Carson Okada went the distance and Christian Pacrem went 3-for-3 as No. 8 Pearl City rallied past Waipahu 6-2 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association West opener for both teams at the Chargers field.

Okada threw 102 pitches in seven innings with six strikeouts and two walks. He was especially timely in the clutch. In the top of the fifth, the Marauders had runners at second and third when Okada froze slugger Kobie Russell with a curveball for a called third strike. He then got clean-up hitter Khaine Viliamu to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the threat.

In the top of the seventh, Waipahu had a runner on base when Okada went back to the spinner for another called third strike, this time against Eric Lee.

“He had some errors behind him and he fought through. He’s a bulldog,” first-year co-head coach Peter Arakawa said. “There’s a different demeanor on the field. What I saw in Carson, when he smells blood, he goes after it.”

Waipahu coach Jared Abreu credited Okada.

“Hat’s off to Pearl City and Okada. He hits his spots and his off-speed caught us,” he said. “We had a couple of plays out there when we didn’t hustle. We’ll flush it and move on.”

Strong gusts blew in from right field at the start of the game, when Okada had some moderate difficulty placing his fastball. But he later found his groove, and also mixed in an occasional curve and a pitch he calls his “special.”

“My coaches said to pound the (strike) zone,” said Okada, a 5-foot-10, 202-pound senior.

The visitors opened the first inning by receiving a gift, an infield error with Jaron Sugimoto at the plate. Viliamu sent a two-out double to right-center, plating Sugimoto for the game’s first run.

Russell started on the mound for Waipahu and got out of the bottom of the first, striking out Kaleb Nishijo for the third out with a runner on third base.

In the second, the wind died down and the Chargers reached Russell for four runs. Pacrem and Kulia Neal singled before Dillon Kaneshiro dropped a bunt single to load the bases. Alihikaua Rodrigues singled to left, scoring Pacrem to tie the game at 1.

Two batters later, Matthew Aribal’s sacrifice fly to left scored Kaneshiro from third base to give Pearl City a 2-1 lead. After Davin Kapuras was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Christian Onomura ripped a double to right, bringing the pinch runner, Nishijo, and Jansen Shigeta in for a 4-1 lead.

Waipahu responded in the top of the third frame. Matt Fiesta socked a one-out single to the right-center gap and scored on a single to center by Russell, cutting the deficit to two runs.

Russell struck out the side in the bottom of the third, but Pearl City did more damage in the fourth. Aribal reached base on an infield single, advanced to second on a single by Onomura and stole third base. Aribal then scored on a wild pitch for a 5-2 Chargers lead.

Pacrem delivered a single to center, scoring Onomura from third base for a four-run cushion.

Sugimoto moved from shortstop to the mound for a scoreless two-inning stint, but the Marauders couldn’t string hits together against Okada.

“I’m not the No. 1 pitcher, but I want it,” he said.

Russell, who finished 2-for-3 at the plate, struck out six and walked two in his four innings on the mound. All six runs were credited to him.

“He’s athletic and competitive. He’s a wonderful kid and very talented, but at the end of the day, it’s just high school baseball,” Arakawa said.

The Marauders aren’t at full strength yet, though they had a 6-2-1 preseason. Sugimoto is getting back into form after enduring a sore shoulder last summer. Russell, a dynamic talent at shortstop, looked elite on the mound at times.

“His slider and off-speed weren’t working, so he’s going to learn to adjust,” Abreu said. “He knows they won’t go inside on him. He’s learning. It’s a process.”

Of Pearl City’s five hits in the second inning, three were opposite-field or up the middle, and Aribal’s sac-fly was also the other way.