MILILANI- With a triumphant 2-1 win over Kalani, the MHS JV Baseball team was crowned the JV Oahu Interscholastic Association Division 1 Champions. 

     “For a lot of us, this would be our last game in JV, so we just wanted to ball out — Leave everything on the field and just make the most of our last games,” said Sophomore and second baseman Kai Redoble. “As a team, we worked way too hard this season to come up short, we knew we had to get the job done.”

     Before the championship game, the Trojans faced Kalani in preseason scrimmages. With prior knowledge of their opponents, Mililani had an idea of the challenge they were about to face. 

     “In pre-season we played Kalani twice, we won one and we lost one,” said Sophomore and third baseman Zen Staszkow. “We knew from these games that they were a good hitting team.”

     For extra practice before the championship game, the varsity team pitched against the JV team. As the boys headed into the game, they knew they had to remain calm and play their game in order to win. 

     “Prior to the game, our coach watched the other teams games,” said Freshman and third baseman Zechariah Takahashi. “To try to learn how they play, getting to know their game plan. Then we practiced accordingly.”

     Up until the fifth inning, the score between Kalani and Mililani remained 1-1. It was not until Takahashi’s hit that allowed Sophomore Tanner Aoki to score, putting the score to 2-1. 

     “After we took the lead, our mentality was to keep scoring and get insurance runs and even if that doesn’t work, we were thinking to hold them down till the end to keep our lead,” said Takahashi.

     With an OIA Championship win, the boys are satisfied with their season. The underclassmen are also excited for the years to come and what next season will have in store. 

     “It feels good because all the work we put into paid off and especially for this year’s sophomores because we fell short last year so we finally won,” said Sophomore and pitcher Robert “RJ” Jackson.

     For those moving up from the JV to the varsity team, their season will officially begin during the spring of 2020.