By Ireland Castillo

[email protected]

On March 28, the varsity girls softball team swept the field in an 8-0 game against the Leilehua Mules.

“This team has come very far. We are growing and learning after each outing,” said Head Coach Rose Antonio.

Starting off their season in early December with conditioning and months of practice, the team is currently in regular season. “(So far) we’ve been practicing the little things and working on communication, you know, just gelling together and just getting ready to play against the (other) teams,” said Infielder Sophomore Merilis Rivera. “We’ve been doing our part of the team and we’ve been working hard and working each and every day at practice and just being there (for) each other.”

Over the course of the season, the team faced many opponents, yet each game brought them one victory closer to their goal of being crowned Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) champions once again. “It’s pretty good. We had some pretty close games, but we haven’t lost yet,” said Pitcher Junior Aubree Kim.

With an undefeated season so far, much of the team credits their success to the coaches. “I would (have to) say our coaches because you know they’ve been working with us and if we have a hard time they’re there and they tell us what to fix and what we need to work on better,” said Rivera. Kim added, “(The success of the team is due to) not anybody in particular, (but) everybody on our team.”

During the game, the team managed to hold off Leilehua’s attempts to score. With a rough start in the first inning, Kim let on three walks, leaving the bases loaded by the fourteenth pitch. Soon after, Mililani made a comeback as Kim threw three consecutive strikeouts. Turning the tide, Mililani scored by the end of the first inning.

With a stalemate during the second inning, the game finally picked up its pace after Senior Kylie-Ann Bello hit a double in the bottom of the third inning. Following, Junior Kristen Ishii hit far enough for Bello to run to third and after a swing from Rivera, Mililani scored 2-0. By the end of the seventh inning, Mililani scored a total of eight runs with Leilehua at zero, winning the game by a landslide.

However, victory was not by mere chance or luck, but a combination of motivation and drive. “(In) the first inning when it was full base I thought, ‘Okay they’re going to at least score one or two,’ but (Kim) was doing her thing and she struck them out and I was like, ‘Yeah, we got it back, we’re going to get it,’” explained Rivera.

Now, with an undefeated record, the team has much to look forward to with the OIA championships coming up in May. “I think we just need (to) figure out how to work together as a team and work together,” said Kim. Antonio added, “Take one game at a time, learn from them and keep moving up the ladder.”

As of April 15, Mililani also won against Waipahu with a close score of 7-6.