Baldwin beats ‘Iolani to land in state baseball final

The neighbor islands still rule Hawaii baseball.

For the second straight year, the MIL and BIIF will square off in the Division I final of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA State Baseball Championships after No. 1 seed Baldwin defeated ‘Iolani 9-4 to cap Thursday’s games at Les Murakami Stadium.

Baldwin senior Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, whose running catch in the left-center gap was the final out in an 8-7 win over Punahou in the quarters, did it all yet again for the MIL champions.

Hoopii-Tuionetoa threw five strong innings on the mound, drilled the go-ahead RBI triple in the top of the fifth, and made another impressive catch in the gap, this one in right-center, to put Baldwin (15-1) in the state final for the second time in three years.

The Bears will face Waiakea, which lost to Maui in last year’s state final, at 7 tonight. The winner will be the first school to win multiple state titles this decade.

“We’re a very together team,” Baldwin coach Shane Dudoit said. “It takes nine guys out there and the rest of the guys on the bench in order to pull off and stay in games like this.”

Hoopii-Tuionetoa finished 4-for-4 with four RBIs and Nainoa Keahi also had four hits and drove in three runs.

They are the first pair of teammates to have four hits in a winner’s bracket game of the state tournament since Mid-Pacific’s Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Quinton Collier in 2013.

“It’s amazing. … We’re a tough bunch over here,” Hoopii-Tuionetoa said. “Everybody performed how they should have and I’m glad with the results. We’re headed to the state championship game and I don’t know what more to be happy about.”

Hoopii-Tuionetoa broke a 4-4 tie with a two-out RBI triple in the top of the fifth inning and then tracked down a ball in the right-center gap to end the top of the sixth inning to strand two ‘Iolani runners.

He added a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning for the final dagger and also earned the win on the mound, throwing five strong innings.