Mid-Pacific's Alexander Oley was 2-for-3 from the plate with a double and two runs scored in a win over Mililani. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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MANOA - Mid-Pacific Institute relief pitcher Noah Sills turned in the great escape of the Wally Yonamine Foundation Division i state baseball tournament.

The second-seeded Owls sent eight batters to the plate in a three-run sixth innings to snap a 3-all game to fend off Mililani, 6-4, in Friday's quarterfinals at Les Murakami Stadium.

Sills had to sit through a long inning when the Trojans made two pitching changes to put out a fire ignited by two errors that accounted for three unearned runs. The idle time might have affected Sills when he faced seven batters and gave up a run, but stranded three Trojans on base to end the game.

"I'm just glad we won," MPI coach Dunn Muramaru said.

The five-time champion Owls will face top-seeded and No. 1 Campbell for the 57th tournament championship. Game time is 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Trojans (14-4), whose defense has been superb all season, failed when two errors led to the three unearned runs in the sixth.

Sills pitched the final three innings of the game started by Grant Doi, who went four innings, but was charged with three runs, all unearned after a two-out error by second baseman Jacob Maekawa. Sills pitched a scoreless fifth and sixth innings to keep the game tied before struggling in the seventh after his team gave him the lead.

"He had a long break," Muramaru said of his team's three-run inning that kept Sills inactive for a while. "He had hard time throwing strikes. I'm glad he kept his composure and came back."

"I just had to focus a little more," Sills said of his laborious seventh inning. ‘Eventually, that's what I ended up doing."

It was a tough loss for the Trojans, who played, but lost, in the title game the past two seasons. But their defense, so reliable all season, saw their hopes for a third consecutive trip to the championship game fade with their errors.

"We just didn't execute the little things we needed in the sixth inning," Mililani coach Mark Hirayama said. "Mid-Pac's a good club. They put the pressure on and we just didn't execute like we needed to."

Tyler Yamaguchi continued his torrid hitting in the tournament. He was 2 for 3, each hit being an RBI single. In Thursday's quarterfinals against Waiakea, he was 4 for 4 with five RBI.

"I just try to clear out everything,, what I did preseason, what I did regular season," Yamaguchi said. "Whatever happens, happens. I let go of that, good or bad. I just learn from everything because tournament play is always hard."

His seven RBI in the tournament surpasses his ILH season total of six.

The Owls scored in the first inning against Trojans' starter Keolu Ramos. Oley singled with one out, took third on Noah Shackles' double and scored on Yamaguchi's fifth consecutive run-scoring hit of the tournament. With runners at the corners, courtesy runner Hunter Hill scored when Chase Wago hit into a fielder's choice grounder to third. Sean Kinel grounded out to second for the third out.

But the Trojans took the lead in the top of the third. With two out, Kainoa Wilson and Ryan Kono hit abc-to-back singles to put runners at first and second. After a wild pitch by Doi moved the runners up a base, both scored on Maekawa's throwing error on Kaimana Souza-Paaluhi  grounder. After Souza stole second, Sean Sonognini walked. De Sa's RBI single put the Trojans ahead, 3-2, before Justice-Colby Nakagawa lined out to third on a leaping catch by third baseman Trevin Tengan.

The Owls tie the game in the bottom of the third when Oley doubled with one out and an out later, scored on Yamaguchi's single, his sixth consecutive run-scoring hit in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Robert Baker, who came in for Ramos, pitched a scoreless fourth and fifth. But Chase Wago led off with a single and his pinch runner Hunter Hill took second on pinch hitter Davin Takanishi's perfectly executed bunt single that dribbled in front of home plate. Baker was pulled for Tyler Kaneshiro to face Ryne Yamashiro. Kaneshiro fielded Yamashiro's bunt, but threw wildly to third, allowing two runs to score. Yamashiro took second on Jarred Infante's sacrifice and went to third when Tengan reached on third baseman CJ Ibara's fielding error. With runners at the corners, Yamashiro scored on Maekawa's single. After Oley was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Kaneshiro was yanked for Reece Matsukawa, who got Shackles to hit into an inning-ending double play to third.

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