Unbeaten Kapa’a flex bats, down Pac-5 for DataHouse/HHSAA Division II Softball title

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED MAY 18, 2024

HONOLULU – For the second time in three years, the best softball team in the HHSAA Division II is from the eastside of Kauai. 

KIF champion Kapa’a (15-0) completed an undefeated season on Friday, using powerful bats and pretty defense to push past the Pac-5 Wolfpack (11-3-1) in five innings, 13-1, for the 2024 DataHouse/HHSAA Division II Softball championship. The Warriors struck quickly and often, putting up multiple runs in the first four innings to jump out to a 13-run lead before finally allowing a run to the Wolfpack in the bottom of the 4th inning. 

Kapata saw eight of nine batters record a hit while the top five hitters in the lineup recorded runs batted in for the KIF powerhouse. While the bats were impressive for the Warriors, starting pitcher Karlee-Rose Keale was just as effective and efficient as she twirled a sparkling five innings of one-run ball. The junior pitcher allowed just two hits all game while striking out a pair and walking two batters in the run-rule complete game effort. 

Warriors’ 2nd baseman Rhea Furtado was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after the senior went 3-for-4 with a home run and double that resulted in a game-best five runs batted in during the championship. In all, Kapa’a had six players named to the All-Tournament team as voted by the media covering the tournament (INF Charlize Kenney, INF Sienna Yamashita, OF Hailey Gibson, OF Nahe Marshall and P Karlee-Rose Keale were all selected). 

Pac-5, the defending Division II high school softball champions in Hawai’i, saw a magical run to the title game with a youthful roster end against a powerhouse of a Kapa’a team but flashed potential for another deep run next year as the team graduates no seniors. 

The Wolfpack placed three players onto the All-Tournament team as sophomore catcher Dahlia Gangano, junior infielder Kylie Oshita and freshman utility player Mauliola Zuttermeister all received honors as voted by the media. Zuttermeister was responisble for the lone run in the championship game for Pac-5, smacking a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th inning.  

The title is the second in program history for Kapa’a softball. The Warriors became the first KIF program in HHSAA playoff history to win two titles in a three-year span at either the Division I or II levels.