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Corniel returns to coach Maui High baseball team

Chase Corniel is returning to coach the Maui High School baseball team after a one-year hiatus. @AndrewLeeHI / ANDREW LEE photo

Chase Corniel will be back as the head coach for the Maui High School baseball team after a one-year hiatus.

Corniel stepped away from the team after guiding the Sabers to the 2017 Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I state title.

He told The Maui News when he stepped down in August that his reasoning was based on two factors — helping his wife Regina care for their 2-year-old son Ezra, who is hearing impaired with a condition called bilateral microtia, and that he was stepping up from physical education teacher at Maui High to vice principal. On Monday night, he said his family issues have been resolved to the point where he is comfortable to return.

“As everyone knows, when I resigned it was for my family,” Corniel said. “After the much-needed time off, my wife and I were able to find resolutions to all the challenges we faced as a family. With that time came growth for me as an administrator, coach, husband and father, as well. Everything happens for a reason, so I look forward to being the coach this time around with much more experiences.”

He quickly added, “Ezra’s doing great.”

Corniel has gone back to being a PE teacher, a key for Maui High athletic director Mike Ban.

“We’re excited, we’re looking forward to the upcoming season,” Ban said. “Chase is going to move back into the classroom, so we’re excited about what he can offer our athletic program and what he can offer to the school.”

Leonard Barcoma Jr. was the head coach for the 2018 season before stepping down with two weeks left in the season because of personal reasons.

Veteran assistant coach Brent Fukagawa finished the season as interim head coach, but said after the Sabers were eliminated in the Maui Interscholastic League tournament in April that he is unlikely to return because he is a new father.

Said Corniel of his staff: “It’s still too early in the process, so I’m unable to give any names, but if anybody wants to inquire, if anybody’s interested, they should inquire with me. The major thing I want them to understand, is that the No. 1 requirement is to support me, the players and the program.”

Ban said the decision of the school’s selection committee was an easy pick. Ban declined to say how many applicants there were for the job.

“I think that he brings a lot to the program,” Ban said. “Obviously he’s an alumni of Maui High School, he teaches here, so we’re trying to build the connection and continue to build on our mission and our vision of what athletics can offer.”

Corniel led the Sabers to one of the most unlikely state titles ever captured by an MIL team in any sport. They grabbed the league’s second berth to the state tournament after finishing third in the regular season.

In the state tournament, they rallied for an 8-6 win over top-seeded Saint Louis in the quarterfinals, they scored four times in the bottom of the sixth inning in a 6-4 win over Campbell in the semifinals and then beat Waiakea 6-1 in the final.

Pitcher Mikito Barkman pitched the final four innings against Campbell, finishing the game on his 35th pitch, the limit to allow him to pitch in the final. He was the winner in the final, going six innings on 77 pitches.

“It’s not about me, it’s the boys,” Corniel said moments after the state title, the team’s first in 35 years.

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.

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