For Leilehua and Mililani, the “second season” officially begins this week with the Division I state baseball tournament Tuesday-Friday at Iron Maehara Stadium on Maui. (Pairings for the tournament were to be released over the weekend.) A look at both Leilehua’s and Mililani’s prospects follows.<\/p>\n
Leilehua High<\/B><\/p>\n
Regular season record: 6-10 overall (2-3 at home, 4-5 on the road, 0-2 on a neutral field)<\/p>\n
How they got here: The Mules opened the OIA post-season tournament with an upset of East No. 3 seed Moanalua and followed with a win over Waipahu in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals, thus ensuring one of the league’s five state berths.<\/p>\n
Leilehua finished fourth in the OIA after being edged out by Mililani and Kailua in the semis and third-place game, respectively.<\/p>\n
Signature wins: Over Mililani (3-0) March 8; over Mililani (9-6) April 3; over Moanalua (4-3) April 24; over Waipahu (3-1) April 25<\/p>\n
Players to watch: Seniors Brandon Smithe, Cody Academia and Ian Kaopua<\/p>\n
What to watch: The Mules prove that it is how you finish, not how you start. The team shook off a three-game losing streak to open its OIA slate and endured a four-game skid at mid-season, but enters the state tournament having won four of its last seven.<\/p>\n
The losses to Kailua and Mililani also were winnable in that stretch, which figures to make Leilehua one of the more dangerous first-round opponents in the field.<\/p>\n
This is the school’s second straight state tournament appearance under head coach Lane Watanuki.<\/p>\n
Mililani High <\/B><\/p>\n
Regular season record: 9-7 overall (3-4 at home, 4-2 on the road, 2-1 on a neutral field)<\/p>\n
Signature wins: Over Campbell (6-2) April 13; over Castle (1-0) April 25; over Leilehua (5-4) April 26.<\/p>\n
How they got here: The Trojans were impressive at the recent OIA tournament, posting wins over Kalani, Castle and Leilehua to reach the title game, guaranteeing themselves one of the league’s five state berths.<\/p>\n
Although Mililani was defeated by Red West regular-season champion Campbell in the OIA title game, Mililani still bring plenty of momentum into this week.<\/p>\n
Players to watch: Cole Nakachi, Troy Kakugawa, Kanoa Wong, Trevor Inouye and Presley Alcover<\/p>\n
What to watch: With wins in four of its last five games, Mark Hirayama’s team enters this week’s state tournament playing about as well as anyone in the field.<\/p>\n
As with most prep baseball outfits, pitching and defense remain the key for this group, as Mililani is 9-1 this spring in games in which they hold the opponent to three runs or less. The Trojans also have fared well in close encounters, having gone 4-1 in games decided by two runs or less.<\/p>\n
This week marks Mililani’s fourth state tournament appearance in the last five years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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