Kamehameha-Hawaii's Chad Teshima comes in to score a run against Waianae. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Kamehameha-Hawaii players celebrate after defeating Waianae to earn a spot in the Division II title game. Sylvia Lee | SL

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WAIPAHU--Unseeded Kamehameha-Hawaii withstood a late rally to knock off top-seeded Waianae, 7-5 to earn a spot in the Wally Yonamine Foundation Division II Championship Game at Hans L'Orange Park.

The Warriors last appearance in the championship game was in 2010, where they fell to Waimea.

"It's a reward for all the hard work they've done. Three years ago we made it to the title game so it's not the first time, but they have a lot of left to do against a good Maryknoll team," said Kamehameha-Hawaii coach Andy Correa.

The Warriors got it going offensively in the top of the first inning as lead-off hitter Chad Teshima showed off his wheels and knocked a triple to deep left field. Chay Toson then hit an RBI double to deep right field to bring in Teshima. Waianae starting pitcher Brandon Cambra consecutively walked Bronson Pulgados and Jordan Hirae to load the bases. Makoa Rosario then hit a 2RBI double to left field to score Pulgados and Toson.

"Yesterday the boys were a little disappointed with their performance so they took it to heart that they could hit the ball a little bit better than yesterday. We had a good round of batting practice this morning and they had a better approach. Fortunately we got up early and got some key hits early and they felt more comfortable in the game," said Correa.

"I think they set the tone with the first two hitters with those base hits and three runs in the first, puts us in a different position and it was something we weren't accustomed to," said Kaluhiokalani, Sr.

Waianae coach Kekoa Kaluhiokalani, Sr. then made a lineup change and pulled Cambra and replaced him with his son Kekoa, Jr. while Cambra moved to left field.

In the bottom of the third inning, Brandon Cambra hit a popfly, but as he was running to first base, he collided with first baseman Kevin Davis as he was trying to make the catch. The umpires had a discussion and after they ruled Cambra out due to interference. Coach Kaluhiokalani came out of the dugout to argue the call.

"The baseman was in foul territory and our runner (Cambra) was coming up the line and he (Davis) drifted back into the infield and into our player and they called interference on us. They told me that he (Cambra) needed to try and avoid him. I told them the ball was behind and on top of him, there's no way he could see the ball or the player so I thought it was a no call. It was hard to understand and swallow too," said Kaluhiokalani, Sr.

In the top of the fourth inning, Teshima added another run for the Warriors off of a RBI grounder from Pulgados.

"The key is they executed and capitalized with men on base and we came through with clutch hits when we needed them," said Correa.

In the top of the sixth, Teshima scored his third run of the game off of a Waianae error to build a comfortable 7-0 lead.

Kamehameha-Hawaii's stout defense held the Seariders to three hits in the first five innings. Even with the Seariders getting on base a couple times, the Warriors came away unscathed.

"The change up early on I got hit pretty hard so they took that out. My fastball and curve worked. My fastball set them up and my curve threw them off. I can't give enough thanks to my defense and I have to give them some love because they backed me up 100 percent and that's where it came from," said Toson.

"He was very tough. We didn't face any lefties all season long and he was the first lefty we faced and that was different for us. He kept us off balance: fastballs and curveballs for strikes, he pitched very well," said Kaluhiokalani, Sr.

Despite being down by seven going into the bottom of the sixth, the resilient Seariders found some rhythm and offense to score four runs.

Brandon Rojo and Wayne Silva got on base with singles to the left and center outfields. Daniel Kauuwai came in as a courtesy runner for Silva. Chastin Nash-Santiago hit an RBI single to score Rojo and Kauuwai scored off of a Warrior error. Cambra walked and then Jamison Dedeber hit a double grounder past third base and Nash-Santiago moved to third base.

With the bases loaded, Sheaven Delima Ferreira hit a 2RBI single to the center field to score Nash-Santiago and Dedeber to make the score, 7-4, giving the Seariders confidence and some momentum.

"We started to get a little bit of momentum back and at that time, you can kind of tell it was shifting towards our way for the first time all game. We tried to build off of that, tried to get something going in the bottom of the seventh, but just came up short in the end," said Kaluhiokalani, Sr.

In the bottom of the seventh, Kamehameha-Hawaii's Jordan Hirae came in for Toson to pitch the final inning. After the Waianae defense held off Kamehameha in the top of the seventh, it was do or die for the Seariders. Cleghorn Borge hit a single that dropped in the right field, but on the next at-bat, Rojo hit a ground out to third. Silva got on base with a single to center field and Borge moved to third. Santiago hit a ground out to third, but Borge managed to score a run, making it 7-5. However, Dedeber hit a ground out to shortstop Kupono Decker to end the game.

"I just depended and trusted my team. I pitched the ball to let my defense work. I'm glad that they backed me up and we worked together as a team to earn this victory," said Hirae, who got credited for the save.

"We were fortunate enough to have the lead, we managed the game a little bit and allowed a few runs in to get the outs to get out of the inning. We have been playing good defense effort all year, but Chay threw a great game. The strike zone was small, but he pitched through it and we made the plays when we needed to and Jordan came in a closed the door in the last inning," said Correa.

Kamehameha-Hawaii will be going back to the Division II Championship game to play the tournament's second-seed and ILH champion Maryknoll, at 6 pm at Hans L'Orange Park.

"It means the world, not only our family, but all the people back home and all our teachers and everyone. It really means a lot because it's like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get here because it is very hard," said Toson.