Maryknoll's Jarred Kaneshiro struck out the final Kauai batter with a runner on third to preserve the win for the Spartans. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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MANOA — Jarred Kaneshiro threw a complete-game three-hitter and Joshua Muneno drove in the go-ahead run on a sixth-inning triple to lift Maryknoll to a 4-3 win over Kauai in a semifinal game of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Baseball State Championships Friday morning.

The top-seeded and two-time defending state champion Spartans (15-2) won their sixth straight game and advanced to their third consecutive D2 state final, where they will play Aiea, a 4-1 winner over Kamehameha-Hawaii in the other semifinal, at 4 p.m. Saturday at Les Murakami Stadium.
"It feels so good. I'm so excited," said Kaneshiro, a sophomore right-hander, who allowed three unearned runs on three hits with three strikes and two walks. "It was really hard. (Kamehameha-Hawaii) is a good team and I had to keep my pitches low, because I didn't want to leave it up for them. I had to just do my job, throw strikes and let my defense work, because they're a good defense."

Kaneshiro threw 90 innings in the game for his fourth complete-game effort of the year. He is now 6-0 on the year with a 0.19 ERA.

"He was awesome," Maryknoll coach Randy Yamashiro said. "He just defied odds today and he showed mental toughness and he's only a sophomore. I'm just so proud of him."

The Spartans gave Kaneshiro an early cushion of three runs in the bottom of the first inning, when the first four batters reached base. Trevor Hirano scored on a Kauai error for the first run and Jason Nakamura singled to short right field to plate Kyle Abe. Muneno also scored in the inning.

"It gives our young guys confidence, comfort on both sides of the fence so to speak — on offense and defense — where they can just play," Yamashiro said of the three first-inning runs. "They don't have to worry about pressure, they can just play and it's a tremendous help."

Kauai got back two runs in the top of the second on Brayden Abreu's RBI single to left that scored John Dumlao and Kobey Dias' sacrifice bunt that brought in Shane Ogata.

The Red Raiders tied it at 3 an inning later when Cal Koga got on base with two outs after getting hit by a Kaneshiro pitch. Courtesy runner Douglas Miyasato stole second and third before coming home on a Maryknoll error.

The score held until the bottom of the fifth when Muneno drove a two-out, two-strike pitch to deep centerfield to score Hirano, who got on with a one-out double down the third base line.

"I was surprised they came with a fastball," said Muneno. "They were throwing a lot of off-speed stuff to me the whole game, so I had to just jump on that one pitch and I was able to connect with it."

Yamashiro said it was probably a "mistake pitch" to Muneno, but praised the his hitter for coming through in the clutch.

"He epitomizes what we teach and how we try to develop the kids when they first come to us as freshmen, or a seventh-grader, and build them all the way up with the mental toughness to play baseball and be ready to make plays and execute," Yamashiro said of Muneno.

The Red Raiders threatened in the top of the seventh, getting the tying run to third base with one out before Kaneshiro got a groundout and his third strikeout to end the game. They attempted to squeeze the run in, but a missed signal spoiled the play.

"It's pretty tough," Kauai coach Hank Ibia said. "They played well, the pitcher played well and we didn't get as many hits as we wanted to with men on base, but overall, you've got to give the credit to Maryknoll."

Abreu allowed four runs (three unearned) on five hits in five innings of work and took the loss for Kauai, which also lost to Maryknoll, 12-3, in a state semifinal last year.

"He did well," Ibia said of Abreu. "He made one mistake to (Muneno), which scored the winning run. We called a pitch up high and he threw it right down the middle, but that's how the ball game works: you make a mistake and they capitalize on it. It can go either way, but it was a benefit for them. They did good."

The fourth-seeded Red Raiders (10-4) saw a five-game win streak snapped and will play Kamehameha-Hawaii in the 11 a.m. third-place game Saturday at Murakami Stadium.