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FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Punahou's Steven Dannaway slid into third base against Damien's George Martin yesterday.

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Punahou rips Damien

For the past 10 months, the Punahou baseball team has been a mystery.

After capturing the state title in May, the Buffanblu celebrated, and then disappeared from sight. Instead of playing in some of the more visible Oahu tournaments during the preseason, Punahou opted to travel to the Valley Isle for the Maui High Tournament, which it subsequently won.

Last night, the 2005 edition of Punahou baseball was finally unveiled at Aloha Stadium, where the Buffanblu punched out 16 hits en route to an 11-4 Interscholastic League of Honolulu win over a young Damien squad.

Steven Dannaway had a monster performance for Punahou with a homer and two triples in three at-bats.

Dannaway, a right-handed-hitting junior left fielder, tripled to the right-center-field gap in each of his first two plate appearances before drilling a 1-0 fastball into the seats beyond the left-field fence.

"This was a really competitive game," said Punahou head coach Eric Kadooka. "They (Damien) put the ball in play and made it close. But we were able to get some big hits from Dannaway to help us stay ahead."

Dannaway's lead-off homer in the top of the fifth was key, as the Monarchs rallied for three runs in the bottom of the frame to narrow Punahou's lead to 7-4.

"I was just looking for a good pitch to hit and I got it," Dannaway said. "It feels really good to be starting the season. We were all really anxious to play."

Punahou batted around in the third and sixth innings, netting four runs each time.

After Damien starter Evander Ledward retired the first two batters in the top of the third, Punahou's Bucky Aona, Kasey Ko, Dannaway, Paul Snieder, Michael Chock and Maika Murashige registered consecutive hits to rally the Buffanblu and give them a 6-0 advantage.

"If we want to score runs in this league, we need guys like Steven and Chock and Murashige to step up in the middle and bottom of the order," Kadooka said. "The top of our order does a good job, and we need the other guys to step up and help us stay in rallies."

Punahou starter Harrison "Jeeter" Ishida looked strong early, holding the Monarchs scoreless through the first three innings. But Damien chased the freshman right-hander in the bottom of the fourth after Kai Higa's single to center scored Christian Stephenson, who doubled, to give the Monarchs their first score of the game.

Ishida finished with five strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings.

Damien fought back for three more runs against the Punahou bullpen in the fifth, keyed by Robert Cuizon's two-run single and Duncan Ebert's RBI fielder's choice.

Cuizon finished the day 2-for-3, while Stephenson was a perfect 3-for-3 to lead Damien.

Junior righty Scott Hiramoto picked up the save with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Hiramoto entered with one out in the bottom of the fifth (after Damien got to reliever Reece Kiriu for three runs) and retired all eight batters he faced. Kiriu was credited with the win.

Both teams return to action today at Ala Wai Field. Damien and Maryknoll meet at noon in the opener, while Punahou and Kamehameha play in the finale at 3 p.m.

"We're real excited for them," said Dannaway about the matchup against the Warriors. "They are always one of the better teams in our league and we've been looking forward to this game for a long time."

Punahou (1-0)1140140--	11	16	0
Damien (0-1)	000	130	0	--	4	8	2

Harrison Ishida, Reece Kiriu (4), Scott Hiramoto (5) and Michael Chock. Evander Ledward, George Martin (5), Christian Stephenson (6), Jonathan Awa (7) and Kai Higa, T.J. Esclito (5).
W--Hiramoto. L--Ledward.
Leading hitters--Pun: Landon Nakata 2-5, Christian Aona 3-4, 2 2b, Steven Dannaway 3-3, 2 RBIs, 2 3b, HR, Paul Snieder 3-4, 3 RBIs, 3b, Chock 2-4, 2 RBIs, Maika Murashige 2-4. Dam: Stevenson 3-4, Robert Cuizon 2-3, 2 RBIs.

Saint Louis 7, Maryknoll 1

Kelii Zablan rapped out three hits for the Crusaders and Grant Costa limited the Spartans to a single run.

Shaun Kauleinamoku scored the first run for Saint Louis on a wild pitch and Zablan crossed the plate on a balk later in the inning.

Those two runs were all the Crusaders would need as Costa struck out four batters and walked only one while yielding only three hits.

Ryan Matsumoto tripled for the Spartans.

At Ala Wai Field

Maryknoll	000	100	0	--	1	3	3
Saint Louis	240	100	x	--	7	10	2

Chris Lum, Ryan Matsumoto (5) and Hiroshi Kuroda. Grant Costa and Sheldon Santiago. W--Costa. L--Lum.
Leading hitters--Mryk: Matsumoto 3b. StL: Shaun Kauleinamoku 2-4, 3b, 2 runs, RBI; Kelii Zablan 3-4, 2 2bs, RBI; Cody Barrett 2b, 2 runs; Ryan Brilhante, 2b.

Prep Preseason

Kalani Tournament
Kalani 3, Aiea 2
Farrington 9, Waipahu 3
Leilehua 10, Castle 9
Kaiser 7, Pearl City 1