Joshua Muneno sealed his mark in Hawaii state baseball history on Saturday at Les Murakami Stadium.

The Maryknoll senior left-hander scattered six hits in six solid innings and the Spartans dropped Aiea 8-4 to grab their third straight Division II title in the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball State Championships.

Muneno was a huge part of the last two state runs, pitching complete games in the 2014 final and the 2013 semifinals.

"This one is the most special," Muneno said. "We are a young team and the younger players really stepped up."

With one on in the seventh, reliever Neal Nakasone fanned Na Alii’s Kobe Kato and the Spartans fled the dugout for a celebratory pig pile.

Kato slammed the head of his bat into the ground and flipped his helmet off his head before kneeling down near the plate to ponder the loss.

"I wanted to keep it going for the next batter," he said. "It’s just disappointing. We came up short."

Kato, who came in to relieve starting and losing pitcher Jarred Uyeda, threw 41/3 effective innings, but was the victim of three errors leading to three unearned runs in the fourth as the Spartans took a commanding 8-2 lead.

In the first two innings, ILH D-II champion Maryknoll (16-2) pounded away for a 5-0 lead on seven hits. Muneno connected for a two-run double in the first and added an RBI hit along with Trevor Hirano in the second.

"Joshua epitomizes what we’re looking for in the pitching and hitting departments," Spartans coach Randy Yamashiro said. "He and our other senior captains epitomize what this program is all about. We don’t have five-star athletes. We have three-star athletes who are hungry and love the game and are students of the game."

Na Alii (14-1) kept plugging away to stay in it. Logan Ho doubled and eventually scored on Ty Matsunami’s squeeze bunt in the second. In the third, with runners on first and second, Kato alertly stole third and scored on Shannon Fermahin’s infield roller.

Jaryn Nakamoto’s RBI double and Kato’s run-scoring single pushed Aiea to within 8-4 in the bottom of the fifth.

"They put the pressure on us early," Na Alii coach Ryan Kato said. "And we made some uncharacteristic mistakes. I’m proud of my players. We overcame a lot to get here. When the sting wears off, the kids will look back and be proud of what they accomplished. We had a game plan. Maryknoll had a game plan. They executed better than we did."

By ILH rule, Maryknoll will move up to Division I next year to compete for league honors with powerful programs like Mid-Pacific, Saint Louis, Kamehameha, ‘Iolani and Punahou. They’ve now won four out of the last seven D-II crowns.

"I doesn’t get any easier," Yamashiro said about the third consecutive title. "Each year, it’s something different. It’s a milestone. I understand that. We don’t look at it as a three-year thing because we did it one at a time. We’re going to have to work harder and get better next season."

Aiea could also be moving up to D-I after taking the OIA D-II title.

DIVISION II THIRD PLACE

KAUAI 4, KS-HAWAII 3

Brandyn Lee-Lehano and Noah Chow, Keegan Miura (2), Dallas Duarte (4), Dallas Duarte (6). Aaron Renaud, Blaise Gokan (5), Shane Ogata (7) and Cal Koga. W–Renaud. L–Lee-Lehano. S–Ogata.

Leading hitters–Kamehameha-Hawaii: Kobi Candaroma 3b, 2 runs; Hinalea Cortez 2-3, 2 2bs. Kauai: Ogata 3-4, 2b, 2 RBIs; Micah Layosa 2-3; Kobey Dias 2-2.

DIVISION II FIFTH PLACE

MOLOKAI 5, KONAWAENA 2

Stevie Texeira, Logan Canda (3), Harvey Kolu Alani (4), Tristan DeAguilar (6) and Tyler Kitaoka, Phillip Grace (3). Chelsen Victorino, Sonny Balbas (7) and Levi Horner-Villa. W–Victorino. L–Texeira. 

Leading hitters–Konawaena: Kelsey Katayama 2-4; Kitaoka 2-3. Molokai: Codi-Jase Kamakana 2-3, 2 RBIs; Victorino 3-3, 2b.

E–Hirano; Kobashigawa; Matsunami; Ah Yo; Kudaishi. DP–Maryknoll 2; Aiea 1. LOB–Maryknoll 8; Aiea 4. 2B–Nakasone; Muneno; Nakamoto; Ho. HBP–Nakasone; Ohata; Dunaway; Uyeda. SH–Matsunami. SB–Kato. CS–Kato.

Umpires–(Plate): Ozzie Ortiz. (First): Lyle Cabacungan. (Second): Ikaika Nishimura. (Third): Paul Wallrabenstein. T–2:14.