Maryknoll captures Division II crown

With his team’s season on the line, Maryknoll’s Joshua Muneno turned into a different pitcher.

Muneno limited Pac-Five to one unearned run and the Spartans beat the Wolfpack 3-1 to win the ILH’s Division II championship on Friday at Central Oahu Regional Park.

Pac-Five lit up Muneno for six runs in two innings just two days prior, but the sophomore took the hill in the deciding game a completely different pitcher. He allowed a run in the first after infielders behind him committed two errors three batters in, then held them off the board thereafter.

"He came back and looked good," Pac-Five coach Dennis Fukunaga said. "It shows a lot of character to come back and do what he did; he did his job and kept the ball on the ground on us."

Muneno forced the Wolfpack to hit the ball on the ground for outs three times and earned only three of his outs through the air. Perhaps more importantly, he didn’t allow a walk. He threw 51 of his 78 pitches over the plate.

"I wasn’t throwing strikes (in the previous loss)," Muneno said. "Today I was throwing strikes, so I was doing good. Today I was pounding the zone and letting my defense work."

Muneno gave up eight hits and had a runner on base in every inning, but his keystone combination of second baseman Mike Nishiki and shortstop Trevor Hirano turned three double plays and picked off two baserunners.

"We just needed Josh to throw strikes and he did," Hirano said. "It’s all Josh; we just have to make the plays."

Pac-Five opened the scoring in the bottom of the first on the errors by Nishiki and Hirano when Shawne Hampton drove Landon Teramoto home from second on a single to left field. Cody Schmidt grounded into a double play after that.

Frank Perkins started on the mound for the Wolfpack, who were playing for the fourth consecutive day. Perkins pitched two scoreless innings, then gave the ball to Teramoto, who stranded two in the third when he struck out Brent Hironaga with runners on the corners.

Teramoto’s luck ran out in the fourth. He walked Phillip Aylward to lead off the inning, then Nishiki reached on a bunt single. Pac-Five third baseman Braydon Yabuki botched a ground ball to score Aylward to tie it, and Hirano loaded the bases with a bunt single. Teramoto got Neal Nakasone to ground into a fielder’s choice, third to home, but walked Jedd Andrade on six pitches to bring in the go-ahead run. Justin Ushio drove in another one with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 3-1 before Teramoto, who had pitched five innings three days before, got out of the jam.

The Spartans earn a return trip to the state tournament, while Pac-Five’s season ends just short.

"I couldn’t be prouder of these boys," Fukunaga said. "They stuck it out right to the end. The beautiful part of it is we began in February and came right down to the last game. That’s baseball. That’s how baseball should be."