WAILUKU >> The drought ended on a clear, pristine night on an island of green valleys.

Punahou ended an eight-year spell on Saturday night, outlasting a resilient Mililani squad 7-3 in the final of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/HHSAA Baseball State Championships at Iron Maehara Stadium.

“We had some minor setbacks, but we had each others’ back. We had each others’ back all season,” said shortstop Kalae Harrison, selected the tournament MVP. “We just won this as a team. It wasn’t any single individual.”

In a demanding tournament that saw powerhouse teams use their primary aces, their 1s and 2s, finding contributions from lesser-used pitchers was crucial. A packed house saw Punahou (25-5-1 overall) dig deeper than usual to find a seldom-used pitcher, Michael Robichaux, who provided nearly three innings of work. Then the Buffanblu turned to an experienced reliever, Tyler Shimabukuro, who went 41⁄3 innings. He allowed just one run on three hits, and he also struck out three with three walks in a performance that was as much grit as it was talent.

“We thought maybe we were going to get a few out of Tyler. Then we were actually thinking about going to Duke Clemens to close it out, but Tyler was humming and we just thought, you know what? Why not,” Punahou coach Keenan Sue said.

Shimabukuro was happy to get an opportunity.

“It’s what you work for. I felt good, but I never pitched here before. The mound is lower than usual,” he said. “I had to dig down deep. My coaches and teammates said, ‘Keep pounding, keep throwing strikes. If somebody gets on, it doesn’t matter.’ Honestly, I do it for them.”

Harrison took over at shortstop during states, moving from second base. He flipped positions with fellow senior Jake Tsukada, who played through a “shredded arm,” according to his head coach.

“It’s a testament to the leadership and grit that Jake has to sacrifice literally his arm for his brothers. I could not say enough about him and the seniors,” Sue said.

The title is Punahou’s 14th in baseball. Mililani was chasing its first crown after losing in the final during the 2013 and ’14 seasons. The Trojans were the lowest-seeded league champion at No. 4, but knocked out top-seeded Baldwin in the semifinals.

“It’s not what we hoped for and it’s not what we worked for, but we left it all on the field,” Trojans coach Mark Hirayama said. “We got beat by a better team.”

Mililani went to work immediately with two runs in the top of the first inning. As usual, JR Suehisa took two strikes, then worked the count full and doubled to right-center. After a sacrifice bunt by Vance Oshiro, Ethan Thomas lined a fastball up the middle for a single and Suehisa scored easily.

With two outs, Robichaux got ahead of Hunter Faildo 1-2. But a wild pitch advanced Thomas to third base. On the next pitch, a high fastball shoulder high, Faildo lined a single to center, scoring Thomas.

Punahou scored once in the bottom of the first. Cody Hirano led off with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Harrison. Tsukada doubled to left, scoring Hirano.

Waika Fukuda led off the second inning with a single, went to second base on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a sac bunt by Jacob Hirayama. However, Micah Kaohu struck out and Suehisa popped out in foul territory to end the inning.

The Buffanblu took the lead in the bottom of the second. Makana Murashige led off with a single and moved to second base on a sac bunt by Koa Eldredge. Matt Nishimura was hit by pitch. After Kirk Terada-Herzer singled, the bases were loaded. Hirano’s sacrifice fly to right brought Murashige home.

Harrison then belted a 1-2 pitch the other way, a two-run double to left that scored Nishimura and Terada-Herzer, and Punahou had a 4-2 lead after two innings.

Mililani got runners on base against Punahou’s second pitcher, Shimabukuro, but in all stranded six men in the first four innings.

Mililani inched within 4-3 in the fifth inning.Punahou answered with three key runs in the bottom of the fifth, highlighted by a two-run single by Kade Morihara to make it 6-3.

Tsukada walked on four pitches with one out and moved to second on a wild pitch by Andy Reis. After Aaron Tom walked, Punahou had two baserunners on. With Morihara at the plate, Reis threw a breaking ball in the dirt, and Tsukada and Tom advanced on the wild pitch. Ahead 3-1 in the count, Morihara sent a single to right, scoring Tsukada and Tom, opening the lead to 6-3.

The Trojans then replaced Reis with Oshiro, who moved to the mound from third base. Oshiro hit Murashige with his first pitch. Eldredge grounded into a forceout, and then Nishimura’s grounder to short was botched by Hirayama, allowing Morihara to score. Oshiro then retired Terada-Herzer on a forceout at second for the third out.

Shimabukuro retired eight of the last nine batters he faced.