For the second time this year, unranked Punahou took advantage of a Saint Louis team searching for a No. 2 pitcher.
The Buffanblu scored five of their seven runs on two-out hits and Riley Guieb held the Crusaders to one hit over the final 31/3 innings to earn the win in a 7-5 victory Tuesday night at Les Murakami Stadium.
Punahou (2-4) has scored 20 runs in two wins over the seventh-ranked Crusaders (2-4), but just four runs in its other four games — all losses.
Center fielder Cole Cabana drove in two runs with a two-out triple in the third and added a two-out RBI single in the fifth inning to push the Buffanblu lead to 7-4.
Saint Louis got a run back when Anthony Lau tripled and scored in the sixth inning but left the bases loaded to end the game.
"Cole came through in the clutch for us tonight," first-year Punahou coach Keenan Sue said. "We actually sat him for one game and he’s come back hungry."
Guieb replaced starter Kekoa Viera with two outs in the fourth and allowed only one baserunner until the final inning.
Saint Louis trailed by two when two errors on one play at first put runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
Tanner Atiburcio walked to load the bases for Lau, who hit a line drive back to Guieb, who snagged it off the top of the mound for the win.
"We made some really dumb mistakes, especially early on, that could have cost us," Sue said. "(Riley) wanted some redemption. He came out here the first game (at Les Murakami Stadium) against Mid-Pac and got lit up a little bit, but he wanted retribution and he wanted the ball and was definitely the right guy for the spot."
The defending state champion Crusaders have won twice with UH signee Pono Anderson on the mound, but are 0-3 in games he hasn’t started.
Ryder Kuhns smashed a two-run homer over the left-field fence to tie the game at 4, but the Crusaders managed only four hits.
"You’ve got to give (Punahou) credit for coming up with some two-out hits and two-strike hits," Saint Louis coach George Gusman said. "There’s no doubt that we’re struggling offensively. We haven’t had many hits in our last four games and we’re working on stuff, but we can’t translate it from the cage to the game."
Saint Louis has allowed 10 runs in three games with Anderson on the mound and 24 in three games without him.
At Les Murakami Stadium
Punahou (2-4) 031 030 0 — 7 12 4
Saint Louis (2-4) 202 001 0 — 5 4 2
Kekoa Viera, Riley Guieb (4) and Hunter Chow. Dawson Yamaguchi, Noah Abreu (3), Chase Meilleur (5), Royce Hirayama (7) and Taylor Meilleur. W–Guieb. L–Abreu.
Leading hitters–Pun: Cole Cabrera 2-3, 3b, run, 3 RBIs; Scott Nishioka 2-3, 2b, run, 2 RBIs; Mason Asato 1-2, 2 runs; Allan Dong 1-4, 2 runs; Jantzen Tamanaha 2-4, RBI. StL: Ryder Kuhns 1-3, HR, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Keith Torres 1-3, 2b, run; Anthony Lau 1-2, 3b, run.
No. 4 Kamehameha 14,
No. 9 ‘Iolani 0, 6 inn.
Codie Paiva allowed three hits in five scoreless innings with two walks and three strikeouts as the Warriors (4-1) opened a stretch of four games in five days with a win over the Raiders (2-4).
Kamehameha catcher Kekai Rios went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI and Makoa Mau hit a two-run double in the sixth inning to give the Warriors a 10-run lead. Kahoea Akau added two singles, scored twice and drove in three runs and second baseman Micah McNicoll scored three times.
‘Iolani walked nine batters and committed six errors. The Raiders singled in the second and third innings, but both runners were erased by Rios, who threw out a runner stealing second and threw behind a runner for an out in the third inning. ‘Iolani finished with four hits.
Kamehameha moved into a tie for first place with Mid-Pacific as the only two ILH teams in Division I above .500. ‘Iolani dropped into a three-way tie for third with Punahou and Saint Louis.
At Les Murakami Stadium
KS (4-1) 003 317 — 14 9 0
‘Iolani (2-4) 000 000 — 0 4 6
Codie Paiva, Taylor Torres (6) and Kekai Rios. Bronson Ichimura, Kaimana Bartolome (4), Austin Jim On (5), Everett Lau (6), Brandon Yanagi (6), Taylor Spencer (6) and Josh Inaba.
W–Paiva. L–Ichimura.
Leading hitters–Kamehameha: Rios 3-4, bb, RBI; Kahoea Akau 2-5, 2 runs, 3 RBIs; Makoa Mau 1-4, 2b, 2 runs, 2 RBIs; Micah McNicoll 3 runs; Kody Cacal 2 runs; Brandon Henderson 2 runs; RBI.
ilh division ii
St. Francis 11, Hanalani 3
The Saints racked up five runs in the first inning and held onto the early lead to defeat the Royals.
St. Francis’ Jarrod Yara earned the win on the mound and also picked up two hits and a pair of RBIs.
At Hans L’Orange field
Hanalani (1-5) 100 110 0 — 3 4 3
St. Francis (2-4) 500 105 X — 11 6 5
Keenan Cooper, Max Ares (1), Kevin Matsuoka (5), Reyn Romero (6) and Ryllen Abeshima. Jarrod Yara, Kanta Kinoshita (5), Zach Alcos (6) and Royce Torres.
W–Yara. L–Cooper.
Leading hitters–Hanalani: Abeshima 2b. St. Francis: Yara 2-3, 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Kreighton Tsuruda-Gaspar 2b, RBI, 2 runs.
Maryknoll 11, Pac-Five 3
Jason Nakamura led the Spartans with three hits and a double to smother the Wolfpack. Kahi Hirano added a double and a triple in the win.
Maryknoll’s Jarred Kaneshiro earned the win on the mound with three strikeouts, a walk and one hit.
At Hans L’Orange field
Maryknoll (6-1) 303 122 0 — 11 13 4
Pac-Five (4-2) 001 001 1 — 3 8 2
Jarred Kaneshiro, Joshua Muneno (4) and Neal Nakasone. Lee Tanaka, Trevor Kubo (4), Marques Asato (5), Brandon Miyasato (7) and Micah Lum.
W–Kaneshiro. L–Tanaka.
Leading hitters–Maryknoll: Kahi Hirano 2-5, 2b, 3b, 2 RBIs, run; Jason Nakamura 3-5, 2b, 4 RBIs, run; Jarin Kobashigawa 2-4, RBI, 2 runs. Pac-Five: Owen Saito 2-4, 3b, run; Christian Jones 2-3.
