Unheralded Kailua stuns Mililani to keep rolling along

Kailua's Shayde Kuhns motions to the Surfriders' dugout after his two RBI double put his team ahead 2-0 in the top of the first. Michael Lasquero | SL

WAILUKU, Maui - "Why not us?"

Kailua, fourth in the Oahu Interscholastic Association, enjoys flying under the radar at the Wally Yonamine Foundation Division I state baseball tournament. The Surfriders (11-6) knocked off fourth-seeded Mililani (11-3), 5-2, in Thursday's first quarterfinal at Iron Maehara Stadium an avenged a 13-3 loss in the OIA semifinals on April 22.

"We like being the underdog, we really do," Kailua first baseman Mikey Hanano said. "We like to prove everyone wrong. Our saying is, ‘Why not us? Why can't we win.'"

Why not?

Makai Miyamoto gave Kailua reason to believe. He tossed a one-hitter using just 84 pitches in the complete-game win. He ran three-ball counts four times, walking two and striking out the other two. The only hit he allowed was a hard grounder off first baseman Hanano. It was ruled a hit.

"Yeah, I should've blocked it more than backhand it,' Hanano said.

Hanano was thrilled with Miyamoto's effort. In the OIA semifinal loss, Miyamoto was rocked for six runs in two-thirds of an inning of relief.

"He wanted redemption," Hanano said. "He's just a dog."

Miyamoto just wanted to keep his team in the game.

"I didn't want to get fancy," he explained. "I wasn't trying to get strikeouts. I put the ball in play, trust the defense."

There were harmless grounders and air outs with his modest three strikeouts and a walk. The Surfriders had a defensive collapse when it allowed a run in the three-error fourth. The Trojans ended up stranding the bases loaded when Miyamoto got Bryce Nuha to pop out to second and struck out pinch hitter Ridge Choy to minimize the damage.

"The main thing was picking each other up," Miyamoto said. "As a team, you have to understand that you make an error, it's part of the game. Don't dwell on it."

The difference was Kailua cashed in on Mililani mistakes. A walk, three hit batsmen (two by Hanano), an error and a wild pitch accounted for the Surfriders' runs.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].