Punahou relied on a couple of firsts to spark a ninth-inning rally to take Tuesday’s must-win game against Maryknoll.

Kahiau Aina drove in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded single in the ninth and Punahou tacked on four more runs in a 7-5 victory over Maryknoll in the ILH Varsity I Double-Elimination Tournament at Sand Island Park field.

“I just saw inside and I was trying to get my hands out into it early,” said Aina, a freshman.

Punahou (12-5) set up a second tournament final against Maryknoll (11-5) on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at Sand Island Park field. On the line will be the ILH’s second and final berth into the DataHouse/HHSAA Division I Championships. Kamehameha, the regular-season champion, has already locked up a berth.

“We’re just going to take it like a regular game and not add any pressure, pressure that we don’t need to have,” said Punahou’s Shayla Yamashita, who drove in two runs in the ninth.

The Buffanblu’s ninth-inning rally started when Austen Kinney’s leadoff grounder to the third baseman was thrown low and wide of first, allowing Kinney to reach third. It was the only error of the game.

“The opportunity to get that leadoff baserunner just loosened things up, and that’s all we needed,” Punahou coach David Eldredge said. “Good things happened after that.”

Kealoha Cox, the Buffanblu’s No. 9 hitter, drew a walk and Taryn Ho was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Aina stepped to the plate and grounded a single into right past a drawn-in infield, which plated Kinney to make it 3-2. Punahou had been 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Molly Davi replaced Kasi Cruz on the mound for the Spartans after Aina’s hit. Davi induced a couple of fielder’s choice groundouts with force plays at the plate, but Yamashita singled to left to make it 5-2.

“I knew that I was going to hit again and it was a big situation and I just had to stay calm and make good contact with the ball,” Yamashita said.

With Sydney Capello at the plate, Yamashita got caught in a rundown, which allowed Tasi Taufahema to score. Yamashita made it to second on the play.

“When I left the bag I kind of saw the throw already, so if I was going to be out, I might as well just get in a pickle and try to see if our runner at third could score, and she did,” Yamashita said.

Capello capped the rally with an RBI single, which made it 7-2.

Maryknoll’s Jenna Sniffen belted a three-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth to score Dylan Neves and Ciara Kaneshiro and make it 7-5. Buffanblu reliever Paige Brunn got a pair of flyouts to end it.

“Punahou played a hell of a game, there’s no doubt,” Maryknoll coach John Uekawa said. “Their pitchers held us down for the first seven innings to two runs, and we’re a team that normally scores in double-digits.”

The Buffanblu have won three of five meetings with the Spartans this season. Three of the contests were decided by one run, and three went to extra innings.

Maryknoll defeated Punahou 2-1 in 11 innings on Day 2 of the tournament April 20.

On Tuesday, Punahou went up 1-0 in the top of the third on Lexi Hinahara’s run-scoring groundout to shortstop, which scored Ho.

Maryknoll went ahead 2-1 in the fifth when Reyni Hiraoka scored on a rundown and Cruz hit a run-scoring double.

Palehua Silva hit a fly ball to center, which advanced Hiraoka to third just ahead of the throw. Sniffen attempted to advance to second and was caught in a rundown, which allowed Hiraoka to score.

Brunn replaced Taufahema on the mound for Punahou, and Cruz drilled her first pitch off the wall in left to score Sniffen.

The Buffanblu tied it at 2-2 in the sixth on a two-out single by Capello and Fa‘atamali‘i Brown’s RBI double down the left-field line.

The winner of Thursday’s game between Punahou and Maryknoll will face Kamehameha for the ILH overall title Monday at 4 p.m. at a site to be determined.

Monday’s winner will be seeded and receive a first-round bye at the 12-team state tournament, which starts May 14.