Kapaa softball routs Waiakea 19-2, advances in state tournament

Kapaa did not just win its state opener, it announced itself as a legitimate title threat. The Warriors overwhelmed No. 4 seed Waiakea, 19-2, in five innings at McKinley High School field in Honolulu, using a 12-run third inning and a four-run fifth to turn a tight game into a run-rule rout.

The result sent the No. 2 seed in the 2026 DataHouse Softball State Championships Division I bracket into Thursday’s semifinal against Campbell at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Kapaa improved to 14-0, a record that underscored how far this run has gone beyond one hot night. Waiakea entered at 11-1, but Kapaa left no doubt once the offense found its rhythm.

Rylie Furtado earned the win in the circle and helped at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two RBIs. Brynn Yamashita finished 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs, Charlize Kenney delivered four hits and two RBIs, and Aribella Cuenca went 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs. Liulani Martin scored three runs as Kapaa piled up 17 hits and 17 RBIs without committing an error.

Kapaa’s pitching staff also held firm after Waiakea grabbed an early 3-1 lead through two innings. Furtado worked the first two innings, Lilinoe Slingerland covered the next two, and Lyla Edralin handled the fifth. Meghan Spencer took the loss for Waiakea, which finished with four hits and three errors.

For Kauai softball, the message was bigger than one bracket win. Kapaa arrived in the state tournament carrying the weight of a program that has already stacked up recent league success, including a second straight Kauai Interscholastic Federation championship and a strong history of all-state recognition. Earlier this season, Kapaa also opened KIF play with a 23-2 win over Waimea, another run-rule result that showed how quickly the lineup can bury an opponent once it starts stringing hits together.

That matters for the island because Kapaa is not standing alone. Kauai High, the KIF No. 2 seed, was also in Division II state action the same day, keeping the county in the postseason conversation on multiple fronts. But Kapaa’s 19-2 demolition of a higher-seeded Waiakea team carried the clearest warning yet: this is no underdog surge. It is a deep, balanced, undefeated group that has already shown it can control games in the circle, at the plate and in the field, and it now has a semifinal date with Campbell to prove it belongs in the final weekend of the bracket.