Mililani overcomes slow start to make another title run

The end of one run marks the start of another.

After Mililani finished last season one win short of its first state championship, the Trojans set about molding a young team into another title contender.

There were growing pains along the way, and after a 2-4 start to the OIA Red West season the Trojans came together to make another charge toward a title.

They recovered from the early stumbles to finish second in the division and place third in the OIA playoffs before making another stirring run in the state tournament, again advancing to the final game of the high school baseball season.

Mililani’s run was finally halted Friday with a 10-0 loss to a Saint Louis team that played superbly throughout the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Division I State Championship at Les Murakami Stadium.

The pain was evident as Mililani coach Mark Hirayama shared a handshake and a hug with each player as they were called up to accept their runner-up medals. But Hirayama appreciated the process more than dwelling on the outcome after the game.

"These guys have grown up so much," Hirayama said. "Watching them play these last couple days and see them having fun and playing the right way, they’ve come a long way. I have a lot of respect for these guys and what they’ve accomplished.

"They understand what we’re trying to do, and for us it’s building character in these young men, and if you do things the right way good things are going to happen. It’s more than baseball what we’re trying to build here."

Mililani graduated 16 seniors, including seven starters, off the team that lost to Mid-Pacific in last year’s final. After the rough start, a relatively young group bonded over post-practice kickball games organized by Hirayama and "just fun stuff to get us together," said senior Trevor Inouye.

"We started from the bottom and we just kept working every single day at practice. … We were 2-4 and after that our bond became bigger and better. We weren’t just one team, we were one family. We turned into a family."

Pitching kept Mililani in games early in the season while the offense developed. As the OIA’s No. 3 team, Mililani rallied late in its opening-round game against Hilo and won in extra innings. Clutch complete-game performances by Micah Chinen and Inouye highlighted wins over top-seeded Mid-Pac and Kailua to give the Trojans a shot at the title for a second straight year.

But Saint Louis broke away early with a four-run first inning and scored five more in the fifth to put the game away.

"I tell these guys we expect to be here, we expect to be able to compete every year," Hirayama said. "All we can do is lay it all out on the line and whatever happens, happens. We just ran into a strong team tonight."

Unlike last year, most of Mililani’s cast returns next year with just three senior starters in the lineup along with starting pitcher Cole Nakachi.

And it won’t take long for the process to start over.

"We start next week with summer ball and start building again," Hirayama said.