Damien, Kamehameha-Hawaii in D-II baseball final

May 18—1/1

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ANDREW LEE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

Damien's Nainoa Begonia smacks a hit on May 5, 2023.

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Aaron Rapoza fired four scoreless innings of one-hit relief as the Damien Monarchs rallied to a 2-1 victory over Waianae in Division II semifinal action at Les Murakami Stadium.

Damien will meet Kamehameha-Hawaii for the D-II state championship on at 10 a.m. Saturday at Moanalua.

Damien (6-10) is the two-time defending state champion in D-II under coach Skyler Tengan, winner in three of the past four state tournaments.

Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, Rydge Kohagura led off with a triple to right-center. With one out, Maximillian DeTrinis singled to left, scoring Kohagura to tie the game.

In the sixth, Francis O'Connor singled to center and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Nainoa Begonia. After Rapoza was intentionally walked, both runners moved up on a passed ball. Tryten Vicari's sacrifice fly to right allowed O'Connor to score the go-ahead run.

Rapoza then retired the Seariders 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh to seal Damien's victory.

OIA champion Waianae closed the season 12-3.

Kamehameha-Hawaii 7, Kauai 2

Noah Palea and Keyan Kanahele combined forces, scattering six hits with five strikeouts and two walks to lead the Warriors into the D-II final. Kanahele, who pitched the final four innings, was the winning pitcher.

The Warriors (15-1) won the D-II state title in 2016 under then-coach Andy Correa. They also have three runner-up finishes (2010, '13 and '14).

Kamehameha-Hawaii struck with a run in the bottom of the first on Dominic Christensen's sacrifice fly, scoring Justin Kubojiri.

A four-run inning by the BIIF champions followed in the second inning. Kubojiri's bases-loaded walk forced pinch runner Liwai Correa in from third base. Kaohu Kawelu then walked, forcing home Kegan Pacheco for a 3-0 lead.

Christensen doubled to left, scoring Kubojiri and Braden Gomes for a five-run cushion.

Kamehameha-Hawaii added one run in the third. Kamaka Ili's double to right brought in Correa for a 6-0 lead. Kauai got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth. Dane Yamauchi's double to left-center scored Aukai Arruda and Kaden Paoa Itamura.

The Warriors' final run came in the bottom of the fifth. Christensen's sacrifice fly to center scored Elijah Okano for a 7-2 lead.

Christensen batted 2-for-2 with four RBIs. Kauai's Yamauchi batted 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

Kauai closed the season 11-4.