Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Editor's note: As the suspension of all prep sports continues, each week we will take a look back at a game of significance from the same week of past seasons we've covered. Along with a brief summary of the game itself, we'll review the impact it had on the winning team's season and reflect upon some of the then-seniors who played a part in it.

GAME RECAP

Saint Louis and Mid-Pacific entered that matchup — which took place on a Tuesday afternoon at the Owls' Damon Field — as the No. 3 and No. 2 teams in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Baseball Power Rankings, respectively. The Owls (10-2-1) held a slim lead on the Crusaders (10-3) in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu standings.

Future Miami Marlins' pitcher Jordan Yamamoto turned in a gutty performance on the mound for Saint Louis that day. The senior right-hander — who, at the time, was signed to play collegiately at the University of Arizona the following year — scattered five hits and two walks with four strikeouts and three runs, two of them earned, to get the complete-game win.

While Yamamoto went the distance to improve his pitching record to 5-1 on the year, Mid-Pacific used three pitchers in the loss. In his third outing of the season against the Crusaders, Owls' ace Chase Wago surrendered a season-high nine hits. He gave up three runs before giving way to reliever Noah Sills with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. Sills went down as the losing pitcher after giving up the winning run on two hits in his one inning of work before Grant Doi recorded the final four outs.

Jacob Gribbin gave the visitors an early lead with his solo home run over the center field fence off of Wago with two outs in the top of the first inning. However, Mid-Pacific tied it in the bottom of the frame when Ryne Yamashiro was hit by a Yamamoto pitch while the bases were loaded to plate a run.

The score held until the fifth inning, when both teams put up crooked numbers. Saint Louis scored both of its runs with two outs: Ryder Kuhns lined an RBI-triple to right and Yamamoto chased Wago with an RBI-single to give his team a 3-1 lead.

But the Owls answered right away with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Ryne Yamashiro led off the inning with walk off Yamamoto and came around to score on a fielding error. A couple batters later, Tyler Yamaguchi reached on a fielder's choice grounder that allowed Cal Muramaru to come home for the tying run.

Saint Louis reclaimed the lead for good in the next half-inning, when pinch runner Anthony Lau scored on a Jordan Mopas single to left-center. Mid-Pacific threatened in the home half of the seventh, but left the tying run on third to end the game.

Mopas batted 3 for 4, while Gribbin, Kuhns and Yamamoto each paired hits in the win. The Crusaders recorded 12 hits in all and overcome a pair of errors to pick up their sixth win in seven games. They improved to 11-3 and took over sole possession of first place.

Nicholas Bottom batted 2 for 4 in the loss. Yamaguchi, Yamashiro and Noah Shackles each drove in a run for the Owls, who fell to 10-3-1 on the season and into second place in the ILH standings.

THE IMPACT

The win put Saint Louis in the driver's seat to clinch the ILH regular-season title and a Division I state tournament berth — its first since 2011 — which it did with its 3-2 come-from-behind victory over seventh-ranked Iolani just four days later.

The Crusaders earned the top seed in the ILH double-elimination tournament, but lost to Mid-Pacific in both the tournament final and the one-game playoff for the overall league championship. They entered the state tournament unseeded, but reeled off four wins in as many days to lay claim to the ultimate prize.

Saint Louis opened state tournament play with a 13-0 rout of Roosevelt. In its quarterfinal against third-seeded Waiakea, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion, the Crusaders saw Yamamoto out-duel Warriors' ace Kodi Medeiros for a 2-0 win. Both Yamamoto and Medeiros went on to be drafted by, and signed with, the Milwaukee Brewers in the MLB Draft the following month.

In the semifinal round, Saint Louis edged Oahu Interscholastic Association champ and tournament No. 2 seed Campbell by a score of 3-1, before it routed Mililani, 10-0, in the championship game.

The end result was the Crusaders' first state title in 40 years and just second overall. They finished 14-6 in ILH play and 18-6 overall on the season.

Yamamoto was selected as ILH D1 Player of the Year in voting by league coaches. Mopas, Stubblefield and Kuhns also earned First Team All-ILH recognition, while Gribbin and Anderson were Second Team picks. Gusman was tabbed as Coach of the Year.

The accolades kept piling up for Saint Louis, which saw Yamamoto, Mopas and Kuhns pick-up First Team All-Hawaii honors. Yamamoto, who also saw time at catcher and in the outfield that season, was designated as Division I Player of the Year, while Gusman was selected as Coach of the Year. Anderson, Romero and Stubblefield were Second Team selections.

HE SAID IT

"We did have a tough time beating Mid-Pac that year. We would play well, but not good enough to win. For that game we were playing without Devan Stubblefield because he was not at school that day and Brendan Uchima, who was our starting third baseman, because he was sick. That meant Jacob Gribbin had to play centerfield and Pono Anderson had to play third. Jacob White was also inserted into the lineup. It was important for us to get a run in the top of the first and take the early lead because we had just lost to them, 1-0, the last time we played. We just couldn't mount any kind of offense in that previous game. I remember every time we scored they would come back to tie us in that game. I think we scored two runs in the middle of the game and they just came back to tie us. Somehow we managed to score another run late in the game and it held up, but not without Mid-Pac threatening again and again. In this game, we finally got a lot more hits than we did in the 1-0 loss. I believe we were facing their pitcher (Wago) for the second or third time and that certainly helped. There were so many guys that came up big for us that day. Jordan Yamamoto was outstanding, Jacob Gribbin got us the lead in the top of the first with a home run. Also, having Jacob White and Pono Anderson filling in like they were regular guys in their positions. It's just amazing how a team can come together when faced against an outstanding opponent and down several players. That win against Mid-Pac gave us a little bit more momentum for our next game against Iolani and we then knew a win against Iolani would give us the regular season championship and a berth into states. The Saturday game against Iolani was one where we had to come from behind to win, but the thing about the Mid-Pac game was that it showed us that nothing was going to be easy for us and we needed to practice, prepare and play together for us to have a chance to win going forward and at states." -George Gusman

Gusman reflected upon some of the seniors on that team.

Jordan Yamamoto: "People don't know that Jordan loved being a catcher as much as pitching. They also don't know how hard he worked to be as good as he was; talent and hard work are a deadly combination. He signed to play baseball at Arizona, but got drafted high enough and ended up signing to play professional. I can still remember getting calls from Texas, Arizona State, USC, Oregon and Oregon State and a few more schools hoping that he would pitch for them. Jordan still comes back up to school during the offseason to share his knowledge with our players. He continues to have that drive and work ethic and that is why he is in the Majors today. He was and continued to be a great young man who cares deep for his mom, dad and sister. I am so very lucky to have dad now coaching with me; what a wonderful family."

Rayson Romero: "Rayson was not the biggest player in the world, but he was the toughest. He would do whatever it took to make a play. Mentally, nothing would keep him down from moving on to the next play. He provided so much leadership for us in the infield and for the entire team. He attended and played at Sonoma State. He teaches at Saint Louis and still comes out to work out and help out with our infielders. He has been playing Independent Baseball for the last couple of year. He still has the fire to train and prepare and mental toughness that no one will keep him from being the best he can be. He probably has the nicest parents you will ever meet."

Devan Stubblefield: "Wow, what an athlete. The question about Devan and baseball was how good could he be? For a guy that only played baseball during the baseball season, he was really good. I know he loved playing baseball, but football was his ticket to getting a college education. He comes from a very long and caring family that made sure he appreciated and respected everyone. Devan went through two ACL knee surgeries at UH, but never complained about anything. Just a great young man."

Jordan Mopas: "Probably one of the most versatile players we have ever had. He played every position on the baseball field. Jordan has always been a great hitter. He had a number of game-winning hits for us and continued that at HPU. He was also all-conference for HPU and is studying to be a nurse and destined to be great at that as well. I still remember that game-saving throw in the Campbell game at states, then coming up with the double to give us the win. Great young man from a wonderful family."

Jacob Gribbin: "Jacob was a very talented player. He was fast and had a great arm. Jacob also had the fastest bat speed that I have ever seen; he was outstanding. He could be a little goofy at times, but when it was time to play and deliver, he was ready. He has played at several places in college and continues to enjoy playing baseball. His mom and grandparents were always there to support him and our team, great people.

Jacob White: "He was also a very versatile player. He handled playing where he was needed very well. He would play at third sometimes, outfield and be either a DH or pinch hitter. He was always ready to do whatever was necessary. Jacob was a little on the wild side, but has settled down to graduate from Chaminade with honors. He was always a very good student in the classroom. Mom and dad did a great job with Jacob.

Peyton Oshiro: "Peyton was having an up-and-down year. There was much discussion about who we would pitch against Campbell in the semifinal game. All of my coaches wanted to pitch a freshman left-hander, but I wanted Peyton. We had the other left-hander warming up when Peyton went out for the first inning against Campbell. Well, he struck out the first batter and I knew I made the correct choice. Peyton was magnificent for that game. He had everything working, great velocity with his breaking ball all going for strikes. His composure was outstanding. I was so very happy for him. What a way to end your high school career and have such a dominant pitching performance. I can still see the pride on mom's face after the game. She, like all of my great parents that year, was just so supportive."

Brett Uchima: "This is a special young man. He didn't get to play a position during games very much, while his younger brother (Brendan) did, but you would never know by how he went about practice and at games. We had some guys that could run on our team, but Brett might have been the fastest. We used him as a runner in games and he was very good. Not only was he fast, but quick and smart. I miss that whole family. They were just grateful for everything."

Jacob Morey: "Jacob probably had one of the best breaking balls that you will ever see. He hurt his arm early in the season, but that didn't stop him from supporting everyone else. He teaches at school and is a master Kumu Hula, as well. I can still remember how positive his dad used to be at our games. Mom was a lot more quiet, but just as supportive."

Kasey Kaiohelani: "He never got cheated when he got a chance to hit. He was a dead pull hitter and a pitcher better not make a mistake because he would hit it hard. He stayed out of baseball for his junior year, but recommitted for his senior year. I don't usually take back kids that decide not to play for a year, but Kasey was an exception. He was a great young man who just realized that he missed played. I coached his brother, Kash, at Kamehameha and his grandfather is the late John Matias and to have to follow in those footsteps was just not fair to him or anyone. His mom, Robyn, was juggling so much at that time, but was still so supportive of Kasey and our team."

MOVING FORWARD

"Sometimes coaches just don't know how or why things happen to a team, but they do. We played perfect on defense for the entire (state) tournament. We had fantastic pitching by Pono Anderson, Jordan Yamamoto and Peyton Oshiro and we had timely hits. That 2014 team has shown that talent alone is not the answer to being successful on the baseball field. This was a group of guys that cared for each other and played for all the right reasons. They didn't care who got the credit when we won. They hung out together and took care of the young guys on the team. Their parents were a mirror image of them. The parents never felt their sons were entitled to anything. It truly takes a village to raise a championship team and that was what that team had. They set the blueprint and we continue to match that magical group. This team and championship was 40 years in the making. The last time Saint Louis was the state champion in baseball was 1974, so this one was for our school, our alumni, families and friends. Championships are not easy to win. It takes talent, hard work, getting through the rough times and a little luck. There is no doubt in my mind that the 4-3 win at Mid-Pac helped carry us to this championship." -Gusman