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Campbell, Mililani in ultimate match of division rivals




No. 1 Campbell will be seeking its third consecutive and fifth overall Oahu Interscholastic Association baseball crown when it meets No. 3 Mililani 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Patsy T. Mink/Central Oahu Regional Park.

The Trojans are seeking their first crown since 1997, when they were led by Glenn Nitta, Mililani's athletic director.

This is the ultimate matchup of division rivals, as they shared the West title and split the season series. This will be the third time the teams will meet for the OIA crown. Campbell beat Mililani, 13-3, in 2013 in a six-inning mercy-rule game, and is 1995, when the Sabers won, 5-4, under then-coach Lane Watanuki, who is Leilehua's coach.

Moreover, both teams have been dominant on the mound. Mililani has seven shutouts in league play, while the Sabers have nine. Both teams blanked opponents in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Campbell is 4-2 in OIA title games, while Mililani is 1-4.

Among the happy campers for the title game are the pro scouts. They will get to point their radar guns at Campbell ace Ian Kahaloa. The scouts are delighted because they did not miss watching UC Santa Barbara ace Dillon Tate, who pitched seven hitless innings with six strikeouts and two walks in a 5-0 win against the University of Hawaii Friday night at Les Murakami Stadium. Tate is considered one of the top pitching prospects in this coming draft.

In four OIA starts, Kahaloa is 3-0 with a no-decision, which was in the 2-1 loss to Mililani in eight innings. In 27 innings, he has allowed eight hits and an unearned run. He has 47 strikeouts to four walks. Including preseason he is 7-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 44 innings. He has allowed 10 hits; Mililani has eight of them. He has 78 strikeouts, while issuing five walks. The Trojans are the only opponent to post multiple hits in a game against Kahaloa.

Since the OIA went to a tournament format in 1970, there have been four no-hitters in the title game. Ironically, the last was Mililani's only championship in 1997. Duke Tomimoto threw a seven-inning perfect game.

Other no-hitters:

1971, Kalani's Brian Asato beat Aiea, 2-0.
1974, Aiea's Cliff Heard beat McKinley, 2-0
1986, Kaiser's Jared Castro lost to Waianae, 2-1

In the OIA Division II title game, Aiea will play Kapolei. Both teams were in Division I last year. Aiea last won a league crown in 2006. That was the school's ninth title.



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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