No. 1 Punahou
bounces back

Yesterday's Interscholastic League of Honolulu baseball matchup between No. 4 Saint Louis and No. 1 Punahou showcased two teams looking to move in different directions.

After a thrilling come-from-behind win against Iolani on Friday night in which the Crusaders plated the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh, Saint Louis was hoping to carry momentum into yesterday's game.

The Buffanblu, who incurred their first loss of the year against Kamehameha on Friday, looked to get back on track after a tough setback at the hands of Warrior ace David Parrow. He limited Punahou to four hits in outdueling reigning state player of the year Jared Pate.

Facing Crusader ace Cameron Bayne yesterday, Punahou was able to muster just five hits, but made sure that each one counted, defeating Saint Louis 4-0 at Aloha Stadium, thanks largely to a pair of two-run singles by Kasey Ko and Kaohi Downing.

"We did a good job of bouncing back after last night," Punahou coach Eric Kadooka said. "We didn't exactly execute really well, but guys stepped up in key situations."

Punahou scored two runs in the bottom of the first. Ko rolled a soft single up the middle to score Kyle Fujimoto and Landon Nakata. After Fujimoto was beaned to lead off the inning, Nakata lofted a high floating pop-up that landed just inside the first-base line in shallow right to give the Buffanblu runners at first and second.

Kadooka then had third hitter Bucky Aona sacrifice, setting Ko up for his hit.

Punahou received another two-run single following a sacrifice bunt in the fourth. This time, it was left fielder Kaohi Downing who provided the heroics, singling sharply to center to score Steven Dannaway and Maika Murashige.

"We saw him (Bayne) the last time," Kadooka said. "He's a tough pitcher and he's got a couple of different release points. He throws strikes and he's confident, and he is one of the better pitchers in our league. But we were able to get some timely hits."

On the mound, Punahou junior lefty Carl Graves was in total control, striking out eight and spacing four hits in the complete-game victory to improve to 2-0 in his first season of varsity competition.

Graves spotted a sneaky fastball on both edges of the plate and was able to pepper the strike zone with a sweeping breaking ball to keep Saint Louis at bay.

"Carl did a really good job against a really good hitting team," Kadooka said. "Saint Louis has been coming back on everyone, so they're always dangerous."

Graves has been a key for Punahou in its last two wins over the Crusaders, adding yesterday's victory to a save he picked up a week ago at Ala Wai Field.

"This feels good," Graves said. "I made some good pitches, but I made some mistakes, too. That pitch Chester (Wilson) hit for the double, I wish I could have had that one back, but he's a really good hitter and he went with it well. But I'll take this game any day."

At Aloha Stadium

Saint Louis (5-4)	000	000	0	--	0	4	1
Punahou (7-1-1)	200	200	x	--	4	5	0

Cameron Bayne and Sheldon Santiago. Carl Graves and Michael Chock. W--Graves. L--Bayne.
Leading hitters--StL: Chester Wilson, 2b. Pun: Landon Nakata, 2-3; Kasey Ko, 2 RBIs; Kaohi Downing, 2 RBIs.

Iolani 7, Maryknoll 6

The Raiders scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh to edge the Spartans.

Kyson Morikuni drove in two runs in the win.

At Aloha Stadium

Maryknoll (1-8)	410	010	0	--	6	6	3
Iolani (3-4-1)	140	010	1	--	7	9	4

Peter Kirst and Brian Tabata. Ian Mopas and Riley Yamamoto. W--Mopas. L--Kirst.
Leading hitters--Mryk: Brennan Young, 2b, 2 RBIs; Chris Lum, 2 RBIs. Iol: Kyson Morikuni 2-4, 2b, 2 RBIs. Chris Johnson 3b, Wally Marciel, 2-4, 2 2bs, RBI.