MANOA — The top seeds will meet on the final day of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Division I Baseball State Championships on Saturday. 

But it will be for third place. 

Instead, it will be third-seeded Mililani taking on unseeded PAC-5 in the 7 p.m. title game at Les Murakami Stadium. 

The Trojans (15-2) and Wolfpack (12-4) advanced to the state final with wins over No. 2-seed Kamehameha and top-seeded Waiakea, respectively, in Friday's semifinal round. 

In the first semifinal, Zayne Hookala threw a complete game six-hitter and Jonah Parker drove in a pair of runs to help Mililani hold on for a 3-2 win over the Interscholastic League of Honolulu-champion Warriors (15-2). 

The Oahu Interscholastic Association-champion Trojans pushed across two runs in the bottom of the first inning, and staved off a late Kamehameha comeback to secure their first trip to the title game since 2019. 

Mililani has never won a state baseball championship. 

"This is a great group of kids. I mean, they've bought into what we're trying to do and they truly, truly enjoy each other and it just shows with the way we play; We're playing for each other," longtime Trojans coach Mark Hirayama said. 

Hookala, a senior left-handed pitcher, turned in his fourth complete game of the season. He scattered six hits and gave up a pair of unearned runs to improve to 5-0 on the year. Hookala's three strikeouts matched his season-low single-game total; Both of the walks he surrendered came in a nail-biting top of the seventh inning. 

"Zayne's competitiveness is unreal. He wants to be in the big situation. His command and his changing of speeds kept them off balance," Hirayama said of the Kailua-transfer and University of Hawaii-commit. 

Hookala had it going from the get-go. He needed just seven pitches to retire the side in the top of the first. 

"I couldn't even sleep last night. I was super excited to show everyone how hard this team has been working," said Hookala, who threw 68 of his 100 total pitches for strikes. 

Mililani's offense gave Hookala an early lead just four batters into the bottom of the first. 

Koa Marzo led off the frame with a first-pitch single through the left side of the infield. His younger brother, Knox, followed with a bunt single. A Kamehameha error allowed both runners to move into scoring position. Two batters later, clean-up hitter Jonah Parker brought both brothers in to score with a ground-ball single back up the middle off of Warriors' starter Kaikea Patoc-Young. 

During his at-bat Parker fouled off a few pitches from Patoc-Young, just as Taye Marxen — the batter just before him — did before he struck out. Both batters saw a number of off-speed offerings from the lefty USC-commit. 

"I didn't expect that, but I adjusted mid-at-bat and he's such a formidable pitcher that we just had to be ready. That last pitch I was kind of expecting off-speed since he had thrown a lot already and I just stayed back and threw my hands," Parker said. 

Hirayama figured runs would be at a premium with the Warriors' ace on the mound Friday. 

"I knew he was going to be around the zone and we just wanted to stick with our plan and hunt the zone that we were looking for and be aggressive and any time we can score runs, we'll take ‘em," Hirayama said. 

Hookala, to be sure, was grateful for the early run support courtesy of the left-handed Parker. 

"It helps me. I can just go on the mound and do my thing. I don't have to try to do too much. I can just throw strikes and let them hit. I knew our offense was going to help me out a little, (but) I wasn't expecting it to be in the first inning," Hookala said. 

Hookala kept the run column clear until the top of the fourth. Ryeder Takahashi led off the inning with a single. An error allowed Takahashi to eventually score the Warriors' first run. However, Kamehameha had the potential tying run wiped off the bath paths when courtesy runner Jaden Nakamaejo was caught stealing by Marxen. 

Mililani made the Warriors pay in the bottom half of the inning. Parker led off the Trojans' fourth with a single. Another Kamehameha error pushed Parker up to second before Xavier Sawa executed a sacrifice bunt that moved Parker over to third. 

Four pitches into his at-bat, Ian Murasaki lifted a fly ball to centerfield, deep enough to allow Parker to tag up and score on the play. 

"That was a great job on Ian's part, having struck out the at-bat before, he just let it hang and just made a great swing," Parker said of the senior third baseman.

Parker, a junior first baseman and three-year starter, finished 2 for 3, as did freshman second baseman, Knox Marzo. 

Hirayama praised the play of the right side of his infield. 

"JP's kind of earned the right to be in that situation and Knox, I mean, the way he plays, you can't tell he's a freshman. He's another guy that lives for the big moment and it doesn't faze him; He's been there before and he wants to be that guy," Hirayama described. 

The insurance run proved to be pivotal as Kamehameha inched closer in the final inning. Iona Uyehara drew a one-out walk in the top of the seventh and went from first to third on a double off the bat of Mahiehie Kawai. Uyehara scored on an RBI-sacrifice fly by pinch hitter Kaleb Flores.

But Hookala closed the door on the Warriors when he induced Patoc-Young into a ground ball to the right side. Parker fielded the ball between first and second base and underhand-tossed it to shortstop Ezra Ugale, who stepped on second for the game-ending fielder's choice. 

Before he escaped the jam, however, Hookala got a mound visit from pitching coach Gainor Nitta, who kept it light during a brief conversation with the southpaw and the rest of the infielders. 

"Coach Gainor, when he came up to the mound, he just said he wanted some TV time," Hookala laughed, "but I think just trying to stay calm, let my defense work, like they were doing all game and yeah, that's pretty much it: just throw strikes."

Hookala has surrendered only three earned runs in 33 innings of work. He has given up 23 hits, registered 48 strikeouts against eight walks and has an earned run average of 0.64. 

"He's just a fierce competitor. He loves the moment, he loves the big stage and you can't ask for anything more from him," Parker said of Hookala.

As typical when he's not pitching, Hookala is expected to be in the lineup in right field when the Trojans make their first title-game appearance in seven years Saturday night. 

"It's indescribable, you know? Every single one of these boys works so hard for this moment, so we're excited," Hookala said. 

Patoc-Young (4-2, 1.74 ERA) took the loss for Kamehameha. Three of the six hits he allowed came in the first inning. Only one of the three runs he was charged with were earned. Patoc-Young struck out six batters and walked just one. He needed just 78 pitches (54 strikes) to get through six innings. 

The Warriors were trying to reach the championship game for the first time since 2023, when they lost to Baldwin, 5-4. 

The nightcap at Murakami Stadium saw ILH runner-up PAC-5 hand Big Island Interscholastic Federation-champion Waiakea (12-1) its first loss on the year, 8-0. 

The Warriors had allowed just eight total runs through their first dozen games of the year, but the Wolfpack doubled up that number over seven innings Friday night. They tallied seven hits and racked up seven walks off of Waiakea pitching and took advantage of four errors by the Warriors. 

PAC-5 coach Reyn Sugai pointed to hitting coach Brent Sakurai's impact in his first season with the team. 

"The approaches that we get every game and the mid-game adjustments, it's something that only a certain amount of hitting coaches can do and can see and these guys developed a mindset to that. They're just going to be as competitive as you can, especially with two strikes. Two-strike hits, two-out RBIs, we preach that kind of stuff," Sugai stated. 

On the mound, Stanford-bound Alika Ahu threw six innings of two-hit ball. He struck out eight batters and walked one. Of the 88 total pitches Ahu made, 61 of them were for strikes. In addition to his eight punch-outs, Ahu got five ground-ball outs and five fly-ball outs. 

"My sliders and change-ups and off-speeds have never been that good this season. I've mostly just been a fastball type of guy, going right at ‘em and I trusted my defense and I was just trying to get weak contact with the off-speed pitches," Ahu said. 

Sugai disclosed that he initially did not plan to start Ahu on the mound, but some late-night lobbying for his stud shortstop changed his mind — and the Wolfpack's plans for Friday. 

"He texted me last night. We were going to go a different route and maybe have him come out the ‘pen, but he was like, ‘Coach, give me the ball, man,' and so I was like, ‘Sure, I mean, you earned it, brah. This is your team and this is your moment,' so, you know, he went out and he shoved," Sugai said. 

Ahu was persistent in his negotiations.

"I just told him, ‘Hey, coach, let me start. I can do it,' and then he called me a couple minutes later and was wondering if I really wanted the ball and I told him, ‘Yeah, I want the ball,' " Ahu reiterated. 

Ahu also led the charge offensively with a 3-for-4 night at the plate. He scored one of his team's two runs in the top of the first and later added a two-run single that was part of a five-run sixth inning for the Wolfpack. 

"I just wanted to, no matter what, give my boys everything I got — I didn't want to have any regrets — so I went out there and just played for my boys, played for, of course, the one above," Ahu said. 

Sugai was complementary of Ahu's stellar two-way performance. 

"It's special. It's just a program-defining performance, in my opinion. I mean, whatever happens tomorrow, I just think for him to put the team on his back like that is — it's not even the team — he put the program on his back today and he just found a way to compete like he always does," Sugai said. 

PAC-5 send nine batters to the plate in the sixth. The first five batters in the inning reached base safely and all came around to score. Ahu's two-RBI knock back up the middle scored Colton Gallano and Chase Nakamoto to make it a 7-0 lead. 

Ahu had grounded into an inning-ending double play in his previous at-bat, but he was keen not to try and overcompensate his next time up. 

"My approach stayed the same; I just wanted to put my barrel on the ball and I saw the ball well and I just swung at it and got the ground ball," he said. 

Noah Keitzer got the final three outs for the Wolfpack in relief of Ahu. 

Waiakea used four pitchers in the loss. Starter Hurley Soong was the pitcher of record; He went 3 1/3 innings and gave up three runs, two earned, on four hits with six strikeouts and five walks. 

Axel Akau (1 for 3) and Connor Wallace (1 for 2, walk) were the lone Warriors to record a hit. 

Waiakea was averaging more than 10 runs per game through their first 12 contests. The fewest runs it had scored in a game prior to Friday was three in a win over Hilo in late March. 

Sugai said that he and his coaching staff had little time to scout or prepare for the Warriors, given it was his team's third game in as many days. He credited both Ahu and pitching coach Kelly Meguro for doing their parts against the much-heralded Waiakea squad. 

"We really had no idea. We saw them play (Thursday) night after our game, so that was as much as we got, but at the end of the day, (Ahu) just pounded the zone and hit his spots. I also want to say our pitching coach has been calling a fantastic game and getting the guys ready mentally and physically; He's done a really great job, the whole coaching staff has been great," Sugai said. 

Like their opponent Saturday, the Wolfpack will be vying for their first-ever state baseball crown. Their only other appearance in a state championship game came in the 2011 Division II title game, which it lost to Kauai by a score of 11-2. 

"It feels great. It's pretty surreal, but I always knew the boys could do it; I never thought we couldn't," Ahu said. "We played Mililani before; they're a tough matchup. We've got our work cut out for us, but we can do it. I believe that we'll go out there and play our hardest and try to bring that koa back home."

The teams met early in the preseason on Feb. 27 at Mililani. Amai Nakagawa, who is expected to get the ball to start for PAC-5 Saturday, posted five shutout innings and allowed one hit with nine strikeouts and no walks in that outing. The Wolfpack came away with a 5-1 win that day but did not face junior hurler Ezra Ugale, who is slated to start in Saturday's title game for the Trojans. 

"We just gotta go out and do what we gotta do and play our ball game and really not worry about who we're going to play," Hirayama said. 

Sugai gave his thoughts on the impending matchup of two teams seeking their first state championship. 

"They're athletic, they're tough, they can pitch, they can hit, but I think can, too, so I think it's going to be an exciting game," he assessed. 

First pitch is slated for approximately 7:07 p.m. The game will follow the Division II title game between Honokaa (16-0) and Damien (5-5-2), which gets underway at 4 p.m.