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WAILUKU — This is exactly what Bruin Agbayani came home for. With his major league father coaching, Agbayani led the Saint Louis Crusaders to the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Division I state baseball championship on Saturday night, the first for the program since 2014.

An overflow, raucous crowd of more than 3,000 greeted the Crusaders of O'ahu and the Warriors of Hawai'i Island at Maui's Maehara Stadium. It is a venue that Agbayani will not soon forget.

He finished the state tournament 8 for 14 with a double, two triples, a home run, five runs scored and three RBIs. He also smacked two home runs in the Baldwin preseason tournament in February.

"Oh, I love this place," Agbayani said. "This is one of my good fields. I know I have good feel on this field. And you know, I love this. I love it over here. Oh yeah, it did feel like home."

Nursing just a 2-0 lead, Agbayani started a rally in the bottom of the fifth when he led off with a sharp single to left. Hoomana Heffernan followed with a single to deep shortstop and Kaili Kane loaded the bases with no out when he banged a sharp grounder of pitcher Zian Wery's glove.

Agbayani scored to make it 3-0 on a groundout to second base off the bat of Deagan Kawahakui. Wery got out of further trouble by getting a fly out to center by Chase Sutherland and ground out to first by Laakea Correa to end the threat.

After Kahanu Martinez drove in a run to make it 4-0 in the sixth, Agbayani triple to right field to drive in Martinez with the fifth run. Agbayani was out at home trying to stretch the triple to an inside-the-park home run.

Head coach and Bruin's dad, Benny Agbayani, added a state baseball title to the softball crown he won with his two older daughters for 'Iolani in 2019. He had a feeling about his first baseball team at Saint Louis as it grew up during Interscholastic League of Honolulu play.

"During the ILH, I knew we were going to do it because we had a lot of young players who were inexperienced, but we just kept on battling, kept on training them, and threw them in the fire when they, they didn't expect it," Benny Agbayani said. "All I told them: 'Just give me your best' — that's all I asked for, and they did."

With one out in the top of the first inning, Waiakea's Teysen Tamiya singled to left and Ivor Brooks walked and the runners moved up to second and third on a groundout by Boston Kobayashi.

Bruin Agbayani showed his defensive prowess when he scooped up a slow roller off the bat of Clemson Julian and the glove of pitcher Lincoln Pang and threw out Julian to end the threat.

Heffernan smacked a singled up the middle to deliver Kahanu Martinez with the first run in the bottom of the first. Martinez led off with a walk and stole second and third bases before Heffernan's one-out RBI single. Kane walked to put runners on first and second with one out.

Deagan Kawahakui struck out looking for the second out and Chase Sutherland stepped to the plate. Sutherland delivered a sharp single to right field and Heffernan scampered home to make it 2-0. Kane took third on the hit to leave runners on the corners.

Laakea Correa walked to load the bases on the 40th pitch that Jerrell Alston threw in the first inning for Waiakea. Alston got out of further trouble in the inning by getting a pop out from Drake Kenui.

Alson threw 44 pitches in the bottom of the first inning, which took 28 minutes to complete.

After they went down 1-2-3 in the top of the second, Wery came on to relieve Alston on the mound to start the bottom of the second inning for the Warriors.

Shea Yamaguchi, the No. 9 hitter, walked to start the frame for Saint Louis. Martinez laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Yamaguchi to second base before Agbayani walked. Wery got out of the inning unscathed when he got Heffernan to roll into a 6-4-3 double play.

A line drive off the bat of Martinez was caught by second baseman Tamiya, who fired to shortstop Brooks, leading to a double play — Drake Kenui was caught off the bag, ending the bottom of the fourth.

Two-out hits by Keysen Honda and Logen Doran put runners on first and second for the Warriors before Inouye laid down a good-looking bunt down the third-base line. Saint Louis catcher Chase Sutherland pounced on the ball quickly and fired Inouye out at first by two steps to end the threat.

Waiakea coach Chris Honda tipped his cap to the state champions. Saint Louis finished 19-8-1 on the season, while Waiakea was 12-5-2.

"We got beat tonight by a great team, a well-coached team," Honda said. "Hats off to them and congratulations to Saint Louis. They deserve it. They played well and, you know, nothing but respect for the program."

Pre-game the chants from the Saint Louis faithful rang out: "Let's go 'Saders, let's go 'Saders, let's go 'Saders" from the first-base side of the stadium.

After the win was secure, it was "When the Saints Go Marching in."