Waianae rolls past Radford to claim first OIA championship since 2017

Waianae's pitcher Shysten Nagasako throws during the fourth inning against Radford in the Division II OIA championship game at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa Les Murakami Stadium. CJ Caraang | SL

MANOA — Shysten Nagasako answered the bell for Waianae Friday night.

The senior was a two-way phenom in Friday night's Division II OIA championship game, helping lift Waianae over Radford, 11-1, for the school's first baseball league title since 2017.

On the mound, he pitched all five innings, only giving up one run while tallying four strikeouts. At the plate, he was a perfect 3 for 3, including a two RBI single in the third to score the opening runs of the game.

"Just throw strikes, don't let no runs, no walks affect me, hitting wise, put the ball in play, battle, and everything will fall into place," Nagasako said on his approach coming into the matchup.

The first two-and-a-half innings of the game proved to be uneventful, as Radford pitcher Jacob Barner — fresh off a save to cap off their stunning upset against East top seed Kahuku — and Nagasako engaged in a pitcher's duel.

However, after Nagasako's single drew first blood for Waianae, the Rams seemed rattled. Radford proceeded to commit two errors, give up four walks, throw two wild pitches, and use two pitching changes before they got out of a disastrous eight-run bottom of the third inning.

Radford looked to build some momentum after getting two runners on base to open the next inning, but Nagasako shut the door as he got the next two batters on swinging strikeouts. He responded once again after Wendell Harrison got Radford on the board with an RBI double to right field by sitting the final batter down on another strikeout.

Waianae continued their dominance over the rest of the game. A combination of another error, a wild pitch, and a walk led to the Seariders lead extending to 10-1 before catcher Kyson Rosa ended the game on a single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth.

For head coach, Waianae alumni, and former MLB draftee Ben McQuown, this win meant the world. Especially considering the season his team had.

"Two tough losses at the beginning of the season, but we never let that get us down. We told ourselves this is what we are playing for right here, the OIA championship. We are not playing for the regular season; we are playing for the postseason. I'm super proud of these boys," McQuown said.

"It definitely means a lot; it's just something for our team and our community to be proud of. Not a lot of good things have been said about Waianae in the past year, so this is something that we can be proud of, a little shining light for our community," McQuown added.

Nagasako had similar sentiments about the win.

"This is for our people right here; we wanted it from the beginning," Nagasako said.

The Seariders now have their eyes set on the HHSAA D2 state championships, which start on May 15.

"We felt like we deserved to be in [last year's] state championship game... definitely on a redemption tour right now. We got the first part done, and now we are looking forward to the state title. We're gonna get that OIA and State title; that's our goal," McQuown said.