WAILUKU >> Kailua’s Makai Miyamoto showed off a new pitch that nearly earned him the second no-hitter of the state tournament.
The senior right-hander held Mililani to one hit over seven innings in a 5-2 victory in the first quarterfinal of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball State Championships in Division I at Iron Maehara Stadium on Thursday.
Miyamoto struck out three and walked two to end the OIA champion Trojans’ 10-game winning streak. Mililani had scored at least five runs during the streak.
“I was working my sinker today, which I hadn’t thrown all season,” Miyamoto said. “It was a new pitch, so nobody had seen it and I was trying to keep it simple — work outside and inside to keep their hitters off balance.”
Kailua (11-6) will play the winner of Thursday’s late Baldwin/Hilo game in the second semifinal tonight.
Shayde Kuhns doubled in two runs in the top of the first inning and Mikey Hanano scored twice to lead the Surfriders on offense.
BJ Suehisa hit a hard ground ball that bounced off the glove of the first baseman to drive in a run in the bottom of the fourth for the only hit for Mililani (10-2).
Freshman Kai Hirayama stepped in after Mililani starter Randyn Rios recorded only one out and kept his team in the game, allowing one earned run on five hits in 6 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts.
Kailua is in the semifinals for the second time since 2014, but hasn’t reached a final since losing to Punahou in the ’09 final.
“I think we’re getting hot at the right time,” Miyamoto said. “The bats are coming alive. We were struggling during the season a little bit, but we practice hard and it’s paying off right now.”
Waiakea 6,Kalani 3
Trailing in a game for the first time this season, the BIIF champion Warriors (9-0) rallied from a 3-0 deficit with a six-run fourth inning to beat the Falcons (13-4).
Joshua Ward delivered the big blow with a three-run double as the seventh consecutive batter to reach base in the inning with two outs.
“I was nervous because the past game I haven’t really been hitting,” Ward said. “I seen the pitch I wanted and I stayed on top. My coaches always tell me to stay on top, so I stayed on top of it and got a double out of it.”
Dylan Honda allowed three runs on three hits in 6 1⁄3 innings to earn the win. He ran into trouble in the second inning when he walked three batters to force in a run and then gave up a two-run single to Christen Chinen.
He went on to retire 10 of the next 12 batters he faced.
Baldwin 6, Hilo 3
Isaiah Chaves singled home Davin Lewis with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning and the top-seeded Bears (15-0) held off the Vikings (6-4) to reach the semifinals of the state tournament for the third time in a row.
Zack Ota gave Baldwin a 2-1 lead with a two-run single in the second inning and Makane Honokaupu added a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth for the Bears, who will play Kailua in the second semifinal tonight at Iron Maehara Stadium.
