Mililani stuns top-seeded Mid-Pacific, 5-4


Mililani players celebrate after a 5-4 win over top-seeded Mid-Pacific. Evan Asato | SL

MANOA — It took nearly a year, but Mililani got its revenge.

Micah Chinen threw a complete game and Justice Nakagawa drove in three runs to lead Mililani to a 5-4 win over top-seeded Mid-Pacific in a quarterfinal game of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Baseball State Championships Wednesday night.

The Trojans avenged a 3-1 loss to the Owls in last year's state final to improve to 11-6 on the year and advanced to Thursday's semifinal round, where they will play Kailua at 4 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.

"We wanted to finish what we couldn't finish last year so it was really good," said Chinen, a junior right-hander who allowed just two hits through the first six innings. "We finally came together and pulled through."

Chinen went the distance, allowing four runs on four hits with one strikeout and one walk.

"Micah was great — he's battled for us all year," Hirayama said. "It's all about getting ahead and throwing strikes and I don't think he threw very many curveballs today — it was mostly fastball-change — so it just goes to show if you change speeds, you can be effective and hit your spots. He did a great job for us today."

Mililani's offense spotted Chinen three runs in the top of the first inning, when it sent seven batters to the plate and got four hits off Mid-Pacific starter Chase Wago.

Kaimana Souza-Paaluhi led off the inning with an infield single and advanced to second on a single up the middle by Trevor Inouye. Sean Sonognini then singled home Souza-Paaluhi and two batters later, Nakagawa hit a two-out double to left to plate two more runs.

"It's always big when you can get on the board first," Trojans' coach Mark Hirayama said. "We've been swinging better, the guys are buying into it and if we just keep focusing on the little things that we need to do then hopefully good things will continue to happen."

Chinen said the three-run cushion put him at ease when he mound the mound in the bottom of the first inning.

"It gave me a lot of confidence because I knew my team had my back and I just wanted to do my part," Chinen said.

The Owls got on the board in the bottom of the second when Tyler Yamaguchi's RBI double to right field brought Cameron Igarashi home.

The Trojans recouped the run in the top of the third. Adam Connell hit a two-out double and came home on a single by Nakagawa that ultimately chased Wago from the game.

"I was looking for a good pitch to hit," Nakagawa said. "I wanted to make our lead bigger so I swung hard."

Jacob Maekawa relieved Wago in the third and pitched the final 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits.

"They hit the ball in that first inning and I had to decide if I was going to stay with Wago and I guess I made the decision a little late," Mid-Pacific coach Dunn Muramaru said.

Igarashi cut the Trojans' lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI sacrifice fly that scored courtesy runner Jarrod Infante.

Mililani added an all-important insurance run in the top of the seventh. Devin Awai was hit by a Maekawa pitch to lead off the inning and eventually came home on a wild pitch.

"That run in the seventh inning was huge though," Muramaru said.

The Owls went down swinging in the bottom of the inning. Noah Shackles led off with a single and Infante — who was running for him — scored on a Yamaguchi triple to make it 5-3. One batter later, Yamaguchi scored on a ground ball to pull Mid-Pacific within a run. Jarrett Lum was hit by Chinen on a 2-2 pitch and pinch-runner Sean Kinel stole second to move into scoring position, however, Chinen got Ryne Yamashiro to ground out to end the game.

"He pitched a good game," Muramaru said of Chinen. "He threw a good game out there, he mixed it up and when we gave up those three runs in the first inning, that really hurt. It's tough coming back from that. We're not that kind of team, but the kids tried at the end."

Thursday's semifinal will be a rematch of a Oahu Interscholastic Association semifinal game, which Kailua won 4-3.

Mid-Pacific, which fell to 15-4-1 with the loss, will play Baldwin in a 4:30 p.m. fifth-place semifinal at Hans L'Orange Park Thursday.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].