FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Punahou added to its pile of state championship trophies, winning its fifth straight state baseball championship.

Diamond kings

Punahou uses strong pitching by Reece Kiriu to turn back Saint Louis 4-0

There were some white-knuckle moments along the way, but Punahou maintained its grip on the state baseball title, finishing a fifth straight championship run with a 4-0 win over Saint Louis last night at Les Murakami Stadium.

When it mattered most, the Punahou pitching staff proved overwhelmingly stingy as the Buffanblu tossed 14 consecutive shutout innings to capture yet another title before a crowd of 2,712.

A night after Jeremy Fujimoto tossed a three-hitter in a 9-0 semifinal win over Maui, Buffanblu senior Reece Kiriu -- chased early in Punahou's 9-8 quarterfinal win over Roosevelt on Thursday -- came back to limit the Crusaders to three singles in the win. He struck out eight and walked none in the complete-game victory.

Punahou -- which defeated Saint Louis for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship a week earlier -- played small-ball to spark a four-run outburst in the second inning. Two Buffanblu hitters reached on bunts and Tyler Young singled in a run in the rally.

The rest of Punahou's runs came on a sacrifice fly by Geoffrey Kunita, a wild pitch and a ground out. Saint Louis pitcher Josh Saio also went the distance and finished with eight strikeouts, but one shaky inning was too much to overcome.

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Reece Kiriu is the eighth pitcher to throw a shutout in the state championship game.

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This gem was a year in the making.

Reece Kiriu fired a three-hitter as top-seeded Punahou blanked Saint Louis 4-0 last night to capture its fifth straight Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Division I state baseball championship at Les Murakami Stadium.

A crowd of 2,712 saw Kiriu, who normally plays second base, deliver the performance of his career.

"I had a lot of fun, for us to come through as seniors," he said.

He struck out eight and didn't walk a batter as Punahou (29-9-2) shut out Saint Louis for the first time in five meetings since the regular season began.

"That was the game of his life," teammate Harrison "Jeeter" Ishida said. "He was waiting for this chance since last year."

Kiriu was slated to start in last year's championship game, but Ishida got the start. In recent weeks, Ishida didn't pitch due to an injury, but Punahou got strong efforts this week from Kiriu, Paul Snieder and junior Jeremy Fujimoto.

"Reece has the ability to be special 'cause he wants the ball. He's so competitive," coach Eric Kadooka said. "He wants the team to do well. That was an unbelievable performance."

Kiriu baffled Saint Louis' normally potent lineup with a hard-breaking curveball and fastball consistently at the knees. He pitched on two days rest.

"I'll tell you, the secret is Pat Ariki," he said of the renowned trainer. "They did great physical therapy on my arm."

Saint Louis had its finest season (28-8) in years, but coach Duane Fraticelli gave Kiriu his props.

"We didn't hit him at all during the season, either. We just have to take our hats off to him. That's the way it goes, one bad inning," he said.

Josh Saio, Saint Louis' ace, struck out two in the first inning and a pitchers' duel seemed to be in the making.

However, Punahou broke the ice in the second inning. Zach Kometani led off with a single to center and advanced to second on Ishida's bunt. Saio was late with the throw to second. After fouling off two sacrifice bunt attempts, Tyler Young smacked a single through the hole to left, scoring courtesy runner Shane Yoshiyama.

Kiriu then laid down a bunt single to load the bases and Hanzawa followed with a liner to first. Shidaki dropped the ball, but recovered for the unassisted putout as courtesy runner Jeremy Ioane scored to give Punahou a 2-0 lead.

Geoff Kunita followed with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Young from third for a three-run Buffanblu lead. Saio then threw a wild pitch and Tanaka scored easily from third to give Punahou a 4-0 lead.

Matt Suiter, who hustled for a bunt single after that, left the game shortly after with an injury. Punahou's concerns, however, swept away with the wind and Manoa mist as Kiriu mowed down the Crusaders.

"I don't know. We just weren't ready I guess," Crusaders shortstop Danny Higa said. "He threw a good game. We just couldn't hit him. He was getting ahead of us, pitching well."

Saio, who struck out 11 in a win over Punahou during the regular season, finished with eight Ks and one walk over six innings.

For Kadooka, who endured a lion's share of criticism as Punahou finished third in the regular season, it was quite a trek.

"We had more adversity and more expectations this year," he said. "But we have people at Punahou who believe in us and believe in their team."

Saint Louis left fielder Marcus Kimura, who was 2-for-3 in the semifinal win over Pearl City, did not play due to an injury.

Punahou's small-ball approach netted key wins over Saint Louis in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu tournament, as well as last night's victory.

"A great team like Saint Louis, when you get men on base, bunting is a huge part of the game," Ishida said. "Our coaches made all the right calls."