With scoring at an all-time low in the state baseball tournament, Mililani made the most of the few chances it got.

The Trojans scored both of their runs in the third inning without a hit and Waiakea did not convert its nine hits into more than one run to eliminate the defending state champions early in a 2-1 loss to Mililani on Wednesday at Les Murakami Stadium.

The Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA State Baseball Championships have been dominated by pitching. The first six games were all decided by two runs or fewer and the 14 combined runs scored in the first round were a record low since the tournament expanded to four opening-day games in 1969.

The quarterfinal round Wednesday started the same way, with OIA West rivals Campbell and Mililani advancing by identical 2-1 scores.

Mililani junior Kayden Suma threw the sixth complete game of the tournament with one walk and two strikeouts to send the Trojans to the state semifinals for the second time in the past three tournaments.

“I felt good for my team that I could push them to the next round,” the left-hander said. “Fastball was working inside and the changeup was working, so I was just working with that.”

Mililani coach Mark Hirayama has watched his team win two games while scoring four total runs. He has yet to go to his bullpen after Kai Hirayama’s complete-game effort in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Saint Louis.

“It’s going to come down to pitching, I think, and who’s going to make the least amount of mistakes at a crucial time to where you put yourself behind the eight ball,” Mark Hirayama said. “Sometimes I’d rather be lucky than good. We’ve always been able to give ourselves a chance, but it’s because of the baseball gods behind us.”

Mililani’s three hits all came from the bottom two spots in the lineup. Logan Falido went 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored and Ethan Bagasol reached base on an infield single and laid down sacrifice bunts in his other two plate appearances.

Bagasol followed Falido’s leadoff walk in the third inning by reaching on a bunt when the throw to first pulled the first baseman off the bag.

Waiakea starter Lowen Iwata, who didn’t allow a hit in three innings, hit the next two batters to force in a run. Cal Hawes drove in the second run with a sacrifice fly that just got deep enough in center.

That was all it took to knock Waiakea, which scored 14 runs in three games last year en route to the state title, out of the winners bracket.

The Warriors got three of their hits in the bottom of the seventh inning to score their only run on Jesse Inouye’s single to center to plate Kalama Ulibas, who was the courtesy runner for reliever Gavin Nishida, who singled in both plate appearances.

Waiakea had the tying run on second for Joshua Ward, who doubled in the first inning and lined out hard to third in the third inning.

Ward took a first-pitch strike before flying out to left to end it.

“Me and Kalei (Alana) were working inside the whole time,” Suma said. “I saw the ball go into left field and was kind of nervous, but I knew (left fielder) Kai (Hirayama) would back me up.”

Suma had pitched into the sixth inning once all season and had never been on the mound in the seventh inning until Wednesday.

Coach Hirayama never wavered in taking him out despite only three runners reaching base.

“At this age it’s hard to bring in a kid in that situation,” Hirayama said. “Our club is young and we don’t have a lot of experience there, and Kayden pitched his (butt) off. He deserved a chance to finish.”

Waiakea was 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position before the last inning.

Nishida replaced Iwata on the mound for Waiakea to start the fourth inning and threw four scoreless innings allowing three hits.

The Warriors had been to the semifinals in three of the previous four tournaments held.