There are rare occasions that a day of rest would be a bad thing for anyone. For Big Island RBI, Friday’s off day may fit that description, as it takes the edge off of a two game winning streak that wrapped up divisional play Thursday at the RBI Softball World Series in Minneapolis / St. Paul, Minnesota.
After starting the tournament 0-4, the representatives of the Boys and Girls Club of the Big Island put together a pair of big wins Thursday, defeating Cleveland (OH) RBI 10-3 and Hoboken (NJ) RBI 5-3 to end divisional play with a record of 2-4, earning the third seed in the Interleague Playoffs beginning Saturday.
In game one, Big Island RBI had to play from behind as they allowed two runs from Cleveland in the first inning. The game would turn in the bottom of the third inning, however. Skylar Thomas sacrificed a run home with no one out in the inning, and the next batter, Stacie Doi, gave Big Island RBI the lead with a two-run home run, ending the inning with a 3-2 lead.
In the fourth, Skyler Agrigado-Togafau led off the inning with a solo home run to center field to extend the lead to 4-2. After the next four batters reached base consecutively, Thomas brought two more runs in with a single to right field. Doi contributed again in the next at-bat with an RBI ground out to shortstop, and Jordyn Waracka followed with a run-scoring single to right field to give them an 8-2 advantage.
Cleveland would get a run back in the fifth on a wild pitch to make the score 8-3. The Big Island girls would inch their lead further, however, in the bottom of the sixth inning. Camille Kiyota picked up her first hit of the day, a two-run single into center field to extend the lead to 10-3.
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Game two against Hoboken RBI was a low scoring affair through the first three innings, but the first team to break through was the West Region champs, putting up a run in the top of the fourth inning when Kiyota scored on a sacrifice bunt by Shaniya Kamakea-Wong.
In the bottom of the inning, Hoboken answered the call with a run of their own. Angie Nieves scored on an error from center fielder Bethany Batangan to even the game at 1-1. It wouldn’t take long for the Big Island squad to get their lead back, as Agrigado-Togafau launched her second home run of the day, a line drive shot out to center field to give Big Island RBI a 2-1 lead.
In the sixth, Agrigado-Togafau continued to produce with her hot bat, driving in two runs with a single to right field. The next batter, Ciana Matsuoka, scored Doi on another RBI single.
Hoboken scored a pair of runs with their backs against the wall in the bottom of the seventh, but Jordyn Waracka settled back in, inducing a ground ball to third base and a game-ending strikeout to seal her team’s second consecutive win.
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The “Interleague Playoffs” begin Saturday with all eight teams playing for a spot in the semi-finals. Big Island RBI will take on NL Central two-seed Atlanta RBI at 8:30 a.m. Central time (3:30 a.m. Hawaii time).
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