Make no mistake, Maryknoll took advantage of error-prone St. Anthony last night.

Then the Spartans had to hang on at the end after nearly losing an eight-run lead.

Maryknoll benefitted from nine Trojan errors and scored eight unearned runs in a 12-10 victory in the Division II semifinals of the Wally Yonamine Foundation Baseball State Championships at Hans L'Orange Park.

The Spartans will play defending champion Kaua'i in today's championship game at 4 p.m. at Les Murakami Stadium.

"Most of it was teamwork," said Maryknoll pitcher Gavin Oyadomari. "Before the game our coach put up a sign that said, 'To work as a team means to sacrifice your body, heart and soul for anyone that wears maroon and gold.' After reading that it inspired us to give it our all."

Maryknoll scored three unearned runs in the third inning with the help of four errors, and three of its five runs in the fourth were unearned thanks to three more errors.

The second big inning gave Maryknoll a 10-2 lead.

St. Anthony seemed down and out at that point, but it scored five in the fifth against four Maryknoll pitchers.

Ryan Alika Ham-Deponte had a three-run double to right in the inning, Matthew McCraney had an RBI single and Jordan Kahalekai-Bermoy added a sacrifice fly.

Maryknoll (5-14), the Interscholastic League of Honolulu representative, extended its lead to 12-7 in the fifth after Joshua Arakaki scored on a fielding error by the third baseman and Oyadomari's sacrifice fly.

The Trojans scored in the sixth on Ham-Deponte's ground out. They added two in the seventh on Ryan Rodriguez's one-out two-run triple, but Spartans reliever Oyadomari got two strikeouts to end it.

St. Anthony (10-2), the No. 2 seed and Maui Interscholastic League champion, also walked five batters, uncorked four wild pitches and had one passed ball.

Maryknoll coach Kevin Uyehara said his team's 2-14 record during the ILH season has probably helped it during the state tournament.

"We took our beatings from those guys, but I think it helped us get ready for this," Uyehara said. "A lot of them had their doubts, but after each tournament game here, they started to believe in themselves."

ST. ANTHONY (10-2) 011 051 2 — 10 10 9

MARYKNOLL (5-14) 203 520 X — 12 8 3

Trevor Ventura, Ryan Alika Ham-Deponte (4) and Jordan Kahalekai-Bermoy. Aaron Tom, Tyler Todd (5), Matthew Guzman (5), Gavin Oyadomari (5) and Kyle Hirata. W — Tom. L — Ventura.

Leading hitters—St. Anthony: Matthew McCraney 3-4, double; Kahalekai-Bermoy triple; Ryan Rodriguez 2-4, triple, 2 RBIs; James Herrera Maddela 2 runs; Taylor Silva 2 runs; Ham-Deponte 2-4, double, 4 RBIs; Rory Racadio 2-4. Maryknoll: Joshua Arakaki double, 2 runs; Guzman 3-4, 3 runs; Oyadomari 2 runs, 3 RBIs; Trevor Saiki 2-4, 2 runs.Kaua'i 12, MOLOKA'i 2

KAUA'I 12, MOLOKA'I 2

Defending champion Kaua'i is back in the Division II baseball state championship game, and has looked awfully impressive getting there.

Kaua'i mercy-ruled its second consecutive tournament opponent yesterday with a 12-2 five-inning victory over Moloka'i in the Division II semifinals.

In last year's inaugural DII state title game, Kaua'i beat St. Anthony, 1-0.

"It's our goal to win the whole championship," said Kaua'i coach Hank Ibia. "We set goals early in the season, and without all the hard work we put in in the offseason, we wouldn't be here today."

Kaua'i (11-3-1) has really turned things around after a 3-3 start to the season.

"Everybody is just having fun," said Lanan Rice-Kashima. "In the first round we were scared of making mistakes. Everyone is playing loose."

Jensen Koga, Shea Shimabukuro and Jordan Leanio combined on a four-hitter for the Red Raiders against Moloka'i, and the Kaua'i offense pounded out 13 hits.

The Red Raiders' Rice-Kashima batted 2 for 3 with three RBIs, Rysan Sakamoto batted 2 for 3 with three runs scored, and Travis Koga also scored three times. Kaua'i also stole five bases.

"Things are going our way right now," Ibia said. "We put a lot of pressure on them and the bats are pretty much working right now."

KAUA'I (11-3-1) 403 14—12 13 2

MOLOKA'I (10-4) 002 00— 2 4 3

Jensen Koga, Shea Shimabukuro (4), Jordan Leanio (4) and Lanan Rice-Kashima. Kamakaohua Sproat, Kaninau Mariano (3) and William Place. W — Koga. L — Sproat.

Leading hitters—Kaua'i: Dustin Prem 2-3; Rysan Sakamoto 2-3, triple, 3 runs; Dalston Miyasato 2-2, 2 runs; Travis Koga double, 3 runs, 2 RBIs; Rice-Kashima 2-3, triple, 3 RBIs.