Mililani's Ty Desa applies a tag on Hilo's Isaiah Banasan to make a key out in the bottom of the ninth. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Mililani's Trevor Inouye fields a ground ball against Hilo. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Mililani players celebrate after a win over Hilo in nine innings. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Hilo's Isaiah Banasan makes a one-handed grab of a fly ball against Mililani. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Mililani's Trevor Inouye comes home to score a run against Hilo. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Mililani's pitching and defense rose to the occasion when it counted most, helping the Trojans hold on for a 5-4 win over Hilo in nine-innings in an opening round game of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Division I Baseball State Championships.

The Trojans' infield came up with a pair of crucial 5-4-3 double plays to help get out of jams in the seventh and eighth innings, and Adam Connell lofted a fly ball to left field that was misplayed in left, allowing Trevor Inouye, who had reached first base on an error just two batters earlier, to come home with the eventual game-winner.

"I tell these guys, pitching and defense is what's going to win ballgames, and we know what its like to be in the close ones," remarked Mililani head coach Mark Hirayama. "(This season) we haven't given our pitchers a lot of support (offensively) but today we were able to make some plays behind them and help them out."

"That was very important, mostly just for momentum" said Connell. "Getting the third out of the (eighth) inning kind of helped us with our hitting."

Riding the momentum of both the double play and the ensuing go-ahead score, the Trojans handed the ball to junior Micah Chinen in the last of the ninth, and he promptly struck out the first batter he faced before giving up an infield single to Isaiah Banasan, who beat out the short toss from Jarrin Morikawa to first base.

Unfazed by the threat of the tying run aboard, the Mililani infield came up big once again, as an alert Sonognini caught Banasan roaming a bit too far from the bag a few pitches later and gunned a ball to first, allowing Ty Desa to place the tag, taking the tying run off the base paths with just one out left for the Vikings. Chinen then was able to get Jarnerski to ground out to first base to retire the side, and the celebration for the Trojans ensued.

"We always tell our guys everyone's got to be ready to play," said Hirayama. "We never know who we're going to need or what the situation is going to be but we try to prepare them everyday to come out and battle and he (Chinen) stepped up and did a great job for us in the last inning."

"I felt confident," said Chinen, the fourth Trojans' pitcher to see action on the mound against the Vikings. "I knew that my brothers had my back."

Cole Nakachi started the game for Mililani (10-6) and went five strong, allowing just two runs on seven hits, striking out three and walking three. He gave way in the fourth to Koa Eastlack, who last two innings in relief. Tyler Kaneshiro came on in the sixth inning and pitched two scoreless frames, setting the stage for Chinen in the ninth.

"(Our) pitching and defense kept us in the ball game and we just had to dig a little deeper in order to find a guy who could get these (Hilo) guys out," said Hirayama. "I'm proud of how our pitchers stepped up and kept going after guys, and we played a little bit of D today."

Hilo (9-5-1) had put a hit up on the scoreboard in each of the first five innings, but could not string enough of them together to cause any real damage. That changed in the last of the sixth, as the Vikings finally got something going, collecting 4 hits, including a Micah Kaaukai RBI base knock to left to tie the game and a Noah Serrao single that brought home Noah Higa-Gonsalves from second with two outs, that gave the Vikings the one-run edge.

In the top of the seventh, Hilo starter Jalen Carvalho struck out Jensen Kim for the first out, but Mililani (10-6) put the tying run aboard a batter later courtesy of a hot shot past the third baseman by Trevor Inouye. The speedy Inouye stole second base and then swiped third, setting the table for Connell, who knocked a ground ball back up the box to bring home the tying run in Inouye.

"We had faith in our hitters and they came through," remarked Connell of the game-tying rally.

Mililani did its damage offensively in the early innings, taking a 2-0 lead in the first on a Sonognini double and a Connell single, then added another run on a triple by Devin Awai in the second, but were otherwise held in check by Carvalho, who went the distance, allowing 4 earned runs on 8 hits. He struck out three and walked three.

Four errors were costly for the Vikings, who out hit the Trojans 13 to 8, including a 4-for-5 performance for Kaaukai and a 3-for-5 day at the plate for Banasan.

Next up for Mililani is a 7:30 p.m. quarterfinal against top-seeded Mid-Pacific back at Les Murakami Stadium Wednesday, a game that will shown live to a statewide audience on OC16. Hilo will take on Aiea in a consolation bracket game at 9:00 a.m. at Hans L'Orange.