Shared baseball state title brings mixed emotions for Maui, Baldwin

There was no dogpile on the mound, nor at the plate. No elation, only subdued celebration.

The 2024 HHSAA Division I championship game between Maui and Baldwin, the first ever state championship game between two Maui teams in any sport, was called off due to heavy rain. Both schools officially end their respective seasons as HHSAA champions, sharing the state crown.

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The Sabers and Bears were tied at 2 with one out in the top of the third inning after Maui pitcher Dawson Nuese hit a batter with the bases loaded. The contest itself, which was initially delayed by over an hour due to rain and flooding, underwent another pause, this time lasting 46 minutes. Due to safety and logistical concerns, HHSAA officials decided to call the game. Statistics accrued during the game will not count.

In the end, Maui won. Not the high school, but the island. Two schools from the Valley Isle closed the 2023-2024 athletic calendar by sharing a state title, months after its island was changed forever.

A win is a win, but this win stings and feels incomplete to Baldwin head coach Craig Okita. The Bears went 2-3 against the Sabers during a competitive MIL slate, with two losses coming in extra innings and one via walk-off.

“It sucks, to be honest,” Okita told KHON2. “You want to settle it on the field, and what I told the guys is kids don’t act the way they did after winning a state championship. You look at the mood for both teams. I mean, I feel bad for our seniors. This is our third state championship (game in a row), wasn’t able to get it done in the first two and we get a third opportunity and here we are and we don’t get that chance, so I mean it’s a little somber feel right now.

“I’m sure later on, we’ll look back and reflect and appreciate the accomplishments and at this very moment, it’s not the feeling that we all wanted to leave with.”

Meanwhile, Maui coach Chase Corniel was more accepting of the circumstances.

“Definitely proud for Maui. Proud for Maui baseball. Both teams worked hard and this is where two great teams meet,” he said. “State championship is an awesome feeling, no matter which way you look at it and I’m just proud to be here in the state finals.”

Saturday’s Division I finals marked the end of the most tumultuous week for HHSAA tournament organizers since the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, all consolation games for both baseball and softball were canceled due to heavy rain and flooding on Oahu.

On Thursday, the only baseball action that took place was two and a half innings of a Division II semifinal between Kamehameha-Hawaii and Kauai. That game, as well as the rest of the Division I and II semifinals, were moved to Friday, the original day of the finals.

After the semifinals were completed at Les Murakami Stadium on Friday, the Division II and I finals were set to take place at Moanalua High School in Salt Lake. Les Murakami Stadium was unavailable due to Farrington High School’s graduation.

Kamehameha-Hawaii won the Division II championship game with a 13-1 win over Damien in five innings, then the DI game was delayed due to rain. Even Moanalua’s all-turf field wasn’t enough to withstand the rain on Saturday.

“You don’t want to win in a state championship like that. You don’t want to lose it like that, either,” Okita said. “Given the circumstances, it is what it is. Not the way we want it to end, not the way we wanted to send out our seniors, but we’ll deal with it.”

Although Maui’s Iron Maehara Stadium hosts the HHSAA Division I tournament every three years, including in 2025, tournament organizers, as well as MIL athletic directors, viewed Saturday at Moanalua as the time and place to decide the HHSAA baseball champion.

Maui was set to have its graduation on Sunday afternoon, with Baldwin to follow on Monday. Administrators were mindful of activities surrounding the festivities, such as project graduation and immediate family trips. Approval was also needed to play a game at Iron Maehara Stadium, which wouldn’t have been available until Tuesday, although players on both Baldwin and Maui were supportive of the idea. Both teams were staying an extra day on Oahu and were set to fly out on Saturday night. With no lights at Moanalua’s field, hopes of playing into the night were nonexistent.

“Whatever decision was made, of course we’ll honor it and we definitely would do whatever it takes but at the same time, we respect the decision and we’re here just to focus on the team and the players from Maui,” Corniel said.

Both programs entered the game with championship pedigree. Maui had won the tournament twice as a school, most recently in 2017 under Corniel. Meanwhile, Baldwin has won states six times, most recently in 2018.

In 2024, Maui won the MIL and earned the first round bye, although both Valley Isle teams had to grind through their respective semifinal matchups against the best teams the ILH had to offer on Friday. Baldwin took down defending state champion and top seed Kamehameha 3-2, while Maui squeezed out a 1-0 win over a talented Saint Louis squad.

“If you told me at this beginning of the tournament that these two teams would be from Maui in the state final, the odds of that is probably crazy if we were in Vegas. It’s never happened in any sport. It happened today and we’re proud to be a part of that,” Okita said. “Will it ever happen again? I’d like to say yes but that’s a tough feat to do again. Hopefully again, but realistically, that is a tough thing to do. We had to beat Kamehameha, they had to beat Saint Louis, those are two quality teams that we had to get through and we’re able to do it. Who knows.”

Though Saturday’s result was the first time two baseball teams shared a state title, Baldwin and Hawaii Preparatory Academy split a state boys soccer title in 2018 after lighting in the area put a premature end to a contest tied at 0 in overtime.

After the game, both teams took turns taking pictures with the HHSAA koa head championship trophy. Both squads even gathered for a group shot, where players jokingly played jan ken po for the right to take the trophy home.

Two Maui teams were left standing on Saturday. Two teams that had to endure the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellations that came with it, two teams that saw their island altered in perpetuity after devastating wildfires over the summer, two teams that didn’t get to see their 2024 season through, but two teams that will go out as champions.

“This group of kids has been through a lot. I would take a great amount of your time if I told you how our season went last year, this year and everything else. They’ve been through a lot,” Okita said. “The ups and downs of being dragged all over the field and getting back up. We’re thankful and happy to be here. I’m sure they’ve all grown, I’m sure they all got closer to becoming men and that’s one of the reasons we’re out here coaching: To guide them through adversity, to guide them through everything and see the light at the end of the tunnel and become better people.”

Added Corniel: “I think it’s just a great win for Maui, period, just to be here. We’re here to celebrate with our kids and their kids, too, as well.”