KEAAU — Konawaena freshman Shaylann Grace made a loud statement as the latest standout two-way threat against the longtime BIIF softball champs.
The right-handed pitcher/slugger fired a four-hitter, blasted a two-run homer and had five RBIs as the Wildcats thumped Kamehameha 12-2 in a five-inning TKO Division II showdown Saturday at Kamanawa Field.
Grace allowed two unearned runs, walked two and struck out five to push the Wildcats (10-2) back into first place ahead of the Warriors (7-2), the five-time defending BIIF champions.
She batted 3 for 4, hitting a two-run home run in the first inning, a bases-loaded triple in the second, flew out in the third and bunted for a single in the fifth to lead Konawaena’s eight-hit attack.
Teizah Kaluna went 2 for 3 with two RBIs, and every other Wildcat either scored a run or had an RBI. Grace and Rachael Sato scored three runs each while Kaluna and Andi Uemura scored two runs each.
Taylor Sullivan pitched two innings and gave up eight runs (one unearned) in the loss. Brooke Baptiste went three frames and allowed four runs.
Kiarra Lincoln batted 2 of 3 to lead Kamehameha, which scored in the second when Nevaeh Fukui-Stoos walked, moved to third on an error and scored on Ashlyn Wengler’s sacrifice RBI bunt.
The Wildcats capitalized against Kamehameha’s struggles to throw strikes. Konawaena drew eight walks, scored four times on free passes and once on a hit by pitch, and scored three times on wild pitches.
The ‘Cats, who last won the BIIF title in 2011, didn’t really need the help but welcomed it, allowing the lineup to turn over and give Grace opportunities with runners on base.
In the first, Grace was sitting fastball and clocked a line-drive two-run homer over the left-center field fence. It resembled a beeline rocket more than a rainbow-shaped homer.
“It was right there. I saw it coming and took it for a ride,” she said. “I thought it was just going over the center fielder’s head, but it made it over the fence. My goal is not to go for the fence.
“I like hitting and the challenge of going one against nine fielders. In every at-bat, my goal is to hit the ball away from the defense. That helps my team out.”
When Grace was younger, she played PONY baseball, which explains her ability to square up a bigger softball. Her brother Shelton Grace, a 2015 Konawaena graduate who’s playing ball at Ventura College, also gives her tips.
“He tells me not to be anxious at the plate, don’t kill the ball and place it,” she said. “That helps with my hitting. My mom (Konawaena coach Shellie Grace) is the one who taught me how to pitch. She tells me to keep my motion clean and don’t feed balls to the other team, and that keeps our defense ready.”
Grace relies mainly on a fastball. Sometimes, she’ll throw a changeup. She has time to learn a riser, drop-ball and curveball later.
The most dominant two-way player in league history was 2016 Kamehameha graduate Mykala Tokunaga, who was the only four-time BIIF player of the year in any sport. She’s playing ball at Sonoma State.
The league has a talented duo in Grace and Kohala sophomore pitcher/slugger Mikayla Kekoa. The Wildcats and Cowgirls split a pair of games. Next Friday, Konawaena hosts Kamehameha in the rematch.
The Wildcats have reached the HHSAA tournament the last four years, but they’re still relatively young with only three senior starters in catcher Kaluna, shortstop Sierra Amor and designated player Precious Transfiguracion.
The returning starters are sophomore second baseman Uemura, junior outfielder Sato, junior first baseman Kaimana Manzano, Kaluna, and Amor.
Besides Grace, Kaylyn Villanueva, an outfielder, is the other freshman starter. She went 1 for 2 and scored a run.
“All that experience does help us out,” Shellie Grace said. “The girls came around with the bats, and the defense looked good.”
The Konawaena coach is in her sixth season, so she’s seen enough of Tokunaga and knows how tough Kekoa is. As for throwing out comparisons, she thinks her daughter still has room for improvement
“Mykala was a strong pitcher. Mikayla is a strong pitcher,” she said. “We want Shaylann to learn how to move the ball. We’re working on it.
“Every game, we’re learning something different, what are strengths are and what things we need to work on. Right now, the team is growing.”
Her Wildcats made two errors, which led to a pair of unearned runs. But the day was dominated by her freshman daughter on both sides of the ball. Maybe the impressive win was a spark toward an elusive BIIF title.
Asked her team’s goal, Shellie Grace didn’t try to hit a home run.
“Just fewer errors,” she said.
