‘It just means a lot’: Mililani baseball reflects on journey to first state championship

News admin May 15, 2026 0 Comments

‘It just means a lot’: Mililani baseball reflects on journey to first state championship

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – It’s a moment the Mililani Trojans will never forget.

The Trojans downed PAC-5 last weekend to claim their first baseball State Championship.

A scoreless game that came all the way down to the bottom of the 7th with Koa Marzo Jr stepping into the batters box and stepping up when it mattered most.

“The quietest the stadium ever been for me right there that one moment ,” Marzo told Hawaii News Now. “That one at bat, I didn’t really hear anything, but I told myself, you know, if I’m gonna hit the ball I gotta hit the ball hard and just put the ball in play.”

A routine base hit got past the wolfpack third baseman and scored Jake Nishimoto as the Trojans add their name to the history books.

On the other side, it was an impressive night on the mound for junior pitcher Ezra Ugale.

Striking out 4 in his first complete game of the year.

“The deeper I got into the game, you know, it just came a little easier, not as much nerves as the game went on,” Ugale said. “Like I knew I could trust my (defense) and everything.”

For head coach Mark Hirayama, this Championship is the culmination of years dedicated to the Brown and gold.

He took the program over in 2009 and was a state runner up three times prior to finally breaking through in 2026.

“Every year is just a little bit different because the guys, you know, they grow a little bit, their priorities change a little bit,” Hirayama said. “I think, they, they always work hard for us.”

Helping the Trojans on this journey has been Mililani freshman Zander Young who’s given the team a new perspective and has been one of their biggest supporters.

Zander is a member of the Mililani Firebirds, a team that the Trojans regularly volunteer with and Zander latched on to the team over the last few years.

He’s become a good luck charm supporting from the dugout.

“He’s kind of adopted us,” Hirayama said. “He’s great with the boys and honestly I think he gives us more than we give to him, you know, just by him coming out and his enthusiasm about being around the boys.”

“He’s one of us, he’s part of the team, he’s part of our family,” Marzo added. “We’re just thankful for him, always coming to support us.”

Not only has the team been supported by Zander, but by the whole Mililani community who can now add baseball to their list of State Champions.

“I got a lot of texts after the game from a lot of my cousins that went through this program and just a lot of family members,” Ugale said. “It just means a lot to everybody, you know, to finally get the job done and bring it home for our family.”