Sato delivers from the circle and the plate as Moanalua softball rolls

Kaylah Sato delivered a three-hitter and drove in four runs with three hits, including a double, as Moanalua overwhelmed Punahou 12-1 on Tuesday in the Division I opening round of the DataHouse/HHSAA Softball State Championships.

Sunshine and light tradewinds blanketed McKinley’s Tiger Softball Stadium from start to finish. Na Menehune, the OIA’s fourth-place team, brought a talented, young lineup that could match one of the state’s hottest teams.

“They did a great job today. We had a plan on hitting and they executed that plan really well,” Moanalua coach Kylee Oshiro said. “Our defense did their job. Kaylah pitched very well today and Alia (Anzai) absolutely shut it down at shortstop, and that’s all we can ask for.”

A young Punahou team had wreaked havoc in the ILH’s round-two tournament, knocking out regular-season runner-up Kamehameha. After winning five of their previous six games, the Buffanblu were unable to solve Sato. The right-handed sophomore considers herself a third baseman first, but when Oshiro makes the call, Sato has been outstanding in the pitcher’s circle.

En route to a 7-0 record in OIA and HHSAA play, Sato has racked up 25 strikeouts in 272⁄3 innings with an ERA of 3.56. She spotted her fastball and changeup with precision, striking out three Buffanblu while walking none.

“Whatever the team needs, we give to our teammates and coaches,” Sato said. “Our coaches did a really good job at finding out what (Punahou) struggles on. It’s mostly higher, but you have to play around with speeds on your fastball and changeups. I used my curve maybe 20%.”

Sato doesn’t quite call herself a pitcher. She just does what coach asks.

“Our players are so good at what they do. They want to do whatever they can to contribute,” Oshiro said. “All we wanted is to be better than last year, so now we’ve done that.”

Sato’s performance at the hot corner has been stellar, and at the plate, she is hitting .571 with 24 RBIs and 29 runs scored, four home runs, eight stolen bases, an on-base percentage of .672 and a slugging percentage of 1.000.

Oshiro is expecting to use her pitching staff against Baldwin. Sato can be a luxury item of sorts, possibly in a closer role.

“We have three other pitchers,” she said.

Moanalua (21-7-1) will meet third-seeded Baldwin, the MIL champion, today, 11:30 a.m. at Tiger Softball Stadium. The teams met twice in preseason. At Mililani’s Glenn Ah Sam Classic on Feb. 12, Moanalua won 7-2. At the Baldwin Invitational on Feb. 21, Baldwin won 4-0.

Punahou (14-14-1) will play Hilo at 9:15 a.m. in a consolation game.

Punahou starting pitcher Shelby Nagatori, who pitched through back spasms all season, went six innings and allowed just three earned runs on 14 hits. She fanned one and walked two.

Na Menehune sent 11 batters to the plate in the second inning, exploding for seven runs, all unearned, with the help of numerous passed balls and an error.