Maryknoll's Joshua Muneno threw a complete game, one-hitter to help lead the Spartans to a second straight Division II title. Brien Ing | SL

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Maryknoll's Joshua Muneno threw a complete game, one-hitter to help lead the Spartans to a second straight Division II title. Brien Ing | SL

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Maryknoll’s Joshua Muneno held an 8-0 record prior to the Wally Yonamine/HHSAA Division II State Championship game. Now he is a proud owner of a perfect 2014 season record after annihilating the Warriors in a one-hit, complete game shutout victory, 4-0, and helping the Spartans claim their second straight D-II title—and coincidentally the second straight time Maryknoll pitched a shutout to win the championship game over the same team.

As the Spartans supporters cheered on the pitcher from the first base side at Les Murakami Stadium, Muneno delivered his best outing of the season and lowered his ERA to a whooping 1.03, proving to be Maryknoll’s silver bullet from start to finish.

According to head coach Randy Yamashiro, Muneno’s command and control on the mound was key to their triumph.

“He could hit his spots, he could take some velocity off his pitches, and he could pump it up,” Yamashiro said. “That was his greatest strength (tonight).”

While Muneno did not record any strikeouts tonight, he proved his command on top of the hill in facing just four above the minimum throughout the game. Also, he limited his walks to just two.

The only tight spot the pitcher faced throughout the game was during the fourth inning, when Muneno’s passed ball put Chay Toson in scoring position—Kamehameha-Hawai‘i’s only threat during the game.

Fortunately, Muneno kept his cool while defense stopped any further threat from the Warriors, stranding Toson on third base.

“We just said hit your spots. Make your defense play and hit your spots,” Coach Yamashiro said on keeping Muneno calm on the mound.

“If he hits his spots, strikeouts will come. If not, the defense will make plays.”

The 5-foot-8 junior echoed Yamashiro’s comments and attributed his confidence to the team’s defense, which made sure that all he had to focus on was his pitching.

“All my pitches were working pretty well, if I threw it where I’m supposed to,” Muneno said. “I just had to throw strikes while my team worked behind me.”

Coach Yamashiro commended the pitcher’s progress throughout the year, stating that Muneno has worked all-around to improve and get to where he was today.

“He’s picked up in velocity, and he’s picked up in hitting his spots,” he said. “Command, control, all that kind of stuff.”

But at the end of the day, Muneno did not revel too much in his own accomplishment. Instead, he spoke about how proud he was of his team and how they worked together to claim the coveted D-II title.

“I’m so proud of my team and how we played so well this year,” he said.

“(This win) feels amazing. My team really worked hard this whole season just to get to this point. I just had to do my job on the mound and let them work behind me.”