HONOLULU — A state softball tournament like no other had one more surprise in store.

Top-seeded Mililani turned the final of the Datahouse/HHSAA Division I championships into a laugher as the Trojans dusted second-seeded Kamehameha, 14-1 in five innings at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

A week of persistent rain forced the HHSAA to get creative and a jam-packed Friday was the makeshift solution. A mercy-rule finish was not necessarily what either side expected on a day that required the teams to win semifinal matchups around noon at alternate sites before they could advance to the Manoa Lower Campus to finish off the tournament on its originally scheduled night. 

Designated player Makayla Pagampao hit a three-run shot in the fourth to bring the game within mercy range. UH-bound center fielder Sunni Kahanu made a gem of an early defensive play and launched two home runs, including a grand slam in the top of the fifth as an exclamation point.

It was Mililani’s fourth state softball championship and first since 2014. All have come since 2005, with Rose Antonio at the helm for the last three.

[Note: See below for more photos of Mililani-Kamehameha.]

Antonio called it her “best team yet.”

“It’s our 10-year anniversary, and you know what, it feels great,” Antonio said. “Back to Mililani, the koa head (trophy).”

After Thursday’s semifinals were rained out, the Division II bracket followed the same formula with semis at Pearl City and Moanalua. Kapaa and Pac-Five advanced, with Alani Silva’s Warriors dispatching the Wolfpack 13-1 in five innings. It was the KIF school’s second softball title in three years.

Mililani (17-1) edged the only team to beat it all season, OIA West rival Campbell, 3-2 in an early afternoon semifinal at Pearl City.

“It was very interesting knowing this was our state tournament and we had to keep going from field to field,” Kahanu said. “But yeah, it was an experience.”

Freshman ace Hinano Bautista pitched the semifinal game, then somehow had more in the tank for the championship.

Bautista held the ILH champion Warriors (14-6) to four hits, a remarkable accomplishment against a dangerous lineup with hitters bound for schools like Utah (Marley Espiau) and Georgia (Mua Williams).

Kahanu’s deadeye throw from center to get Williams at the plate in the first inning set the tone.

“That was the most biggest play ever,” Bautista said. “I think that’s the best outfield throw I’ve ever seen in my life.”

That part is admittedly not saying too much yet for the precocious Bautista, who gradually grew into the Trojans’ everyday pitcher over the course of OIA play. She was a preschooler the last time Mililani won a state softball title; she didn’t get into the game until age 7 or 8.

“No, I didn’t,” Bautista said if she envisioned the championship moment. “I kept praying every day and coming to practice, working hard.”

She didn’t strike out a batter but walked just two and elicited a number of ground balls.

“You know what, she played really well tonight,” Antonio said. “First two outings of the tournament, (she was) here and there, but this was her best game. My team, this was their best game of the tournament.”

The Trojans pounded 12 hits in the five innings. Kahanu was 3-for-3 with five RBIs, Jerel Oriana Mailo was 3-for-4 and leadoff hitter Taryn Hirano – the hero of the day’s win over Campbell with all three RBIs in that one – went 2-for-2 with two walks in the championship.

Kamehameha’s lone run came on a Williams RBI groundout in the third. It was a swing moment in the game as Williams had a ball down the line ruled foul earlier in the at-bat.

Warriors coach Mark Lyman contended that the ball was fair and would’ve plated two runs. Kamehameha had runners on second and third.

“It would’ve been 2-1 with a runner on second and one out. It was huge,” Lyman said. “In a game like this with two very good teams, momentum can swing on the smallest little things here or there.”

For the second straight year, Kamehameha was denied its bid for its first softball title since 2008 and ninth all-time. The Warriors beat MIL champ Baldwin 13-1 in a semifinal at Moanalua earlier Friday.

“They (the returnees) know what it’s all about, they know what it takes to get here,” Lyman said. “I’m going to set our bar pretty high and we’re going to plan on just keep coming back until we get one.”

The Trojans came together for the koa trophy after winning two playoff games in one day. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Freshman Hinano Bautista emerged at midseason as Mililani's go-to arm and she carried that mantle all the way through to the state championship. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Kamehameha coach Mark Lyman hugged first baseman Logan Cambra after the title loss. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Mililani coach Rose Antonio pumped her fists toward the Trojans crowd at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Kamehameha's Mua Williams watched a pitch sail past into the glove of Mililani catcher Ka‘ui Garcia. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)
Kapaa celebrated the Division II championship, its second in three years, after downing defending champion Pac-Five in five innings. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.