St. Louis wins first title in 40 years

For 40 years, Saint Louis baseball fans suffered a drought of epic proportions.

That all came to an end on Friday night, when the Crusaders’ deluge of offense spurred a 10-0 win over Mililani in the final of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Division I State Baseball Championship at Les Murakami Stadium.

It was the first state crown for the Crusaders (17-6) since 1974, when Jim Anderson guided the program to its first and only title. It was another Anderson, junior pitcher Pono Anderson, who starred this week. The 6-foot-2 right-hander went all five innings, allowing just two hits against Mililani, the Cinderella squad of the tourney. Anderson won two games on the mound and saved another as Saint Louis went 4-0 under the spotlight, just a week after finishing second in the ILH.

"I feel relieved," coach George Gusman said a few minutes after being drenched by his players with a Gatorade shower. "We had a tough draw. When you face challenges and the guys come through, that makes it special."

The Crusaders’ route to the title included a thrilling win in the semifinals over OIA champion Campbell. Anderson answered the bell with a save that night, then took the mound as the starter on Friday.

"He pitched really well early in the season, then he had a little slump," Gusman said.

Anderson pointed to the week-long break before the state tourney as a turning point.

"I worked on my slider during the week, just kept practicing it," he said.

The result was a hard-throwing hurler with a fastball and change-up to go with a biting slider. He needed just 43 pitches over five innings to stymie Mililani.

Coach Mark Hirayama’s Trojans finished the season 12-7, making a stunning run through the state tourney after finishing third in the OIA.

The Crusaders were opportunistic from the start against Mililani pitcher Cole Nakachi. Jordan Mopas socked a one-out double, Jacob Gribbin singled to left, and Mopas came home with the first run when Ryder Kuhns singled to center.

After Jordan Yamamoto singled to center and Devan Stubblefield grounded into a forceout at home, Brendan Uchima walked with the bases loaded, scoring Kuhns from third base for a 2-0 lead.

Tanner Atiburcio followed with a two-run single to left, and the Crusaders led 4-0.

It could’ve been more. They left two runners on base in the bottom of the second against Koa Eastlack, a sophomore. Then they loaded the bases in the third and came up empty again. Through three frames, Saint Louis had already stranded seven.

Anderson, however, continued his state tourney mastery on the mound.

Saint Louis then did more damage in the bottom of the fourth, scoring its first run off Eastlack. Jacob Gribbin tripled to center and scored on a one-out single to right by Stubblefield.

Then came the bottom of the fifth, when the Crusaders scored five times to end the game due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Kuhns and Yamamoto socked two-run doubles in the inning.

For Yamamoto, the season-long ace, it was still a fun night though he never took the mound thanks to Anderson’s prowess. His two-run double to left ended the season.

"I came in (from defense) and started warming up, but Pono pulled through for us a lot. I got to leave with a bang."

For Kuhns and Stubblefield — the explosive quarterback/wide receiver combo for the football team — a long-awaited state title came on the diamond rather than the gridiron.

"We worked hard, day in and day out," said Stubblefield, who will play football and baseball for UH next season.

Assistant coach Vince Passas was a third baseman on that ’74 Crusaders squad that beat Aiea in the state final.

"Derek Tatsuno got hurt before states," he said of the tourney, which was played on Maui. "We beat McKinley in the semifinal and they had (future Rainbows) Ron Nomura and Eric Tokunaga.

"But what this team has in common with us is the brotherhood. We all played for each other, peaked at the right time and represented the school in the best possible way.

"Forty years is a long time, but it seems like yesterday."

THIRD PLACE
Campbell 11, Kailua 1, 6 Innings

Kainoa Higa, Pilipo Kupahu (6), Brendan Odo (6) and Daniel Thomas. Zachary Kapihe, Dirk Patrick Himan (5), Chad Samante (6) and Blayze Arcano-Llacun. W—Kapihe. L—Higa. Leading hitters—Kail: Wade Lono 2b, RBI. Cam: Darren Gallano 3-4, 2b, 4 RBIs, 2 runs; Ian Kahaloa 2-2, RBI; Joshua Tsuha 2b, RBI.

DP—Saint Louis 1. LOB—Mililani 3; Saint Louis 9. 2B—Mopas; Kuhns; Yamamoto. 3B—Gribbin. SH—Gribbin. CS—Stubblefield.

Umpires—(Plate): Matthew Kano. (First): Fred Davidson. (Third): Hapa Thyne. T—1:39. A—n/a.