Hawaiian Stars rally over Aloha Stars in 6th annual Chace Numata Senior All-Star Classic

WAIPAHU – It’s Fourth of July weekend; the fireworks were planned.

The sixth annual Chace Numata Senior All-Star Classic ended in dramatic fashion for the third straight year, seeing the loaded Hawai’i high school Class of 2026 provide one more memorable moment for onlookers at Hans L’Orange Park on Friday afternoon as the Hawaiian Stars came back in extra innings to walk off the Aloha Stars, 12-11.

Honokaa’s Josyah Napoleon-Umeda was named the game’s overall MVP, delivering an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning that scored Kaiser’s Tanner Kagimoto and handed the Hawaiian Stars a 12-11 victory over the Aloha Stars. The state’s Division II Player of the Year did a little bit of everything on the day, pitching a clean third inning, playing some centerfield and sparking two separate rallies at the plate late for the Hawaiian Stars.

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“I made some mistakes on the field,” a cool-headed Napoleon-Umeda said following his game-winning hit that snapped the Aloha Stars’ multi-year winning streak. “I had to step up and get my job done … I had to help the team, and the team helped. Everybody just did their job and got it done.”

Kagimoto, a Hawaii Pacific commit, earned himself Offensive MVP honors while his future head coach Dane Fujinaka watched on in the crowd at the home of the Sharks. The 5-foot-5 Kagimoto stood tall at the plate for the Hawaiian Stars, going 3-for-5 with five runs batted in and three runs scored – including the game-winner in the bottom of the 10th.

“[Just] really stoked to have this opportunity,” Kagimoto said of his emotions following the theatrical ending. “Having this opportunity to play with these top athletes from the state, it’s awesome.”

The game’s Defensive MVP honor went to Kaiser standout and University of Nevada commit Noah Sham, who dazzled with a handful of putouts throughout the afternoon while bouncing between third base and shortstop.

Nevada commit Noah Sham (left) poses with Nathan “Homey” Numata after winning defensive MVP. | Photo Credit: Ku’ulei Agbayani, HSRN

Featuring over 20 student-athletes with plans to continue their baseball careers at the college level, the sixth annual Chace Numata Senior All-Star Classic felt like a rollercoaster ride as the two talented teams traded blows throughout a fiery Friday afternoon.

The Aloha Stars, comprised of a variety of ILH all-stars and some Waiakea, Baldwin and KS-Hawaii standouts, struck first with three runs in the top of the second inning behind KS-Kapalama’s Bronson Boucher’s RBI double and run-scoring singles from Iolani’s Brady Minami and Mid-Pacific’s Reese Higuchi.

The lead grew to 6-0 by the end of the top of the fifth inning, putting the Hawaiian Stars on the edge of potentially being blown out in the Chace Numata Senior All-Star Classic.

Leave it to the smallest guy on the field to provide the biggest impact.

Tanner Kagimoto smoked a line drive over the head of the centerfielder in the bottom half of the fifth, scoring Reece Maruyama before racing around the bases for an inside-the-park home run to finally get the Hawaiian Stars on the board.

The Aloha Stars added an insurance run to go back up 7-2 in the top of the sixth, but the Hawaiian Stars batted around and plated five runs to knot the game at 7 in the bottom half of the frame.

With two runs in and the bases still loaded, Kagimoto stepped up again and smacked the ball to the centerfield wall for a bases-clearing RBI triple to set up a brand-new ball game with three scheduled innings remaining.

The Aloha Stars pushed back ahead with four runs over those innings, taking an 11-7 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning. Still, the Hawaiian Stars refused to release the rope as another inside-the-park homerun – this time by leadoff hitter Josyah Napoleon-Umeda – sparked a four-run rally to tie the game up at 11 and force extra innings for the second straight year in the Chace Numata Senior All-Star Classic.

After Kauai’s Kaden Paoa Itamura spun a scoreless top of the 10th for the Hawaiian Stars, Kagimoto and company took care of the rest to complete the spectacular comeback.

Kagimoto tapped a one-out single to left field and promptly stole second base to put the winning run in scoring position with two outs for the Hawaiian Stars to work with.

They only needed one more batter.

Josyah Napoleon-Umeda capped off his own phenomenal outing with one last hit, pulling an RBI single down the first baseline and into right field that allowed the speedy Kagimoto to speed into home and snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat for the Hawaiian Stars.

“We just forget about the mistakes, stay strong,” said Napoleon-Umeda of the Hawaiian Stars’ comeback.  “Just know there’s plenty game left, and we just stuck with it, and we were able to win today.”

Honokaa’s Josyah Napoleon-Umeda poses with Nathan “Homey” Numata after being named the overall MVP of the 6th annual Chace Numata Senior All-Star Classic. | Photo Credit: Ku’ulei Agbayani, HSRN

Courtesy of the game’s sponsor, SportStan Sporting Goods, the two teams also participated in a race around the bases and a “pop time” contest for the catchers in honor of the late Chace Numata.

Kauai’s Kaden Paoa Itamura, who also was awarded the win on the mound as the final pitcher of the day for the Hawaiian Stars, showed off his speed with a victory in the “Race around the Bases” contest while PAC-5’s Thomas Mitchell won the pop-time challenge between catchers.

SportStan Sporting Goods also sponsored the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Game awards and J&M Embroidery Inc. helped with providing the LiveLikeNumi game caps.

**Special mahalo to event coordinator Eric Tokunaga & the Numata ‘ohana**