OMAHA, Neb. — Tennessee baseball looks to keep their season alive on Monday afternoon as they take on Stanford in an elimination game at the College World Series.
They hope the scoring comes early, and one player that helped them score in their first game of the CWS was shortstop Maui Ahuna. Ahuna is one of the players on this team that is an MLB Draft prospect when July comes around.
His skills have certainly helped this team and his family couldn’t be prouder of him getting to play in the College World Series.
Ahuna has played baseball since he was around three or four years old. His grandmother saw a youth team practicing and had Maui join them.
“Next thing you know he was practicing with them,’ his dad Walter Ahuna said. “I came home from work and I said ‘Where’s Maui?’ My mom said, ‘He’s playing baseball, where he should be.’"
Where he should seem right, considering he now plays Division 1 baseball and the future pro talent, His parents saw his talent a long time ago.
“We saw him at a young age, he had a gift for baseball,” his mom Marie Ahuna said. “He had a talent that we thought he could go far.”
Even though his family saw it, when they reflect on his growth and journey, it's still amazing to them.
“I still remember him from this little boy running through the fields, not knowing what bases to hit first, and now seeing him on TV, it’s surreal, it’s such a surreal moment.” his sister Jessica Fernandez said.
Throughout this season, Maui has had his ups and downs. His dad makes sure to let him know what people are saying on social media if it’s bad.
“It’s just fuel to the fire," Walter said with a laugh rubbing his hands together, "I’m just adding fuel to the fire. I’m trying to make him be like, ‘Hey, I don’t need all this negativity.’ So you know, hopefully, it pushes him.”
The good moments are the ones this family remembers most though.
In Game 3 of the NCAA Tournament Super Regional, Maui hit a home run to help the Vols win and punch their ticket to the College World Series. After the game, he ran to his dad and gave him a big hug.
Making a World Series of some sort has been a dream of Maui’s for a long time.
“From the young age, at nine and ten and eleven years and twelve years old, Maui’s youth baseball team always lost in the semifinals to make it to the World Series," Walter said. "So when we hugged at Mississippi he said, ‘Dad after all this time we finally did it.’ So it was awesome. It was awesome. I shed a tear. I shed a tear.”
In Tennessee’s first game of the College World Series against LSU, they saw Maui hit a single that brought in a run too.
“I went flying out of the seat," Jessica said. "Thought I was going to fall on the ground.”
His dad was waiting for that hit because Maui had struck out his first two at bats of the game,
“I said, ‘Finally he hit the ball,’” Walter said with a laugh. “I was thinking oh my god if he strikes out again I’m going to have to give him a lot of comments from social media.”
The Ahuna ohana is so proud of what Maui is accomplishing.
“As a mom, I’m so proud of him," Marie said. "I’m about to just cry right now,”
His sister was also almost in tears.
“There are no words,” Jessica said. “You’re going to make me cry. It’s been a wild, wild, journey and we’re just so thankful.”
His family is just excited to keep watching Maui play in Omaha.
“It’s just an honor for him to play in the World Series,” Walter said. “Play on a team like Tennessee, we’re grateful. We’re grateful.”
Maui has two more older sisters that couldn’t make it to Omaha but they’re cheering him and the Vols on too.
Maui will try and do his part to keep the Vols’ season alive on Monday. Tennessee and Stanford play at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.
