HILO — Once again, Waiakea baseball will be playing for the championship.
The first-seeded Warriors won their BIIF Division-I semifinal matchup over Konawaena on Wednesday at home, winning in a 15-0 run rule. The game was called after 4.0 innings.
The hosts scored in every inning, but broke out for a seven-run inning at the bottom of the second.
Waiakea will play in the BIIF DI championship next week, set to take on fellow east-side rival No. 2 Kamehameha-91直播.
Out of the Warriors’ 12 hits, Jesse Inouye, Jerell Alston, Kysen Honda and Hurley Soong led with two hits apiece. Teammates Jordan Pagan, Tycen Baruela, Zian Wery and Keyan Wada added one hit each.
On the mound, Alston pitched a gem as Waiakea’s lone pitcher — striking out five Wildcats. Alston leads the 10-0 Warriors in hits, runs, RBI, doubles, triples and home runs.
Through 10 games in 2026, Waiakea has out-scored opponents 103-5, including eight straight shutouts. The Warriors have not allowed a run since March 9 against KSH.
Kona logged four base hits, led by freshman Trey Guillermo with two. His teammates, Shayden Domingo and Stephen Amafala-Marquard, cracked one hit each. On the mound, Domingo, Amafala-Marquard and Kawika Fukunaga all shared time pitching.
The Wildcats’ season officially ended at 3-5.
KSH completed its sweep over Hilo on Wednesday at Wong Stadium, winning Game 2 5-3 over the Vikings. Trailing 2-0 through 5.0 innings, the Warriors responded with five runs over the last three innings to march ahead of the hosts.
KSH had nine team hits — four from Brock Ayudan and one each from Iokepa Martines, Dayton Hanson, Hunter Yamamoto, Eli Mercado and Haez Coloma. The Warriors deployed a three-man effort on the mound — turning to Yamamoto, Eriz Passi and Kaikoa Nobriga to pitch.
Yamamoto leads KSH in innings pitched (28.0) and wins (5), while Nobriga leads in strikeouts (25).
Despite the season-ending loss, Hilo posted a valiant effort of 11 total hits — two each from Tyson Santiago, Richard Wells Jr. and Logan Schlueter, while Cole Hatayama, Hunter Pangelinan, Liam Villanueva, Ghage Daquep and Braden Oda with one apiece.
Santiago and Liam Roddy shared time on the mound for the Vikings.
Ending 2026 with a 7-5 record, Hilo posted four shutout wins. Santiago led the Vikings in innings pitched (19.6), strikeouts (12) and hits (11). Villanueva led in runs (6) and RBI (7).
The DI championship between the two east-side Warrior teams should be an exciting one. In the lone matchup between the two schools in early March, Waiakea won 6-4.
Dragons, Ka Makani clinch DII championship berth
In the BIIF DII bracket, No. 1 Honoka‘a wrapped up its semifinal sweep of Kohala on Tuesday in Kapa‘au. The Dragons boatraced the hosting fourth-seeded Cowboys 16-1, punching their ticket to the DII championship game — where they will try to redeem themselves after falling to Pahoa on that stage last year.
Honoka‘a set the tone from the opening inning, scoring eight runs in the first. From there, Kohala simply didn’t have enough firepower to catch up.
Isaac DeRego once again led the winning Dragons, posting three hits and four RBI — including a home run. Teammate Chrys Coelho also added three hits, while Josyah Napoleon-Umeda, Rory Crabbe and Hauoli McGurn each had two.
Jayden Salazar, Kiakahi Lindsey and Laiku Lindsey rounded out the remainder of Honoka‘a’s 15 hits with one apiece.
Salazar was the game’s winning pitcher, lasting all five innings for the Dragons. He struck out nine batters. Salazar leads the 13-0 Dragons in wins (4), strikeouts (41) and doubles (6).
Honoka‘a has been dominant all season, scoring a BIIF-best 140 runs, including six shutout wins. The Dragons will face second-seeded HPA for the island title next week.
Kohala’s two hits were from Kaua Reyes and Royden Tabiolo, who both singled. Reyes and Cullen Hook both pitched for the Cowboys.
Kohala ended its season 0-11.
HPA also completed its semifinal sweep on the opposite side of the bracket, winning Game 2 over No. 3 Ka‘u 3-0 on Tuesday in Pahala.
The game didn’t feature a ton of offense, but Ed Lustik led the winners with two hits, while teammates Wyley Ament, David Culbertson and Asher Anderson posted one each.
Lustik leads his team in hits (15), innings pitched (20.4), wins (5) and strikeouts (27).
Culbertson pitched the entire game, striking out five Trojans while allowing just three hits and no runs.
Through 13 games, the 10-3 Ka Makani have out-scored opponents 114-47. However, the Dragons should feel comfortable against HPA in next week’s championship, as they are 3-0 against the red and white this season.
Ian Beck, Davin Lanjid and Ehu Craft each logged one hit for Ka‘u. Eli Crook was the lone pitcher on the mound for the Trojans.
Ka‘u’s season ended at 5-8.
See the paper next week to read coverage of the BIIF DI and DII baseball championships.
