped cut the deficit to 6-3, but Alabama took advantage of another error in the third and tacked on five more runs.
Of the 11 runs allowed by Waiakea freshman Phoebe Furuli, 10 were unearned.
“Before you learn how to lose, you have to learn how to win,” Miyashiro said. “The girls learned a lot about themselves.
“I’m happy we brought a lot of young players here, because they are the future of the RBI program.”
Moses, a Waiakea sophomore, and Skylar Thomas, a Waiakea junior, each finished with two hits. Kealakehe graduate Leisha Nakagawa collected her second double in as many games. Thomas was 5 for 11 with five RBIs in five games.
Miyashiro said he expects the balance of his roster to return next season as Nobu Yamauchi eyes an eighth World Series appearance in 10 years.
While most will return to the Big Island for high school, three are getting set for college. Honokaa’s Kayla Requelman is going to stay on the island and attend UH-Hilo, while Kealakehe’s Leisha Nakagawa and Konawaena’s Bethany Batangan will continue their softball careers at junior colleges. Nakagawa is going to Garden City Community College in Kansas, while Batangan is heading to Olympic College in Bremerton, Wash.
Miyashiro said Requelman and Nakagawa have indicated they want to return to the program. Batangan won’t be age eligible.
“They’ve really grown with the program,” Miyashiro said. “Kayla and Leisha will be the leaders next year. Getting the other girls experience will help us.”
Alabama went on to lose 1-0 to Cleveland, which play Houston in Sunday’s championship. Houston lost 4-3 to the Dominican Republic in the semifinals but advanced on the DQ.