WAILUKU >> With only eight games played this season due to a shortage of umpires, Hilo coach Baba Lancaster wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

What he got a was a clutch performance both on the mound and at the plate as catcher Makena Wakakuwa, who was pinch-hit for earlier in the game, singled home the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Kamehameha 6-5 in the first round of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball State Championships on Wednesday at Iron Maehara Stadium.

The BIIF runner-up Vikings (6-3) came back from a 5-2 deficit to advance to play No. 1 seed Baldwin in the final quarterfinal game tonight.

“We’ve been scrapping with Waiakea every single game and couldn’t come up with the big hits and today we finally hit the ball,” Lancaster said. “It’s kind of hard to prepare for a big tournament like this playing that much games, but if we hit like we’re supposed to, we will be all right.”

Devin Saltiban had two hits, including a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull Hilo within a run at 5-4.

Two batters later, Tobey Jackson singled off the glove of Pono Nakano at second, allowing Saltiban to score to tie the game at 5-5.

The teams traded zeros before Wakakuwa came to bat with runners on first and third and one out in the bottom of the eighth.

Hilo tried a suicide squeeze play, but Wakakuwa’s bunt went foul. On the very next pitch, he hammered a line drive into right field for his second hit to bring home Legend Lancaster to win it.

“I was supposed to squeeze but I couldn’t do my job,” Wakakuwa said. “After that, I knew I was going to get a hit because I wasn’t going to let my team down.”

“He made me look bad and came in clutch,” Baba Lancaster said about the bunt play. “But I’ll take it.”

The Vikings were seeded third in the last state tournament three years ago and advanced to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Punahou, which isn’t in the tournament this season.

It’s the Vikings first win over an ILH team in the state tournament since 2012.

“To be honest, I’m not going to lie, I was like, ‘wow, why did they give us a tougher team?’ But I guess it was worth it,” said Saltiban, the team’s No. 4 hitter.

A possible future draft pick, Hilo’s clean-up hitter, who is only a junior, got the comeback started when he doubled deep to left-center in the bottom of the sixth inning to drive in two runs.

Kamehameha (12-7-2) had just tacked on a run on an infield single by catcher Beau Sylvester in the top of the inning to make it 5-2 when Hilo’s bats started to get going.

“Honestly, I was just looking fastball, fastball and I seen it,” Saltiban said. “It was 1-0 and then I seen the fastball high and I took it.”

Hilo starter Hekili Robello was tagged for five runs on 10 hits in six innings.

Kamehameha’s Miecah Andres tied the game on a two-out infield single in the third inning to score Aydan Lobetos to make it a 2-2 game.

Andres then dropped in a two-run single to shallow center in the fifth inning to put Kamehameha ahead 4-2.

Warriors starter Kaena Kiakona allowed two unearned runs in four innings on eight hits. Kamehameha committed five errors in the game, including two in the bottom of the eighth to put Legend Lancaster in scoring position to set up the finish.

Kailua 9, ‘Iolani 5

Na’i Iwaki and Shayde Kuhns each had three hits and Kaimana Burgo finished 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs to lead the Surfriders over the Raiders.

Rayvin Pagan pitched three scoreless innings of relief, allowing just two hits to shut down ‘Iolani and help Kailua advance to play OIA champion Mililani in today’s first quarterfinal.

Kuhns’ two-run single in the fourth inning chased ‘Iolani starter Kaleb Tenn after 3 2/3 innings.

Kaimana Lau Kong walked with the bases loaded and Makani Tanaka singled home two runs to pull ‘Iolani within a run at 6-5 through four innings.

Burgo answered with a two-run double in the top of the fifth and Iwaki followed with a double to drive in Burgo for the final margin.