Mysha Sataraka scored the go-ahead run on a delayed steal in the top of the ninth inning as No. 1 Punahou escaped with a 4-2 softball win over No. 5 Kamehameha on Wednesday at the Warriors’ field.

The Buffanblu blew a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh before pulling away in extra innings. Punahou improved to 3-0 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

“This is a special team in terms of their resiliency, competitiveness,” Punahou coach Bob Makahilahila said. “The thing I liked about it, we were up, we were down, and they kept their heads up. Mysha and Reina (Furuya) are really picking it up in terms of leadership. Kamehameha’s a tough team. You always have to play tough and hope you come out on top of things.”

Sataraka, who socked a solo homer earlier, led off the ninth with a walk and later came home on a double-steal attempt. With courtesy runner Britney Lau going from first to second, Kamehameha catcher Christine Hipa’s toss sailed to center field with no infielder near the bag.

After an infield error allowed Vanessa Va‘a to reach base, Kaylin Okuma singled to short, bringing in Lau for a two-run lead.

“That was pretty scary,” said Sataraka, who signed a letter of intent to play for UCLA.

Jaci Young went the distance for the win, allowing two unearned runs and four hits. She struck out four and walked three. Kamehameha sophomore Fahren Glackin gave up two earned runs and six hits. She fanned four and walked one in nine innings.

“We need to work harder, shake this game off and progress,” Glackin said.

The Buffanblu broke a scoreless duel in the fourth inning when Sataraka blasted a line drive over the center-field fence, just out of the reach of center fielder Nohea Keaunui-Gould.

In the sixth, it was Furuya’s turn. Punahou’s leadoff hitter opened the frame with a towering shot to left on a 1-0 pitch to give her team a 2-0 lead.

“I was looking for a pitch I could drive. I wasn’t expecting a homer. She’s an excellent pitcher,” Furuya said.

Young cruised along as Punahou’s defense was playing flawlessly. Sataraka, a shortstop, made an over-the-shoulder catch in short left field in the fourth and second baseman Sara Sumida came up with a diving catch on a blooper near the foul line in the fifth.

But two Punahou errors in the bottom of the seventh turned the tide. After putting runners in scoring position during the third, fourth and sixth innings, Kamehameha tied it at 2-all. A botched toss from Sataraka to Sumida on what could have been a double play gave the Warriors life.

Reyna Michele Ae singled to left, bringing Misty Hoohuli home with the first run. Moments later, Sataraka’s throw on a ground ball pulled first baseman Vanessa Va‘a off the bag, allowing pinch runner Maelia Zablan to score to tie it.

On the same play, Ae tried to score from second with the winning run, but was gunned down at home by Va‘a.

The eighth inning brought a bit of controversy. The Buffanblu had a runner at first with two outs when Kamehameha’s battery and infield met at the mound. The baserunner, Sumida, took off for second and arrived there without a challenge, but was ruled out by the home plate umpire.

“Usually, when the ball is in the (pitcher’s) circle, it’s a dead ball,” Makahilahila said. “But the umpire usually says dead ball — timeout. We overheard him telling the catcher, ‘They can’t be out there because the ball’s still alive.’ If that’s the case, the runner hasn’t made a commitment to come back or go forward, so the ball’s still in play. I’ve seen it happen before. I gotta go back and read the rule book, but the girls saved my butt (by winning),” he said.

Furuya said she was just one contributor.

“It was a team effort, no one person was the star,” said Furuya, who signed with Penn State last year.

Kamehameha coach Aloha Yamaguchi is optimistic.

“They fought hard to the end. Sometimes, it doesn’t go our way,” she said. “Both teams were fighting to the end, a good game overall.”

Punahou will meet No. 2 Mid-Pacific at CORP on Saturday.