Kamehameha pitcher Trey Smith didn’t have problems bringing his best stuff.

He just had to draw the line.

The 6-foot-2 1/2 southpaw overcame a rough start to go the distance as No. 6 Kamehameha posted a 4-2 win over No. 9 Saint Louis on Thursday afternoon at Ala Wai Community Park.

Kamehameha notched its first win in ILH play after a hard-fought loss against Punahou on Tuesday, when coach Vern Ramie was tossed for arguing a non-call. Ramie was in street clothes in the dugout Thursday, while assistant coach Scott Paiva took over for the afternoon.

"I did it last year. Vern’s motto is ‘Next man up,’ so he went down and the next man is up," Paiva said.

Paiva reminded Smith, a senior, about staying level on the mound. Any time the stress level built up, Smith drew a line across the dirt with his foot.

"We told him to control his emotions. He feeds off his emotions, and he had to calm himself out there on the mound," Paiva said. "You watch him pitch, he draws that line."

The result: He made the right pitches when necessary, striking out five along the way. He scattered six hits and walked four.

"I just had to relax and get into my rhythm. I had to believe in myself. My team had my back," said Smith, who struggled to spot his cutter and fastball early on, throwing 26 pitches in the first inning.

He still had velocity late in the game and finished with 103 pitches.

"We worked hard this offseason and this preseason," Smith said. "We had a game plan from yesterday, everybody was on the same page."

Saint Louis went 9-3 in preseason play but is now winless after two ILH battles.

"It’s a long season, but when you’re 0-2, it doesn’t seem that long," Crusaders coach George Gusman said. "I’m disappointed. There’s a number of things we need to do better. Make routine plays. Throw strikes. We can’t walk the first batter. We need to sacrifice people over.

"We did some good things. Peyton (Oshiro) did a nice job, coming in and getting the out with the bases loaded. Kamehameha did a good job. Congratulations to them."

The Crusaders left six men on base, including three in the top of the first after Jordan Mopas singled and Kawai Mook-Garcia and D.J. Dureg walked to load the bases. Smith got Kaimi Umebayashi to fly out to right for the third out.

The Warriors got on the scoreboard in the top of the second against Braeden Nelson, another tall left-hander. Tyler Meditz walked, advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Kekai Rios’ grounder to shortstop.

Kamehameha made it 2-0 when Meditz drew a bases-loaded walk on a full count to force in Nick Young.

Peyton Oshiro relieved Nelson (21/3 innings, two runs, two hits, four walks) and put out the fire. Oshiro, a compact, pitch-to-contact lefty, went the remaining 32/3 innings, allowing two runs and walking one. He permitted five hits.

The Crusaders finally reached Smith in the bottom of the fourth. Mook-Garcia singled up the middle, advanced to third on a wild pitch — Paiva questioned whether it had bounced off the ground and off the leg of the batter, Umebayashi — and came home on Umebayashi’s sacrifice fly to center.

Saint Louis then evened the game at 2-all in the top of the fifth. Rayson Romero and Mopas singled after one out. Devon Stubblefield sent a chopper over the head of third baseman Codie Paiva for a single, and Romero scored the tying run.

Rios, the catcher, came up with a key play moments later, throwing out Mopas at third on a steal attempt on a pitch in the dirt. Later, Smith got Mook-Garcia to hit a soft liner to Paiva at third base to end the threat.

The Warriors clutched up in the fifth. Hoku Botelho singled up the middle, stole second base, went to third on a grounder and scored when Rios slammed a double to deep left for a 3-2 Kamehameha lead.

Meanwhile, Smith, who had slogged through the fifth with 25 pitches, regained his efficiency. He needed just seven pitches to retire the side in the sixth, thanks in large part to a 5-4-3 double play by Paiva, Botelho and first baseman Jason Murakami.

The boys in blue tacked on an insurance run in the sixth when William Young led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice and scored on a single to left by Ryan Kaleiopu for a 4-2 lead.

Smith then retired the side in order in the top of the seventh, closing out with strikeouts of Romero and Mopas.

The game had originally been scheduled at Hans L’Orange Park, but a broken pipe in the infield forced the change, according to Gusman. Ala Wai is Saint Louis’ home field.

"It’s an awfully tough season with five schools battling again. You’ve got to be pretty deep with pitching. You’ve got to compete every game," Paiva said.

The Warriors will host ‘Iolani at Patsy Mink Central Oahu Regional Park on Saturday afternoon. Saint Louis will meet Punahou on Saturday night at Ala Wai.

"It’s just the little things," Gusman said. "If we give those things fixed, we’ll make a run. We get some key people back like Iolani (Akau) soon."

SOFTBALL

OIA RED EAST

Moanalua 6, Kaimuki 0

Miki Sylva ripped two homers as Na Menehune shut out the Bulldogs and continued their win streak in conference play.

OIA RED WEST

Mililani 9, Leilehua 1

The Trojans’ Aubree Kim struck out 13 batters while allowing one single and three walks in a complete-game victory over the Mules.

Kacie Oshiro drove in three runs and scored three runs, and Kaylie-Ann Bello added two RBIs for Mililani.

Waipahu 8, Campbell 4

Lauren Tauanuu had three hits, including a home run, as the Marauders defeated the Sabers.

Pearl City 5, Waianae 0

Cydny Rivera pitched a three-hit shutout as the Chargers beat the Seariders.

Riveral struck out three and walked one.

OIA WHITE

Waialua 15, Radford 3

Maevin Malasig drove in a pair of runs as the Bulldogs topped the Rams.

Aiea 26, Kalani 1, 5 inn.

Na Alii took advantage of 13 Falcon errors to score 26 runs in five innings.