Maryknoll nearly won by mercy rule Tuesday, and then almost blew the game.

The Spartans jumped on St. Francis starter Chase Akana for eight runs and took a 10-run lead after two innings, but the Saints scrapped back to get within two before Maryknoll pulled away for a 13-8 ILH baseball victory at Hans L’Orange Park.

“We came out really strong, really good in the beginning,” Spartans winning pitcher Drayden Yamauchi said. “That big lead kind of died out. We were a little too excited and didn’t keep our focus, and because of that St. Francis was able to creep back in on us.”

Yamaguchi was called to the mound as Maryknoll’s fourth pitcher in the fourth inning while the Saints were charging back, and he eventually stemmed the tide. He pitched 31⁄3 innings and gave up just one run. Starter Justice Yamashita was pulled after one inning of scoreless ball with the Spartans (5-3 ILH Division I) leading 10-0, and St. Francis did the bulk of its damage against the first two relievers — Micah Neves and Hailama Swartman.

“In this league, no lead is safe,” Maryknoll coach Eric Kadooka said. “Drayden came in and was able to shut the door for us. He was around the plate, mixing speeds and forcing contact. That’s what we needed — for them to swing the bat and let our defense play. Give credit to St. Francis. They came all the way back to make it a two-run deficit. It shows their character.”

Tyler Quinn’s RBI triple in the first and Yamashita’s two-run single in the second were the big early blows for the Spartans, who also took advantage throughout with eight walks and six hit batsmen by four St. Francis pitchers.

The Saints (5-2 ILH D-II) outhit Maryknoll 10-4.

Bubba Akana’s third-inning, two-run single and RBI hits in the fourth and fifth by Zach Alcos spearheaded the St. Francis comeback. When JP Tilley drove in a run with a fielder’s choice in the fifth, the Saints were down by just two, 10-8.

“They jumped on us early,” St. Francis coach Kip Akana said. “Our players showed a lot of resilience to battle back. We tip our caps to Maryknoll. They played well. They hit the ball, had timely hits with runners in scoring position. We did that, too. We just didn’t do it enough.”

Only two of the four runs given up by Tilley, who went 31⁄3 innings as the first of three Saints relievers, were earned. Alcos was also effective on the hill for St. Francis, throwing two innings of scoreless ball to finish up. Alcos, James Yamasaki and Alex Miyasato all had two hits in a losing cause.

With three runs on no hits in the sixth — a walk and a hit by pitch with the bases loaded and a sacrifice fly by Maddux Miyasato — Maryknoll pretty much wrapped it up.

Saint Louis 9, Damien 6

Kupono Soo hit a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth inning to break a 5-all tie and lead the Crusaders to the victory.

Earlier, Saint Louis (3-5 ILH Division I) built a 5-2 lead after two innings, thanks in part to two-run doubles by Hunter Peneueta and Caleb Lomavita.

The Monarchs (5-3 ILH D-II) pulled into the 5-5 tie due to two throwing errors that led to three runs in the fourth.

Saint Louis pitchers Kaipo Panui (the winner), Kanoa Meredith and Charles Lopez combined on a four-hitter with 13 strikeouts. Monarchs reliever Kaycee Natividad took the loss, though all three runs he gave up were unearned. Four Damien pitchers issued 10 walks.

Soo’s fourth-inning hit gave the Crusaders a 7-5 lead. They added a run on an error in the fifth and another run in the sixth on a wild pitch.

The Monarchs closed with a run in the seventh when Kaimana Cameron tripled and scored on a balk.