HONOLULU — Maui Strong, indeed.
For the first time, two Valley Isle teams will meet in a final of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA baseball championships.
Maui High and Baldwin evicted the best of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, Saint Louis and Kamehameha, in a pair of thrillers at Les Murakami Stadium on Friday night.
The Maui Interscholastic League rivals will meet at Moanalua High in a non-televised game following the 10 a.m. Division II final between Damien and Kamehameha-Hawaii.
[Note: See below for more photos of the state baseball semifinals.]
The D-I final is the last championship event of the 2023-24 Hawaii high school athletic calendar – a school year that essentially began with the devastation of the Aug. 8 wildfires in West Maui.
“Oh, it definitely would be uplifting for everybody,” Maui High coach Chase Corniel said. “Whether we win or lose, I mean, it’s going to be very uplifting knowing that two Maui teams (had a chance at) the final.”
First on Friday, Maui High proved that one well-timed hit is sometimes all you need in a 1-0 win over Saint Louis, whose Kolby Gushiken had no-hit the Sabers through five innings.
In the sixth, Nicholas Nashiwa hit a two-out single to left off of freshly inserted pitcher Aycen Fernandez to break up the no-hitter and score pinch runner Mickie Matson. It would be the only hit for the MIL champion Sabers (14-3)
“When I seen them change the pitcher, I got a little bit butterflies,” Nashiwa said. “I thought it was Tanner Chun and then I seen him and it was Aycen Fernandez. I was watching the (Saint Louis quarterfinal) game last night and he throws pretty hard. I was trying to be on time the whole at-bat. I was just trying to do a job.”
Gushiken was lifted at 77 pitches.
“You take a gamble, right?” Crusaders coach Benny Agbayani said. “Aycen’s been our go-to guy. We felt that was the right time for him and the guy just got a hit. You take chances in this game.”
In the third, Saint Louis' Laakea Correa was thrown out at home on a controversial play in which he made contact with catcher David Vergel de Dois before the plate.
Agbayani thought it was a violation for blocking the plate – a "Buster Posey move," as he called it.
Maui High got to the final for the first time since 2017, when it won it all for its second all-time title.
In the nightcap, Baldwin defeated defending champion Kamehameha 3-2 to reach the state final for a third straight year.
The last team to get there three years in a row was Punahou at the end of its state title run of seven straight in 2010.
Baldwin (3-2) aims for its first title since 2018.
The Bears overcame Warriors ace Greyson Osbun, who struck out nine and walked just one with four hits in five innings.
Baldwin coach Craig Okita summoned sophomore Kaden Anderson, a somewhat unlikely candidate to match zeroes with Osbun given that Anderson had not pitched all season.
But the hunch paid off. Anderson went five innings with five hits and two walks allowed and struck out five.
“The stands were electric. I didn’t pitch all season. This was out of nowhere,” Anderson said. “So then, Coach gave me a job and I did my job.”
Isaac Imamura drew a leadoff walk in the fifth. He made it over to third on a sacrifice bunt and a single. Marley Sebastian squeezed Imamura home on a bunt for the game’s first run.
Christian Dominno’s two-out whack to center narrowly evaded the glove of a diving Jace Souza and two more runs came home.
Kamehameha had a golden chance in the top of the sixth with two walks and a hit by pitch to load the bases with no outs. Matthew Zarriello lofted a sacrifice fly to get the Warriors on the board, but Souza subsequently overran third base and was picked off.
Kamehameha brought in one more run on an Osbun single to left but was retired one run short of the tie, and the Warriors were set down in order in the seventh by Jayden Perry-Waikiki.
Maui High took three of five meetings from Baldwin during the MIL season, including the championship.
Agbayani, the former major leaguer in his first year as Crusaders coach, knew of the talent of Maui kids.
“Well, I’d better say something good, because Shane Victorino’s going to nail me,” he said with a laugh. “You know, the whole island, they got great athletes. … Just so happy that you have kids like that. You never know who’s going to play at the next level.
“You got (Kurt) Suzuki, you got Victorino. As an ex-player, you look to see who’s going to be the next guy coming out of Hawaii. It’s great to see that … I hope we get five guys, six guys in the major leagues from Hawaii. … I just hope one of these kids do it.”
Of the all-Maui championship, Baldwin’s Anderson was stunned to learn it was the first with two teams from his island.
“It’s an honor. It’s the first time ever? That’s great. We’re looking forward to it. Awesome,” he said.
In the D-II final, Skyler Tengan’s Monarchs pursue their third straight championship in a bid to become the first team to three-peat since Maryknoll from 2013-15. Kamehameha-Hawaii last won in 2016.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.