Waiakea, Saint Louis advance, keeping home teams out of D1 finale

Glen Pascual | SL

For the first time since 2019, the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Division I Baseball Championships will be sans a representative from the Valley Isle.

Saint Louis racked up six runs on eight hits to dispatch Kamehameha-Maui, while Waiakea flipped the script on Baldwin, posting a 1-0 shutout, setting up an ILH versus BIIF final, denying the MIL a spot in the title on its home turf.

Bruin Agbayani led the way for the Crusaders, going a perfect 4 for 4 from the plate with a double, a triple, two runs scored and an RBI, making the most of the blustery conditions at Iron Maehara.

"The wind has been playing a big factor on all my hits, just trying to use the wind to my advantage, wherever the ball is pitched, just staying with it," said Agbayani.

His four hits matched the combined total of his Crusader teammates, and doubled the output of Kamehameha-Maui as a team, as Jandon Perreira pitched five strong innings (2 hits, 1 unearned run) backed by a solid defensive effort.

"He was doing his thing out there," said Agbayani of Perreira. "He was throwing strikes, his command was working, and defense played a big part. We were locked down and that's what wins games, defense."

Trey Kamiola came on in the sixth and pitched two shutout innings to close things out.

In the early semifinal, it was Waiakea doing to Baldwin, what the Bears did a day previous to Kamehameha, a narrow one-run win via a pitchers duel.

Hurley Soong got the better of Justice Wakamatsu, albeit by the slimmest of margins, going seven scoreless, allowing just four hits, walking four and striking out four. Wakamatsu allowed just one run on seven hits in six innings of work, with two walks and three strikeouts.

The Warriors got the eventual game winning run in the second inning, as Boston Kobayashi laced a single down the first base side and eventually came home to score on a fielding error.

Baldwin had runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Soong got the final out via punch out looking.

Kobayashi, Jesse Inouye and Tycen Baruela each finished the contest 2 for 3 at the plate, while Laakea Ko also collected a pair of hits in the loss for the Bears.