They are, no doubt, a mean-green hitting machine.

The Mid-Pacific Owls, using their small-ball approach to the fullest, rapped out 11 hits for a key 7-4 win over Punahou yesterday at Ala Wai Field.

Lawrence Chew went the distance on the mound, permitting just one earned run as No. 3-ranked Mid-Pacific improved to 4-1 in the second round of Interscholastic League of Honolulu play (18-6 overall).

Fifth-ranked Punahou suffered its second loss in a row and dropped to 4-2 (17-6-1 overall) in the chase for the league's final two state berths.

“;It's big. It would've been a turning point if we lost,”; Owls shortstop Justin Protacio said. “;They were hungry for a win. We play small ball and today was a prime example.”;

Tyler Yoshizawa's steal of home plate in the top of the seventh capped another textbook offensive performance by the Owls. They led 6-4 when Yoshizawa walked, stole second base and later was directed to take home, as well, by coach Dunn Muramaru.

“;He said if I thought the pitcher was going to a windup, steal on the first pitch,”; Yoshizawa said. “;When I started to slide, I saw I had a chance to be safe. I saw the corner of the plate. Once I touched it, I popped up. I wanted to sell it.”;

It was just the third stolen base of the game for the Owls, but they also executed three sacrifice bunts and turned two double plays defensively.

“;That was fun? I'm glad,”; Muramaru said, noting four errors by his defense. “;We gave them so many runs.”;

Chew allowed six hits and walked five, but survived with two effective pitches—a fastball and slider.

“;I tried to get them on a ball pitch with my cutter,”; said Chew. The right-hander was effective against the top four batters in Punahou's lineup, which combined to hit 3-for-13.

Punahou batted 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Protacio reached base on a bunt single and later scored on a double-play groundout to give MPI a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

Alika'i Aglipay tied it a 1-all in the second for Punahou after singling and scoring during a rundown attempt between third base and home plate.

The Owls responded with two runs in the top of the third. Jordan Obata's single to center scored Marcus Doi, and Ryan Muraoka scored a moment later on a passed ball. That chased Punahou starting pitcher Jacob Ellis, who was replaced by Ty Tirpak.

Rick Nomura's two-run single up the middle tied the game at 3 for the Buffanblu in the bottom of the third.

Mid-Pacific scored single runs in each of the last four innings. Protacio singled and scored on an error to give Mid-Pacific a 4-3 lead in the fourth.

In the fifth, Tyler Nishimoto was hit by a Tirpak pitch and scored on a single to left by Yoshizawa.

Nikolas Alarcio led off the sixth with a walk against Kaiana Eldredge and later scored on a single by Dane Fujinaka to give the Owls a 6-3 lead.

Punahou cut the margin to two runs when Brent Fukushima tripled and scored on a single by Jeremy Ioane in the bottom of the sixth.

After Yoshizawa's heads-up play to score in the top of the seventh, Chew set Punahou down in order in the bottom of the frame.