Pearl City pitcher Kahana Neal went into the game just trying to help his team stay on top of the OIA Red West. He ended up flirting with perfection.

Neal retired the first 15 batters in orde before giving up a leadoff single to start the sixth inning. He rebounded to dispatch the remaining six, as the top-ranked Chargers blanked No. 9 Campbell 4-0 yesterday at Pearl City.

The Chargers, the defending OIA champs, are ranked No. 1 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10, and improved to 9-0 in conference play, while the Sabers fell to 6-3.

Neal's only blemish in an otherwise perfect outing came in the top of the sixth when Sabers third baseman Cole Nagamine led off with a single to right.

“;I knew the situation going into the inning — maybe I was thinking about it a little too much,”; Neal said. “;After that, I just thought, what's done is done, moved on and went to work on the next batter.

“;After Nagamine got that hit, there wasn't anything I could do but stay focused and keep going for the win. We got the win, so that's just fine with me.”;

As Neal mastered his way through the Campbell lineup, the mood in the Pearl City dugout began to change. The high-fives and shouts of encouragement gave way to cautious silence, with perhaps a slight nod of acknowledgment to what was happening on the field.

“;After a while, no one said anything to him,”; said Chargers coach Gary Nakamoto. “;That's how it is in baseball. Nobody wanted to jinx him.

“;I could see him get a little upset, giving up the hit, but he didn't let it affect him. Kahana still got the win and that's good.”;

Pearl City gave Neal an early cushion with two runs in the first when third baseman Austin Bali hit a two-run double to deep center field, scoring Jonathan Kealoha and Chace Numata.

The Chargers padded their lead in the fourth when Chevas Numata singled to center, driving in Reid Ramos from second. Pearl City tacked on its final run in the bottom of the sixth when catcher Isaac Shim had a sacrifice bunt that moved Ramos to second. Royce Murai followed with a single to right that drove in the fourth and final run.

Campbell head coach Rory Pico was impressed with Neal's performance and saw it as a good lesson for his team, which will face Pearl City again Saturday.

“;He was hitting all his pitches today, not just for strikes, but a good overall command of the plate,”; Pico said. “;He threw it where he wanted to throw it and had a fantastic performance. I told my team that when a pitcher is out there throwing like that, you just have to get more aggressive.

“;He was getting to our hitters early in the count — they were down 0-2 before they even knew it. It is really tough to hit from behind with a pitcher like that. But we have to go back to work and see how to work when a guy is having a day like Kahana just did. We still have to find a way to put the ball in play and get guys on base in situations like this.”;