HONOLULU — Taryn Irimata picked up her eighth win of the season on Tuesday evening, striking out 13 Seariders in Campbell’s 4-2 victory over Waianae.

An early week duel between two pitchers, Waianae starter Jerzie Liana pitched seven strong innings.  

The right-hander settled in after giving up a pair of first-inning runs to the Sabers, where shortstop Quinn Waiki took Liana deep on the first pitch of the game.

After pushing across a second run, Campbell took the field as the Seariders came to the plate for their first ABs of the evening. Irimata started back on March 18 against Waianae, throwing a two-hit shutout in the Sabers’ win.

Waianae wasted no time picking up the first hit of the day for the team, but Irimata was able to retire the next three batters in order. 

Liana picked up a pair of quick outs in the second, but back-to-back free passes with two down saw Campbell threaten to add on to their early lead.

The Waianae starter escaped the jam, recording one of her four strikeouts to strand the two Sabers baserunners without any damage. 

Both pitchers started to really find their grooves, retiring each other in order in the bottom of the second and top of the third innings before Waianae strung together back-to-back singles in the bottom of the third with two outs.

Seariders left fielder Mo Ionae hit a line drive down the left field line, but an athletic grab on the run by Campbell left fielder Kayla Whaley secured the final out of the inning and kept Waianae off the board.

The Sabers picked up an insurance run in the top of the fifth inning, using two hits and a sacrifice squeeze to push across their third run of the night.

Just when it looked like Irimata was going to cruise to another shutout victory over the Seariders, Liana led off the bottom half of the sixth inning with a single before Braiesey Rosa crushed a home run over the centerfield wall, cutting the Sabers’ lead to one, 3-2.

After the first two batters reached for Campbell in the top of the seventh, Waianae picked up two quick outs without letting up another run.

It looked like the Seariders would escape the jam with no damage, but a misplayed grounder to first allowed a huge insurance run to score for the unbeaten Sabers and gave Irimata some breathing room going into the final three outs of the night. 

The righty finished the night just as she started it, as a dominant force. Irimata struck out the side, including the final batter looking, to seal the win for visiting Campbell, 4-2.

Irimata struck out 13 total batters in the win, her eighth of the season and second over Waianae in less than a month’s time. She also allowed two runs on six hits. 

Campbell is back in action Thursday against Mililani, with first pitch scheduled for approx. 6:00 p.m. HST.

Jerzie Liana was credited with the loss despite allowing three earned runs (four total) on seven hits, recording four strikeouts over seven innings pitched for the Seariders.

Waianae now awaits the playoffs, entering postseason play with their lone two losses coming to Campbell. 

You can listen to the OIA Softball DI Semifinals (April 21) and DI/DII (April 22) Championships on Hawaii Sports Radio Network.