Maryknoll's Brent Hironaga celebrates after a run scored against Kamehameha-Hawaii. Sean Nakamura | SL

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The score was much closer, but the matchup still yielded the same result.

Maryknoll defeated the Kamehaeha-Hawaii 4-0 in the Wally Yonamine Foundation/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Baseball title game to repeat as state champions.  The Spartans defeated the Warriors, 14-0, in five innings the previous year.

“This is sweet,” exclaimed Maryknoll coach Randy Yamashiro after the game. “For what we had to go through, our journey, this is sweet. I’m so proud of the kids and I don’t know what else to say. I’m just so happy right now.” 

Maryknoll’s second championship run can be attributed to the amount of talent that they had returning from their first go-around. With Connor Donahue being the only starter who graduated in 2013, the Spartans had a slew of experienced and tested players to lean on in 2014.

One of those returning players was infielder Justin Ushio. The senior captain was a driving force in the state tournament, going 4-for-7 with 6 RBIs overall. Ushio also had the go-ahead RBI in the title game, helping to break a scoreless game in the top of the third. 

“It was unbelievable,” Ushio said on their championship run. “Experience is something that you can’t teach. It’s something that you just have to go through. It really helps being able to go through states for me as a sophomore (and) junior. Even though I was a designated hitter last year, just the atmosphere and everything I had to go through is something that really helped.”

Maryknoll also had a trio of seniors in the outfield with (LF) Michael Nishiki, (CF) Jedd Andrade, and (RF) Brent Hironaga. The outfield trio combined for a 0.438 batting average, 11 total runs scored and 9 RBIs. 

A championship season would not be complete without its fair share of challenges however. Even with a bevy of veteran players returning, there were still some pieces of the puzzle that needed to get placed in the picture. 

The Spartans got their first eye-opener with a 5-3 loss to Pac-Five West in their fourth game of the season. 

“That game we lost against Pac-five West, we realized that we couldn’t just come out and play,” explained Ushio. “We really had to come out everyday and do our jobs and that’s what we needed to (be able) to do for us to succeed.” 

Yes, the Spartans had experience on their roster, but Yamashiro says there was some shuffling of positions in the lineup. This would be one of the biggest challenges that the Spartans needed to overcome to get to where they wanted to be.

“Some of our seniors were playing different positions,” said Yamashiro. “There’s a of transition and a lot of understanding. Once we understood what we had to do, it helped us to go. Once we got it, (we) was all good; but to get to it, that was the big obstacle we needed to get over.” 

“We needed to come close and bond as a team,” added Ushio. “When we were able to figure out our new role and do that, we came real close. Everyone cheered for each other, respected each other and we became a brotherhood. I think that’s what really helped us this year.” 

One of the most glaring examples of a senior having to take a new role was with senior pitcher and captain Chase Uyema. With the emergence of junior pitcher Joshua Muneno (9-0), Uyema didn’t need to pitch as much. Even though Uyema was named the Most Outstanding Player in the previous state tournament, the team concept at Maryknoll kept everyone together.

“Big time. If we don’t have it, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you” Yamashiro said when asked how much the team concept meant to their season. “That was the cornerstone and key thing for us. If we didn’t have togetherness and doing things the team way, we wouldn’t be here.

“We’re trying to prepare young kids to become young men, and that’s what this whole program is about. Team concept is the biggest thing for us.”

The Spartans never had to rely on just one key player during the season. Everyone had a role and everyone stuck with it. Though it was a different year, Maryknoll was still able to find the right formula needed to repeat as back-to-back Division II champions.  

“It feels great. It feels like we are on the top of the world. Can’t ask for anything more,” said Ushio. “We’ve been working together as a team the whole year for this. This is all we can ask for.”