Makakiko-Kapolei-Honokai Hale Little League intentionally walked Marcus Yoshii early in the Hawaii state championship game, then gave the Waipio Little League slugger a second free pass when he came to bat again in the fifth inning. But when Yoshii stepped to the plate in the top of the sixth inning -- bases loaded, one out, and the score tied 2-2 -- the District 8 champions had no choice but to pitch to him. The results were exactly what they'd feared.

Yoshii drove a hard hit ball into right center field, and three runs scored when the ball rolled to the fence following a fielding error. The drive sparked a five-run rally, and helped Waipio to a 7-2 victory at Maui Upcountry Little League's Eddie Tam Field.

The win was Waipio's second of the day over Makakiko-Kapolei-Honokai Hale, and the team's fifth win in four days following an early round loss at the state tournament. Waipio advanced to the West Region tournament in San Bernardino, California.

Makakiko-Kapolei-Honokai Hale struck first in the tournament's final game, as Walter Kaczmarski's first inning hit scored Trevor Manoha. Paul-Christopher Naki's solo home run in the fourth inning padded the lead, but Waipio tied the game when Blake McCrea delivered a two-run hit to center field in the fifth inning. Makakiko-Kapolei-Honokai Hale threatened with a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the fifth, but reliever Tyler Tokunaga quelled the threat and set the stage for Waipio's decisive push. Yoshii scored on a wild pitch following his bases-clearing hit in the sixth, and Brian Iida doubled and scored on a fielding error later in the inning to complete the scoring.

Waipio had forced the tournament to a final game when Yoshii struck out sixteen batters and threw his second no-hitter of the tournament in a 4-0 victory over Makakiko-Kapolei-Honokai Hale earlier in the day. Yoshii and Tokunaga each delivered two-run home runs to provide Waipio's offense.

Yoshii's first no-hitter, which included fourteen strikeouts, came as Waipio began its long climb through the tournament's bottom bracket with a 6-0 victory over Molokai Little League. Waipio had defeated Halawa Little League in the tournament's opening game, but fell to Hilo National Little League, 5-4, in the winner's bracket semifinals. Following the loss, Waipio eliminated four of the tournament's five other entrants to claim its first state championship since 2002, and its third overall.

Waipio followed Yoshii's first no-hitter with a 12-1, mercy rule-shortened victory over Halawa. The District 7 champions scored four runs in the bottom of the first, then put the game out of reach with an eight-run rally in the second. Ryan Reyes scored twice and was 3-for-3 at the plate, while Iida (four RBIs) and Yoshii (three) each homered for the winners.

The next day, Waipio managed just four hits against Hilo National, but capitalized on ten walks to eliminate the Big Island champions, 8-0. Tokunaga homered and scored twice in the win, and Waipio broke the game open when six of the walks helped fuel a six-run rally in the second inning. Nainoa Kaai scattered three hits over five innings before Tokunaga pitched a scoreless sixth.

Waipio split its four pool games at the West Region tournament, then dropped an 8-3 decision to eventual Little League World Series qualifier Ahwatukee American Little League (Phoenix, Arizona) in the semifinal round.